Volunteering in Tanzania was a rewarding, at times frustrating, yet totally inspirational. Here are the things that worked and didn’t work and what I would do differently the next time.
Volunteer Work: Like most volunteers, my expectations going into Tanzania were quite high, and as it turned out, fairly unrealistic. I imagined that by sharing my more than 25 years of expertise in teaching I would be able to positively impact teaching in Tanzania, at least at the school in which I was working and that I would also improve my own methodology by working with colleagues in Tanzania. I suspected that the language teaching methodology in Tanzania was out-dated, relying on rote memorization and language practice that was abstract and archaic, and I wanted to do what I could to raise awareness of more communicative teaching methodologies. As it turned out, there weren’t many opportunities to discuss teaching methodology with my Tanzanian colleagues primarily due to time restrictions and multiple interruptions in the teaching schedule. The time we did have together during our 20-minute morning breaks, we spent talking and arguing about issues outside of teaching and sharing ideas on broad and diverse topics. The one teaching issue that came up a lot centered around the question of disciplining students through corporal punishment. (While our colleagues politely listened to our reasoning against corporal punishment, I don’t think we influenced them at all on this issue).
My Canadian teaching colleague, Nick, and I essentially replaced faculty at the school, freeing them up to attend to extra-curricular matters. The irony is that Nick and I did a fair amount of team teaching together, which allowed the two of us to explore ideas and teaching techniques and learn from each other. But this did not happen with the Tanzanian teachers. So, if I were to do this again, I would strongly recommend that I team-teach with in-country teachers, on some sort of regular basis, to afford us the opportunity to learn from each other in planning and implementing techniques and strategies.
Living in Tanzania. In Tanzania, I lived in a house with, on average, 28 other volunteers, and 13 or so African staff who lived and worked at the “home base.” It was great to get to know so many sensitive, caring and committed individuals from Tanzania, Europe, Australia and the U.S. I learned a lot from them and developed friendships that I know will be long lasting. Two months, however, was a long time for me personally to live in such a communal setting (I was lucky that we were never more than three in my bedroom), and living in the very comfortable home base, both sheltered and isolated us from the realities of life of most Tanzanians. So, when I do this again, I will sign up with a volunteer organization, such as Cross-Cultural Solutions, for a shorter time, say two weeks, to get oriented to the country, area, culture, and volunteer opportunities and need. Then I will branch out on my own for the remainder of my time. In Moshi, for example, I saw ads for apartments and houses that looked comfortable and safe for around $250 a month. I could have rented one and either continued to work at my placement (assuming that would be possible) or approached other schools and NGOs in the area to do volunteer work on my own. There is plenty of need there.
While I feel I fell short of my goals with regard to teaching, most of my other expectations were surpassed. Living and working with Tanzanians was a richly rewarding cultural experience that will impact my life for years to come. I am also satisfied that my work there had a positive impact on my students at St. Theresia Secondary School. They certainly learned a lot about American and Canadian culture through our work with them as we dispelled myths and stereotypes about our cultures and explored the universalities of the human experience. I am sure that they benefited from the exposure they had to new ways of teaching and learning. I also hope that the pen pal project we initiated will continue to enrich their lives in the future.
Finally, I had hoped that I would find ways to continue to lend a hand in Tanzania after I left, and those opportunities are in certainly in abundance. I look forward to working with woman’s organizations and orphanages in Tanzania and Rwanda to assist them in developing projects that are sustainable and improve the lives of women and children there. And I look forward to returning to Tanzania in the future to following up on my work and preserve the unique friendships I made there.
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