Volunteer In Tanzania
Keen to start your Tanzanian volunteer adventure with us? Here’s everything you need to know.
Where can I volunteer in Tanzania?
For many travellers looking to explore East Africa, Tanzania is a destination at the top of their bucket-list. It’s easy to understand why. Renowned for its welcoming communities, unique cultures, and incredible wildlife, exploring Tanzania is an opportunity to experience authentic African travel in all its beauty. Our Tanzania volunteer programs combine immersive community placements with sustainable impact opportunities, creating the ultimate Tanzanian adventure. Volunteer programs in Tanzania with African Impact are based primarily in the picturesque tourist town, Moshi.
Moshi, Tanzania
Colourful buildings line lively streets, filled with the sounds of tourists and locals engaging in conversations. Nearby marketplaces carry the fragrant smells of traditional Swahili food throughout the town, filling the crisp alpine air with a delicious aroma. Maasai warriors pass quietly through the city, covered in their traditional and timelessly stunning robes. Forming the town’s iconic backdrop, Mount Kilimanjaro sits proudly behind each city street, adding to Moshi’s indescribable beauty.
Moshi is a town like no other. A hub for brave travellers looking to begin their ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro – or recover after their epic journey – a sense of adventure fills this uniquely Tanzanian community. Hosting a diverse population of locals and travellers alike, Moshi is a welcoming community that instantly feels like a home away from home. This lively village celebrates an eclectic blend of Tanzanian culture, with Swahili, Maasai and Chagga influences giving the town its distinct charm.
A stone’s throw away from Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, the opportunities for adventures around Moshi are endless. For the very brave – and physically fit! – at heart, the chance to embark on an ascent up Kilimanjaro, which stands over 5,895m tall, is a bucket-list experience not to be missed. However, one does not have to climb this iconic mountain to have exciting adventures in the area! Journey on relaxing day hikes through the national park to experience the beauty of Kilimanjaro at the mountain’s base. Spend time with Maasai warriors and learn about their unique culture, filled with lively traditions, ceremonies, and dance! Have extra time to spare? Take a short flight to Zanzibar, a series of islands off Tanzania’s coast, for a truly idyllic tropical getaway.
Do you get paid to volunteer in Tanzania?
At African Impact, our mission is to provide the best international volunteer programs in Africa that create real, sustainable impacts on local communities. While our volunteer projects may be unpaid, we absolutely believe they are a life-changing experience for volunteers and locals alike!
As an African-based company, we know first hand the incredible adventures available on our stunning continent. We live and breathe all things African travel and are passionate about immersing volunteers in the heart of some of Africa’s most incredible natural environments and communities. Developing meaningful relationships with locals, learning about unique African cultures, and exploring breath-taking natural wonders, you’ll experience the true spirit of Africa and the people, places, and wildlife that make it so extraordinary.
To us, epic adventures and sustainable impacts go hand-in-hand. We firmly believe in the power of responsible volunteering to positively transform the lives of volunteers and local communities alike. Developing our projects with local community stakeholders, everything we do is measured, designed, and implemented with the community’s goals in mind. As a volunteer joining one of our projects, your work will not only be a life-changing experience for you but make actual, sustainable impacts on the lives of locals.
This combination of incredible adventures, responsible impacts, and cultural immersion allows us to go beyond the conventional understanding of “volunteering abroad” and offer innovative African volunteer travel experiences that – while unpaid – can truly transform lives!
How will you be helping by volunteering in Tanzania?
Women Empowerment
Across Africa, political, societal and economic norms disadvantage women from men. The victims of gender-based violence, economic vulnerability, social isolation, and child marriages – where, in Sub-Saharan Africa, one in three girls will be married before age 18 – women face a multitude of intense challenges every day.
Our Women Empowerment Project in Tanzania advocate for gender equality by empowering local women to develop economic independence, essential professional skills, and the self-confidence to follow their dreams! During these projects, volunteers will assist in community programs that offer vocational skills training and English lessons to local women. Aimed at helping women develop economic autonomy, these programs teach valuable skills needed for employment, including computer literacy, resume writing, and career goal setting.
Volunteers will also get involved in women’s groups, where we come together with locals to discover sustainable solutions to tackling social issues in the community and empower women to be advocates for positive change. In addition to working with adult women, Tanzania project volunteers will work with young girls in the community in after-school settings. By exploring essential life skills and encouraging self-confidence, these programs aim to develop a solid foundation for girls as they move through adolescence and into womanhood.
Teaching English and Community Engagement
While Tanzania recently achieved almost universal access to primary school education for young students, nearly 70% of children in Tanzania are not enrolled in secondary school by age 14 – 17. Education is an opportunity that can be truly life-changing for communities and children alike; however, inadequate school systems, poor classroom conditions, and a lack of teachers make achieving quality education extremely difficult. With a student-qualified teacher ratio of 131:1 in pre-primary school settings, many children are neglected (at no fault of the incredible teachers in these schools) the individual attention they need to thrive academically and remain in school moving forward.
Our teaching programs in Moshi aim to support local schools and teachers by providing critical one-on-one attention to students struggling with class concepts. Identifying students who appear to be falling behind, volunteers will work individually with students, going through class lessons at a slower pace to ensure students understand essential ideas. Encouraging and uplifting students who may be feeling discouraged by school, these interactions can be influential to a child’s educational journey, both in the short and long term.
Additionally, volunteers on our Teaching and Community Engagement projects will work closely with Maasai warriors in our Maasai Literacy Program. Living a semi-nomadic lifestyle throughout their childhood, many Maasai warriors never developed fundamental reading or writing skills. As English literacy quickly becomes an essential skill for gaining employment, our Maasai Literacy Programs aim to empower local warriors to build confidence in their English speaking, reading and writing skills. By developing English literacy, Maasai warriors can gain opportunities to find income-generating employment, start businesses, maintain their culture, and take charge of their future.
How much does it cost to volunteer in Tanzania?
Program Fees
Our Tanzania volunteer programs start at $1,145 and increase depending on which project you join and how long you volunteer with us. These costs cover volunteer accommodation, meals, 24/7 in-country support, project and airport transportation, project orientation, and any project equipment volunteers may need.
African Impact Sustainability Fund
As a commitment to sustainable development in the communities we work in, all volunteers pay an additional $25 to the African Impact Sustainability Fund. This money goes directly to the African Impact Foundation, which independently ensures the sustainability of our projects in local communities and guarantees impacts continue long after volunteers leave. If you have additional questions about this donation, you can visit our page on the Sustainability Fund here.
Health and Safety of Volunteers in Tanzania?
Established in 2004, providing high-quality volunteer experiences in Africa has been in our DNA for 16 years. Our volunteers, staff, and local communities’ safety is our top priority and something that is never compromised. From the moment you arrive in Africa to the end of your adventure, we take the utmost care in ensuring your comfort and safety.
To learn more about our health and safety protocols, please visit the following links. If you have additional questions, we would love to answer them. You can click here to contact us, and one of our team members will be in touch with you shortly!
Our Safety Tips in Africa
FAQs on Volunteer Safety
Best Places to Volunteer in Tanzania
Keen to embark on a Tanzania volunteer adventure with us? Check out some of our top volunteer opportunities in Tanzania below!
GIRL EMPOWERMENT
TEFL PRACTICAL TEACHING INTERNSHIP
TEACHING AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT