"Our welcome by the local people was so warm and genuine. I realised immediately that these people were going to inspire me despite their poverty and hardship. " - Jenny
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Home / Projects & Destinations / Tanzania / Sports Coaching
Sports Coaching - Tanzania
| Location | Villages of Yamba and Milingano |
| Start dates | 2012: 7 Sep 2013: 11 Jan, 5 Apr, 26 July, 6 Sep Applications must be received at least 4 months before the chosen start date to allow time to apply for visas |
| Duration | 2 - 12 weeks (can be extended up to a year) |
| Availability |
Spaces available |
| Cost |
2 weeks: £795 Extra weeks: £80 per week |
| Discounts | £50 per person for friends / partners |
| Requirements | This role is for qualified sports teachers / coaches only |
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Coach football, netball or new sports to the community
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Experience life in a beautiful rural village
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Support the charity 'Village Africa'
Project details
Introduction
Volunteers are needed to coach sports to pupils from local schools as well members of the local community on this rewarding project. The opportunity is only available to volunteers who have sports coaching certificates or a sports or teaching degree.
This is a fantastic opportunity to teach your sports skills to the villagers while immersing yourself into rural Tanzanian life. Teaching sport not only improves the health, fitness and wellbeing of the players it also encourages team spirit, improves concentration and unites the community.
The project is located in a remote and poor, but very friendly and beautiful location. Volunteers work with a small charity called Village Africa.
Read what past volunteers have said about this project in our Tanzania Sports Coaching reviews.
What will you be doing?
Volunteers will coach a range of sports including football and netball to the children and adults in the community. There will be coaching sessions throughout the week at the local schools. Volunteers will also get involved with coaching sports to teenagers and adults who are very welcoming and enthusiastic about learning new skills.
Coaching sports not only improves people’s skills but it will also help improve the player’s team work, fair play and respect, which in turn help to develop character.
It is fantastic if volunteers would like to introduce a new sport to the village but volunteers will be required to provide the required equipment. The children are always keen to learn new activities. If you are able to acquire donated sporting equipment the community will greatly appreciate it.
The location
The villages are located in the Usambaras, in the North East of Tanzania and form part of the Eastern Arc Mountains. Each village is quite different even though they are located nearby. Milingano is perhaps how most people imagine an African village, fairly dry and hot with the classic African red earth. Yamba, being located much higher up is colder, lush and green, with stunning views of the surrounding area.
A huge part of the adventure of Tanzania is the environment you will live and work in. The villages are in an extremely beautiful area with a mixture of forest and farmland. There is a lot of wildlife including dikdiks, rabbits, chameleons and birds. The people who live here are subsistence farmers but despite the land being fertile, they are incredibly poor.
How you can make a difference
Volunteers will not simply be coaching sport; they will be helping to make a real difference to the community. Volunteers will be helping some of the poorest people in the world and supporting the work fantastic development work that Village Africa is doing.
What's included
- A comprehensive information booklet and pre-departure support
- Travel advice and assistance
- Pick up and drop off at Tanga
- Transfer to the village
- Local introductions and tours
- Accommodation (shared with other volunteers)
- Transport for alternate weekends away from the project site
- Ongoing support, help and advice from our local team
What else to budget for
The following items are not included and estimates are given as a guide for your budgeting: flights to Dar es Salaam from the UK (£550-£650), volunteer visa (£388), travel insurance, personal spending (£55-£60 per week), arrival stage (taxi, accommodation, meals and bus) (£70)
More details
About the charity Village Africa
Village Africa is a UK registered Charity committed to the alleviation of poverty, focussing on education and healthcare in Tanzania. In the local dialect its name is 'Vyaadahikana' which means 'it can be done'!
Click here to visit Village Africa's own website and learn more about the charity and the amazing work it is doing.
Support and induction
During your first couple of days you will receive introductions, tours and training for your sports coaching role.
Other volunteers
There are usually between 1 and 3 volunteers at the project at any one time. Volunteers vary in age from 18 to 75 years old.
Volunteer accommodation and food
Volunteers live in simple but comfortable houses in the village, with a short walk to the building site. A house-girl is employed to fetch water, shop, cook and clean and a watchman is employed to oversee the houses at night.
Free time and travel opportunities
You will soon adapt to the Tanzanian way of life that is dictated by the hours of daylight. With the absence of electricity, waking hours become fairly similar to daylight hours.
Volunteers normally work 4 days per week so during your stay you will have plenty of time to get to know the local communities and you can use your days off to explore the local area. There are some great local hiking opportunities including viewpoints of Kilimanjaro and the Tanzania/Kenya border, waterfalls and historical caves.
If possible, we highly recommend adding an extra week on to your stay to go on safari in some of the most outstanding national parks in the world, or explore the stunning spice island of Zanzibar.
Challenges
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world and as such the standard of living appears very low to us. The Tanzanian way of life is extremely laid back, relaxed and friendly. Society is generally not driven by money and provides a very different view on how to live. This can lead to a degree of culture shock for people visiting, but more often leads to culture shock on the return home after spending an extended period of time living in a local environment. Longer term this can help to produce a much deeper and more mature understanding of our own society and a more tolerant and caring view of other people and societies.
Due to the nature of the project, the work is physically challenging and tiring! This is a remote and rural village environment with no running water and electricity. You should be adaptable to living and working individually.
Where your money goes and the PoD Charity
PoD is run as a non-profit organisation and does not receive any external funding. We charge a fee for all our placements to cover the overseas costs of volunteering and the costs of running our organisation in the UK. Fee levels are set to match costs (on a non-profit basis) and any surplus monies are distributed to the overseas organisations and charities we work with via the PoD Charity.
For over 10 years PoD has been providing volunteers to help charitable projects around the world. The PoD Charity was established in 2010 to build on this success by also providing financial assistance. Find out more and get involved in fundraising for this project through the PoD Charity.
PoD UK Manager
Gemma in the PoD UK team looks after this project so if you apply you will hear from her soon!
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What our volunteers say...
Country facts: Tanzania
Population:
approx 41 million
Capital:
Dodoma
Time zone:
GMT + 3 hrs
Currency:
Shilling (TZS)
Phone code:
+ 255
Visa:
required
Health & Safety:
click here for the latest UK government travel advice
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