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Our days begin early (6:15a.m.) and do not end until our last child has been put to bed (about 7:30p.m.). The “work” you will be asked to do may vary according to what you are assigned to. Everyone at the Children’s Village is expected to chip in whenever a gap needs to be filled – soothe a child who has just scraped his knee, assist with afternoon and weekend activities, help with bath time, and help with tutoring our children. Our main goal of the Children Village is to assure that our children feel loved and valued each and every day. In short, this may be the most difficult and the most rewarding work you have ever done. Still interested? Read on...
If you have chosen to volunteer, then you are clearly someone who loves children, likes to participate and take initiative, doesn’t mind getting dirty, and who thrives on a group setting. Volunteers are assigned to a specific job(s) during their time here based upon your skills and interests and our needs, but are expected to pitch in whenever a need arises. Our Volunteer Coordinator and our other volunteers are always there to help guide you through your first days until you are comfortable with our routine. You are rewarded daily for your efforts – a smile on a child’s face, a group hug from the kids, an appreciative word from other members of the staff – whatever amount of yourself you choose to give, you will get back tenfold in so many wonderful ways.
The volunteer opportunities are as follows:
Long Term Volunteers - a minimum commitment of 6 months (January-June or July-December) or a commitment of one year:
Volunteers are responsible for developing lesson plans and in most cases, providing any special teaching materials you require. Keep in mind that this school’s budget is limited. They grow vegetables behind the school and sell them to buy chalk!
The Gyetighi Primary School plays an integral role in Oldeani Village as well as in our children’s lives at the Children’s Village. Children six years old and up attend the Gyetighi Primary School. You will be working in a typical Tanzanian village school: this means that there is no glass in the windows, no electricity (no copy machine or computers) and no running water. What you will find are 450+ students who are eager to learn, desperate for your attention and anxious to form lasting relationships with you.
Pre-school Teacher – at the Children’s Village-Long term volunteer position
Most of the children who come to live with us at the Children’s Village have never been to school. To ease their transition to primary school, we provide an ongoing preschool program for our younger children. As funds become available, we will open this program to all the children of Oldeani village. The school program runs from 9a.m. to 12p.m. five days a week. Volunteers will be helping our children take their first critical steps towards preparing for formal education – listening to a story being read to them; coloring with crayons and markers; sitting in a circle and following the teachers instructions; learning the alphabet; using numbers and letters; and singing.
The first step in volunteering with us is to complete either our short-term volunteer application or long-term volunteer application depending on the length of time you are interested in volunteering with us. Once completed, please attach and send, along with a copy of your resume to Christy Slice, our Volunteer Coordinator, at tanzanianchildrensfund@habari.co.tz. Please include Emily Poole, epoole@tanzanianchildrensfund.org, on all correspondence so ensure that your emails reach Christy. Emily can also be reached at 207-553-2924.
Short Term Volunteer Application
Long Term Volunteer Application
Please also complete the release agreement. This should be sent along with your application.
Your Tourist Visa can be purchased in your home country through the Tanzanian embassy, prior to your departure. You can also purchase a visa at the airport/border of Tanzania. We strongly recommend you apply for a visa prior to arriving at the airport/border.
Your Room and Board fees are due in full, to our office, no later than 3 months prior to your arrival in Tanzania. You should also submit payment for your Internet fees at this time.
All checks should be written to Tanzanian Children’s Fund with a note indicating it is for your Administrative fee, Class C Residence Permit fee and/or room and board. If you are a U.S. taxpayer and the primary purpose of your trip is to provide services to the Tanzanian Children’s Fund, then your unreimbursed volunteer fees may be tax deductible. However, you should discuss the question of tax deductibility with your tax advisor as the Tanzanian Children’s Fund does not provide tax advice.
Please send all checks to:
Tanzanian Children’s Fund
Attn: Volunteer Coordinator
45 Exchange Street
Portland, Maine 04101
We ask that all volunteers contribute to room and board fees. Cooking, laundry and cleaning are all time consuming chores in Tanzania. As a result, we have included the costs to hire people dedicated to looking after these things for you. Your time is better spent if your day is free from constant clothes washing and room cleaning. All food for meals is provided. We live a 45 minute drive away from the closest town, Karatu, and so your fees also help to cover our transport costs of getting your food to you. You will have to pay for drinks like beer, wine, and soda during your stay here. All of these things can be purchased locally in Karatu.
Please contact our Volunteer Coordinator via e-mail at tanzanianchildrensfund@habari.co.tz for more information. Please note that since our Coordinator is located on site in Tanzania, there can be difficulty sending and receiving email. If you submit an application and/or an email and do not receive a response within a week, please contact Emily Poole in our Maine office at 207-553-2924 or email epoole@tanzanianchildrensfund.org.
If you would like to contact one of our previous volunteers to learn more about our program and our children, here is a list of volunteers who will try to answer your questions.
Laura Armitage lsarmitage@mac.com cell (912) 660-3663(volunteered in 2007, 2008 and 2009)
Sara Boisvert saraboisvert@mac.com cell (908) 230-7294 (volunteered in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009)
Peggy Wiles peggywiles@gmail.com cell (207) 651-0576 (Trustee, volunteered in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009)
Elissa Zirinsky ekzirinsky@gmail.com cell (516) 297-2499 (volunteered 2007-2008 and 2009)
Beth Currier currier5@yahoo.com cell (207) 883-1751 (Trustee, volunteered 2008 and 2009)
The day may begin at slightly different times for different volunteers depending on their job assignment. (We ask that all volunteers finish with breakfast by 8:30a.m. so that the house staff can clean up.)
Weekdays: Our children are up at 6:15a.m., eat breakfast at 6:30a.m., and do their morning chores until 7a.m. Volunteers help with breakfast for our children. From 7a.m. until 11:30a.m. all school-age children are occupied either at Gyetighi, the local primary school, in our on-site preschool or in on-site tutoring (both of which begin at 9a.m.). At 11:30a.m. our children in kindergarten, Standards 1 and 2 go to the local primary school for the remainder of the school day. Our pre-school children finish at Noon and then at 12:30p.m.head to lunch and an hour and a half of naptime from approximately 1p.m. until 2:30p.m. When our preschool children awaken, it’s PLAYTIME. Playtime usually runs from 2:30p.m. until 4:15p.m. This time may be free play or organized play and is an ideal time for volunteers to just have fun with our kids: kick a soccer ball, paint some pictures – use your creativity and imagination. During this afternoon time we run two sections of our English, Computer and Confidence class for local Standard 7 graduates. At 4:30p.m. our children return from school and everyone has bath time. With the help of the housemothers, student teachers and volunteers, every child has a bath and changes into clean clothes. At 5pm we put on a movie (the children take turns picking the movie for the day) and our kids are given a snack. Dinner for the children is served at 6:30p.m. and bedtime is at 7:30p.m.
Weekends: On Saturdays and Sundays volunteers plan longer, fun activities for our kids. In the past, we have taken walks, done scavenger hunts, held dance parties, and organized soccer games with the village children. This is a great opportunity for our kids to learn a bit about nature, get some real exercise and spend time with our volunteers. On Sundays, all of our children attend Sunday School, which runs from 9:30-10:30a.m. We are lucky to have a small playground, a wide variety of balls and active toys (soccer, badminton rackets, whiffle ball, etc) for our children to use during their free time. In all cases, volunteers are asked to participate and play with our kids during these times.
Since the Children’s Village is located a 45 minute drive from the closest town, all volunteers live here. Each Children’s House is a family of 12 children, 2 Tanzanian housemothers, and 2 volunteers. There are two children’s bedrooms-one for girls and one for boys. In addition, we have one bedroom for our live-in Tanzanian housemothers and one bedroom for our volunteers. Some volunteers may live in the Volunteer House.