Volunteering in Africa

If you have ever considered volunteering for a holiday DO IT. If it has never crossed your mind or you've never considered it before DO IT!!!!!!! I was of the same mindset. You can call me naive, uneducated, or just had a basic idea of what traveling was. I never knew volunteering was an option for travel until I was shown an instagram post by my better half. I was shown a picture from an organisation called IVHQ- International Volunteer Headquarters and 2 hours of research later we were registered with the organisation and had applied to volunteer in Arusha, Tanzania for 2 weeks. We had applied to work as teachers in an orphanage. Myself being a plumber and Jess working in the government, teaching wasn't exactly our forte. It was October and we were leaving in January, to say i was nervous and it was daunting was an understatement.

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In the 3 months leading up to leaving for our trip there were so many things to organise. We had flights, vaccines, fundraising and most importantly researching exactly what we were going to be undertaking. The flights were the easy part. From Sydney we were able to book flights with Etihad to Nairobi, Kenya and a connecting flight with Air Kenya to Kilimanjaro for $2100 AUD. Next was the vaccines which was the complicated part. We needed tetanus booster, meningococcal X 2, Hepatitis X 2, malaria tables and most importantly Yellow fever vaccine. This was the most difficult as only a specialist travel doctor can give it to you and you need this to be able to gain entry into both countries as they check your vaccine card. After doing our research we found we would be working with kids aged from 3-15 years old in a school for orphans and street kids. We approached the local pre-school; Macarthur Pre-school and asked for any clothes to be donated. We received an overwhelming response with close to 2 suitcases of clothes being donated.

We left on the 13th of January really having no idea of what we were getting ourselves into. An hour stop-over in Abu Dhabi and 20 hours later we arrived in Nairobi. We arrived quite nervous as a large terror attack had occurred in Nairobi only a few weeks before we arrived. Already nervous we were unaware we had to have a visa to change terminals in Kenya and board our flight to Tanzania. Thankfully the people were extremely helpful and informed us we are able to get a visa from the airport for $20USD that would last a day whilst in transit. We arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport about 9:30pm, tired and exhausted from a 30 hour flight to find a representative of IVHQ waiting for us with a bus. On our 40 min trip from the airport to our share-house it was pitch black, no street lights and what little light there was we could see people out on the street, in vans and trucks overflowing with people on the back out the sides of the vehicles. Just from a 40minute trip to our house scared and nervous we where immediately questioning our decision.

When volunteering you have 2 options for accomodation; there is a home stay where you live with a local family and live as the locals do or there is a house share where you are in a house with 10-15 other volunteers, a security guard and 2 cooks and cleaners. Our house was a fabulous 3 bedroom (with mosquito netted bunk beds) with a large communal area, big outdoor space with veggie gardens. We had a mixture of volunteers, mostly Australian 2 Canadians and one from South Korea. After waking from a nervous sleep we got treated to a delicious breakfast cooked by one of the house Mummas (and boarded a bus for our orientation and town tour. Following a brief Swahili lesson and a walk through Arusha town our nerves turned into love and excitement!

The place we were assigned to volunteer at was a place called East African Orphanage approximately 30mins from our house. Its a small orphanage consisting of 2 classes. A junior class made up of 3-8 year olds and 8 and up in the senior class. In Tanzania an orphanage is a place where kids without parents live until they get adopted or come of age like we perceive it in the western world. Here an orphanage is a place where kids with no parents and street kids come to school to learn and eat and socialise. These kids may still have family and live with relatives but these relatives are unable to provide properly for them. The orphanage was founded by a young Tanzanian man called Sam who personally goes to every childs home or street they are living in to make sure they are in need of his help and aren't trying to take advantage of his good will. He provides all the food for the kids and with help of volunteers like ourselves and 2 other teachers provides the kids with an education.

When we arrived to the orphanage after a 10 min walk through forest and dirt tracks we came across a blue tarp fence with rooms made of tarp and logs and a little sign out the front in black writing East African Orphanage. This itself was eye opening, the tarps were ripped and tattered from vandals and the weather. There was not even a proper building for these kids to feel safe and learn in. Upon arrival we were greeted by a happy and grateful Sam as well as the standoffish and curious kids. Once the introductions and formalities had taken place we were given a tour of the school, introduced to the kids and other teachers. That introduction to the kids is all it took for them to warm to us and eventually form a bond that was truly special. The rest of the day was dedicated to fun. We did everything from skipping to playing football and just hanging out. We introduced the kids to cameras and phones which was a brand new experience for them and one they loved. On arrival home every afternoon we would spend an hour just going through the photo the kids had taken. Many of these photos were of nothing, but were also the best memories and the most special photos we took. By the end of the day the kids where fighting over who got picked up next, who wore the hat next, who used our camera next and who we skipped with next. These kids literally have nothing, some don't even have a family but yet they are the most appreciative, the nicest and the most happy people I have ever met. Words don't describe the nature and personality of these wonderful people.

Over the next 2 weeks we learnt the kids names one by one, prepared food, learnt what Sams vision for the orphanage was and turned this place into our second home. A home where we would be excited to go to every morning and every afternoon and never wanted to leave. In the morning we would alternate between spending hours teaching the young kids to count to 10 to write the basics of english. The hours before lunch were spent with older kids teaching African history (remember I'm a plumber), english and math. The kids are soo happy to learn and so attentive it made teaching a pleasure. Following a pre-prepared fruit lunch by Sam we would have a choice at lunch, have rings run around me in football by early teens or be embarrassed in skipping by 5 year olds, either way i was humbled and finished with a massive smile on my face. After lunch, which could last from 30 minutes until home time, how we used the rest of the day was up to us. We could teach what we want, to who we wanted. If we weren't teaching we were helping Sam run the place or helping him with his plans for the future and his visions for the place. During our time there work had started on a well for fresh water which Sam funds by working nights after going to university in the afternoons to pay for everything at the Orphanage. This orphanage is his life and his life work. He has changed the lives of so many kids and will continue to do so. Working at this place for 2 weeks changed our lives for the better and also something else I can't put into text as there are no words to describe what you get out of doing something like this. Not only is it a cheap way to travel and also addictive, it is extremely rewarding. A must do for everyone who wants to travel - at least once.

Make sure you check my photos out in the photos section to see exactly what I'm talking about because as they say a picture tells a thousands words.

break down of our trip cost.

FLIGHTS:$2100

REGISTRATION FOR IVHQ:$179

COST FOR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM:$500

NEEDLES $approx 500