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As a childcare volunteer in Tanzania with PMGY, you will brighten up the lives of young children, making a vital contribution to their daily lives. International volunteers with children in Tanzania work to support day-care facilities in Arusha, organizing educational activities and games whilst assisting in tasks to complement the work of local staff.
Highlights
BACKGROUND TO THE CHILDCARE PROGRAM
It is estimated that around 1.4 million Tanzanians are infected with HIV. Furthermore, for every 1,000 births, almost 6 women die in childbirth. These factors along with general widespread poverty and minimal state welfare have resulted in an alarmingly high level of families lacking adequate childcare in Tanzania. PMGY Tanzania childcare volunteers work with several daycare facilities in Arusha that strive to address and improve this aspect of life in Tanzania.
The day-care centers you will be supporting during your time volunteering in Tanzania help to provide adequate childcare for children who often have single working parents, and cannot afford childcare. The projects assist in allowing their parents to be able to work to make a living whilst providing an opportunity for the children to gain early childhood education before beginning school, which they would otherwise not have.
Children attend the day-care centers during the day and then return to stay with family, friends, or relatives in the afternoon. PMGY Tanzania currently supports four centers within Arusha, where the efforts and enthusiasm of PMGY volunteers are greatly appreciated.
CHILDCARE VOLUNTEER PLACEMENT EXAMPLES
Sunshine Day-care - This is situated in the Meru district of the Arusha region, in Machumba village, around 15 minutes away from Arusha city. The center houses 15 kids aged 5-10 years (8 girls and 7 boys). In addition to the kids who live on-site, 30 children attend the daily nursery classes from Monday to Friday, returning home to their families in the afternoon. Sunshine Daycare employs 8 local staff, 3 house mamas, 2 nursery teachers, and 3 cooking/cleaning staff.
Tristan Day Centre - This daycare is situated in the Mbauda district of the Arusha region, around 15 minutes away from Arusha city and the volunteer house. The center accommodates preschool children from the ages of 2-6 years old. Around 30 children attend the daily nursery classes from Monday to Friday, returning home to their families in the afternoon. Tristan Day-care employs 8 local staff, 2 nursery teachers, and 3 cooking/cleaning staff. When working on our abroad volunteer programs, participants support and complement the work of local staff members. This ensures that these children receive the attention and support that they deserve.
Star Day-care - Founded in 2020, this center was created to provide support to the surrounding community who were struggling to afford childcare after the pandemic. Star Day-care hosts children from ages 1-6 and can provide nursery and preschool education to local children. Based in Sombetini, this center is located about 15 minutes from the Volunteer House. As a newer center, the support and extra hands volunteers provide go a great distance in helping this center run. In turn, expanding support to the local community.
OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER WORKING WITH CHILDREN IN TANZANIA
Return Airport Transfer - Your return airport transfer is not included in your Program Fee. Our local team can help arrange onward transfers to the airport or an alternative destination from the volunteer accommodation. Making specific arrangements once in Tanzania provides more flexibility as plans can often change and participants may be on similar flight plans. The costs depend on your method of transport and your final destination. This can often be split across multiple participants if you are traveling with someone else on the program. It is strongly advised not to travel by public transport or tuk-tuk back to the airport. Whilst this may be cheaper, it is far less convenient and comes with additional safety risks.
Resources - On the childcare project in Tanzania, resources can be very limited. Volunteers are recommended to bring materials to the project each day to maximize their productivity and day-to-day involvement. It is therefore important for volunteers to prepare well in advance to get the most out of their childcare volunteering experience in Tanzania.
Project Locations - Childcare and teaching participants in the Tanzania volunteer program are sometimes based at the same site. In these instances, volunteers will be able to travel together accordingly. At the volunteer project, teaching volunteers will tend to work with slightly older children. Childcare volunteers will work with children of preschool age. Although similar, they each follow different daily itineraries and setups.
Yellow Fever - Recently, the Tanzania Embassy has changed legal requirements for the Yellow Fever Vaccination. The government now states that this must only legally be obtained by:
However, some participants outside of these parameters have still been asked to show evidence of the vaccination upon arrival in Tanzania. You may, therefore, wish to still obtain this vaccination to avoid any confusion or difficulties upon arrival into the country. To obtain this vaccination, you must ensure you allow yourself plenty of time to arrange this before you go.
There has been a lot of debate on this issue. However, from the PMGY team’s experience, we have always been asked to show proof of our Yellow Fever Vaccination. We therefore strongly advise all our volunteers to do so as well to avoid any complications on arrival.
Placement Settings - PMGY does not provide volunteer opportunities in orphanages in any of our locations. Research and studies have shown that visiting and volunteering in orphanages has the potential to generate an industry that separates children from their families. In turn, this puts children at increased risk of neglect and abuse. Therefore, we do not support these institutions with our volunteer network.
Instead, we focus on offering alternative childcare volunteer opportunities whereby children come to and from the placement setting each day. In other words, our local teams collaborate with childcare projects that do not offer any form of residential care. These are safe, responsible, and vetted projects, where participants continue to provide valued assistance supporting local staff.
Weekends - Your project work in Tanzania runs from Monday-Friday and weekends are free. You are welcome to relax and hang out at the volunteer accommodation but most participants will use this time to travel and explore the country. As a result, you can check out our Tanzania Weekend Travel Guide for top tips on how to spend your weekend.
Free-time activities
PMGY volunteers are based in the quiet suburbs of the city of Arusha, near the foot of Mount Meru, Africa’s fifth-highest mountain at 4,556m (14,947ft).
This vibrant African city is an excellent base and for the most part, it is lush, and green and enjoys a temperate climate throughout the year thanks to its altitude. You will find all the amenities you could need in Arusha including banks, supermarkets, and international standard hospitals as well as excellent restaurants and nightlife.
Arusha also has its first real coffee house, Africafe, a great location to chill out, people watch and sample some home baking with famous brands of teas and coffees grown on the fertile slopes around Mbeya, Southern Tanzania.
What's Included?
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You should arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport (airport code JRO) on Sunday. The airport pickup is available 24 hours.
On arrival, a member of our local team will be at the waiting area for you holding a ‘PMGY Tanzania’ sign. They will drive you straight to the Volunteer House in Arusha where you can relax and settle in. This journey takes around 1 hour.
During your time in the Tanzania volunteer program, you will live in our Volunteer House. Our accommodation is based within the town of Arusha, a city located at the foot of Mount Meru. Our volunteer programs are also located in this region. Our accommodation is located within a quiet neighborhood of the city. However, there are several restaurants, supermarkets, and ATMs only a walk or short Dala Dala journey away from the Volunteer House.
As a volunteer in Tanzania, you will be living with other international volunteers. The Volunteer House is large, and basic but comfortable. Bedrooms conform to a single-sex dorm-style setup, with up to 8 people per room. Each volunteer in Tanzania is provided with a mosquito net and their own bed linen. During the winter months, participants are recommended to bring additional bedding, such as a sleeping bag. Bathrooms at the Volunteer House are communal, with a western-style toilet and shower. When possible, there is hot water in the accommodation.
There is free Wi-Fi within the house. This can be intermittent, therefore volunteers in Tanzania are also recommended to purchase a local SIM card in-country to use with an unlocked mobile phone. The accommodation has a communal area with comfy sofas to relax in during the evening. There is also a refrigerator for volunteers to store food and drinks as they wish. There is a weekly laundry service available for a nominal fee, or volunteers in Tanzania may choose to hand wash their clothes. For extra security, a nightguard is employed on the premises. Individuals on a volunteer trip to Tanzania are recommended to bring a small padlock. Any valuables can be stored with our local team, however, volunteers are encouraged to only bring essential items during their volunteer work in Tanzania. It is recommended that volunteers pack earplugs if they choose to stay in the Volunteer House across the weekend. This follows events held at the restaurant across the road from the Volunteer House during this time. Please note that power cuts are fairly commonplace in Tanzania although they tend not to last more than a couple of hours.
Our in-country directors live on-site in the volunteer accommodation to ensure that everything runs smoothly. There is a great atmosphere at the accommodation and you will meet some wonderful people to share your experience with. Most of our volunteer projects in Tanzania are not within walking distance of the Volunteer House. In these cases, you will need to travel to and from the volunteer placement each day. The local team will introduce you to different options during your orientation.
During our busiest months, you may be placed in alternative accommodation. For instance, you could be placed in one of our secondary Volunteer Houses.
Volunteers receive breakfast and dinner at the Volunteer House, which is freshly prepared on-site by our cook. Meals are a mixture of Tanzanian and Western cuisine. You should budget around £2 per day for lunch if you plan to eat local meals or £4 to £5 for Western food.
Generally, we have a two-week rotating menu, which offers a varied choice of meals. For breakfast, you will receive cereal, or fruit salad, or boiled eggs, a Spanish omelet, or pancakes.For your evening meal, you may have pasta, lentils and chapatti, burgers (beef and veggie), or banana and potato stew. We will always have a vegetarian option available and can cater to the majority of dietary requirements.There are Western supermarkets in Arusha where you can purchase food and store it at the house if you’d like to prepare your own lunch/meals.*Please inform us in your application if you have any dietary requirements.
Good access at the project site
What's NOT included?
The nearest airport is Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) in Kilimanjaro. We assist you in finding cheap flights to Tanzania.
Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - travel insurance for Tanzania provides security and is a plus to have
If you intend to volunteer in Tanzania you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Tanzania.
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Arusha
Tanzania - Arusha
