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Childcare Volunteering in Tanzania - Arusha
Next start date available: Sep 1, 2023

Childcare Volunteering in Tanzania - Arusha

Excited to be a Childcare volunteer in Tanzania? International Volunteer HQ’s Childcare volunteer project is a great way for volunteers to assist at kindergartens and early childhood centers in low-income areas where many families rely on them for support while they go to work. Volunteers gain childcare experience while helping staff at centers which are often lacking adequate funds and resources to provide the kind of high quality childcare which helps young children grow and learn.

Highlights:
  • Programs start on the 1st and 15th of every month
  • Affordable fees from CA$415 for 1 week
  • Includes accommodation, meals, airport pick up, orientation and 24/7 support
  • Set up and run activities that help children to learn and have fun

  • Experience Tanzania’s amazing wildlife and landscapes

  • Stay near the spectacular Mt Kilimanjaro

Key information

Provide a safe space for children to learn
Based in childcare centers
Volunteer house or homestay
Volunteers aged 16+ and families
Fully hosted experience from CA$415 for 1 week
Durations from 1 - 16 weeks
Add on a safari in the Serengeti
Up to 5 hours volunteering a day

This program is ideal for:

Enthusiastic volunteers who want to help provide basic education and childcare for young children. You’ll have the support of local staff so no experience in childcare is required.
Who is this program suited to?

What to expect and how you'll make an impact

Childcare centers and kindergartens in low-income areas of Arusha are often lively places, and many families rely on them for support while they go to work for the day. Volunteers can ease the workload of local staff and help them provide better quality care for preschoolers.

As a Childcare volunteer you will assist in daycares and kindergartens that are often underfunded, under-resourced and in need of extra help. Volunteers provide valuable support by:

  • Assisting with teaching
  • Caring for children
  • Playing games and arranging activities
  • Helping with feeding and mealtimes
  • Interacting and engaging with children
  • Other general duties.

You’re welcome to bring along books, pencils, basic first aid supplies and musical instruments to help entertain the children and assist with activities. These supplies can generally be purchased in Tanzania, which also helps to support the local economy.

Contributes to United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #4: Quality Education

Contributes to United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #4: Quality Education

More than half of all children and teens do not meet minimum proficiency standards in reading and mathematics. Quality education provides an opportunity to learn and grow in a safe environment and is key to preventing poverty, securing long-term employment and improving quality of life.

Why do Childcare volunteering in Arusha with IVHQ?

When you volunteer with children in Tanzania you’ll be helping teach the kids, while also developing personally and professionally by:

  • Teaching independently and/or assisting with teaching
  • Improving early childhood education for disadvantaged communities
  • Helping students develop life skills in a safe place
  • Gaining childcare experience
  • Immersing yourself in Tanzanian culture
  • Discovering Africa’s incredible wildlife

Volunteer requirements

  • Volunteers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or friend who is over 18 to participate in this program
  • Volunteers aged 16-18 are required to provide IVHQ with parental consent in order to participate on the program independently, and may be asked to provide additional documentation to the local team
  • All volunteers are required to provide a criminal background check to IVHQ prior to departure, or if aged under 18 need to provide two character reference letters instead
  • All volunteers are required to have adequate volunteer travel insurance
  • All volunteers must speak fluent English.
Are you eligible to volunteer?

Submit a free application so we can confirm your eligibility and check availability for your preferred dates.

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Academic course credit through International Volunteer HQ and Intern Abroad HQ.

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”IVHQ made preparing for out trip abroad so easy! The guide tells you step by step what needs to me done, gives you correct links to get it done, and offers personal support throughout the entire process! The local team on the ground in Tanzania was wonderful! From the minute you walked out of the airport and saw the driver with an IVHQ sign, to meeting the ...read more

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Volunteer Abroad in Tanzania with IVHQ

Location

The IVHQ Tanzania volunteer program is based in Arusha, a small city often used as the base of many safari trips into the Serengeti and other national parks. It’s also near Africa’s highest mountain, Mt Kilimanjaro. Tanzania as a whole is known for its seemingly boundless areas of wilderness where African animals roam, sometimes migrating in vast groups across the plains; and also being the country where the oldest human skull and even older fossils of human ancestors were found.

Despite its many attractions, communities in many parts of Tanzania still lack access to the basic necessities of life. Volunteer projects based in rural and urban areas around Arusha and nearby help to provide better access to healthcare, education and childcare.

Arrival and orientation

The program orientation begins on the 1st and 15th of every month and volunteers need to arrive in Arusha on the day before orientation.

After you have registered for the program, please book your flights to arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport (ARK) in Arusha. Your airport pick-up is included in your program fee. We recommend that volunteers under the age of 18 travel internationally with a notarized letter from their parents to support their documentation. When you arrive, you will be greeted at the airport by a member of the local team and transported to the volunteer accommodation in Arusha. Your accommodation is covered by your program fee and includes the night before your program orientation.

If you are traveling in Tanzania prior to your volunteer program, we can arrange for you to be picked up in Arusha on the day before your program orientation. Orientation is hosted by our local team at one of the volunteer houses in Arusha. Orientation begins on the morning of your chosen start date. If your start date falls on a weekend or a public holiday, your orientation will begin on the Monday or day following the public holiday. Orientation covers everything you need to know for your volunteer program in Tanzania – an introduction to Tanzania, Tanzanian customs, rules and expectations, language lessons (Kiswahili), safety, travel opportunities in Tanzania, and an introduction to your project and placement. The orientation will also give you a chance to meet other volunteers and swap contact details for weekend travel and socializing.

Volunteer schedule example

First Day

On the first day of the volunteering placement, you will be escorted to the project by our local staff and introduced to the staff at the project you will be working with.

Weekdays

Work and hours are dependent on the project and placement that each volunteer is working at. A typical volunteer day would be as follows:

7:30 AM Breakfast at the volunteer house or homestay.
8:00 AM Volunteers leave home and travel to their placements. Work and hours are dependent on the project and placement that each volunteer is working at.
1:00 PM Work at the placement usually ends. Volunteers are free to travel home for lunch at their accommodation, prepare for the next day or do some shopping and sightseeing.
8:30 PM Dinner at the volunteer house or homestay

Weekends

Tanzania is a wildlife lover’s dream. In your free time you can venture out on a safari and see Africa’s Big 5 - lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards and rhino - as well as the mind-blowing number of other species that call Tanzania home.

In Arusha itself you can find great markets, take a few days to hike up the nearby Mt Meru, or learn about the Maasai and Meru tribes of the area. You can also take take a short flight down to Zanzibar for a weekend of sun and sandy beaches or save some time before or after your program to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Accommodation and WiFi

Volunteers in Tanzania are either accommodated in a volunteer house or a​ ​homestay with a host family. Volunteers can expect to share a room with 1 to​ 8 other volunteers of the same gender and volunteer houses can accommodate up to 30 volunteers at a time. Volunteers in homestays can expect to be living with at​ ​least four other volunteers. The volunteer house and homestays have running water and electricity but it is important to note that there are​ ​often power outages which affect availability of hot water and power.

Bedding is​ ​provided, however you will need​ ​to bring​ ​your own towel and toiletries. It is​ ​also​ ​recommended to bring​ ​a​ sleeping bag for cooler months and weekends away​.

​In the volunteer house, there is a cook who​ ​​prepares meals for the​ ​volunteers and there is a security guard.​ ​The local​ ​​team​​ are also available on a daily basis​ during the week for support and via phone over the weekend.​

If you would like to keep connected during your stay, we recommend bringing an unlocked mobile phone and purchasing a local SIM card when you arrive in Tanzania. The local team can assist you with purchasing a SIM card during your program orientation. You can also access WiFi from cafes and restaurants in Arusha.

If you would like to arrive a day earlier than your recommended arrival date, or wish to spend a few extra nights after finishing your program, we can arrange extra nights of accommodation for you for US$35 (approximately CA$49) per person, per night, meals included, subject to availability.

If you would like to arrange extra nights of accommodation, just make a note in your application or contact your IVHQ Program Manager who will be happy to assist you.

Meals

Tanzanian cuisine varies across the country, owing to the difference in produce inland and along the coast. The immigration of Khoja Indians has resulted in local dishes influenced by Indian cuisine. Staple foods in Tanzania include rice, ugali (maize porridge), chapatti and beans.

Volunteers in the volunteer house are served four meals per day. Breakfasts generally consist of eggs served with pancakes, mandazzi (deep fried dough balls) or cake and always plenty of fruit and bread with jam and spread if you prefer toast.

Lunch will be a traditional meat dish (chicken or beef) with a vegetable dish, beans, lentils or cooked vegetables served with rice, pasta, chips or chapatti.

Soup is served around 4pm with bread rolls. homestay houses will not serve soup Dinner will be different to lunch but similar in that it will normally consist of a traditional meat dish (chicken or beef) with a vegetable dish, beans, lentils or cooked vegetables served with rice, pasta or chapatti.

Meals are served at the accommodation, however some fruit can be provided and you can feel free to make a sandwich upon request if your placement is due to finish after lunch time.

Bottled water is readily available in Tanzania and volunteers should budget approximately $5 per week for 2 liters a day. Filtered water is available at the all accommodation it is volunteer preference if you choose to buy water or use the free filtered water.

If you have any special dietary requirements, please let us know so we can make arrangements for you. However, we need to stress the point that you should not expect to eat as you normally do at home. We will do our best to see that you are well taken care of, but as a volunteer, there is a need to be flexible.

Pricing

Duration
1 week CA$415 Equivalent to CA$59/day
2 weeks CA$585 Equivalent to CA$42/day
3 weeks CA$831 Equivalent to CA$40/day
4 weeks CA$1029 Equivalent to CA$37/day
5 weeks CA$1240 Equivalent to CA$35/day
6 weeks CA$1451 Equivalent to CA$35/day
8 weeks CA$1895 Equivalent to CA$34/day
10 weeks CA$2361 Equivalent to CA$34/day
12 weeks CA$2826 Equivalent to CA$34/day
16 weeks CA$3756 Equivalent to CA$34/day
  • Accommodation
  • Meals
  • 24/7 in-country support
  • In-country program orientation
  • Pre-departure support from your Program Manager
  • Airport pick-up
  • Personalized preparation tools, guides and check lists
  • Access to IVHQ’s preferred insurance and flights partners
  • Discounts on travel and tour add-ons
  • Certificate of International Volunteer Service

Learn more about what's included in your IVHQ Registration Fee and Program Fee.

  • All programs attract a Registration Fee of US$329 (approximately CA$463) in addition to the Program Fee. This covers all pre-departure support services. IVHQ fees are priced in USD but you may elect to pay in CAD.
  • A 5% international banking fee is added at point of payment.
  • Independent volunteers under the age of 18 will have an additional cost of US$80 per week added to their program fee to cover extra logistical support provided by the local team.
  • Additional things to budget for include: Visa, flights, travel insurance (mandatory), vaccinations, criminal background check, public transport to and from your placement each day and return to the airport when your program finishes.
  • Recommended spending money: Volunteers in Tanzania generally find US$75-100 per week to be sufficient for expenses.

Go off the beaten track with wildly exhilarating Tanzania adventures

From game drives with lion, elephant and rhino to climbing the tallest freestanding mountain in the world and visiting Africa’s ancient tribes - Tanzania offers some of the most awe-inspiring travel opportunities on the planet.

We believe that no volunteer adventure would be complete without experiencing these wonders. That’s why we offer safaris, guided hikes and other tours, exclusively available to IVHQ volunteers as affordable add-ons.

Learn more about Tanzania tours and add-ons

Here are just a few of the Tanzania add-ons we offer:

Get up close to flamingoes or visit the ancient Maasai tribe - perfect for your #IVHQweekends! We offer a range of Maasai Village Tours, as well as trips to Moshi and Bushmen/Eyasi.

We offer a range of incredible safari tours and game drives to suit every schedule and budget across Lake Manyara, Tarangire and Serengeti National Parks. Safari tours range from one to four days.

Tick something truly epic off your bucket list by climbing Kilimanjaro, the tallest freestanding mountain in the world and also known as the “Mountain of Greatness”. Guided hiking tours range from five to seven days.

See more Tanzania adventures

How to book IVHQ’s recommended add-ons:

When you apply for an IVHQ volunteer program, make a note of which tours and add-ons you’re interested in on your application form so we can check availability and prices for you.

Once you’ve paid your registration fee, your Program Manager will be able to book your place on the tour(s) you have chosen and help you organize your trip.

See our Tanzania Tours and Recommended Add-ons page for more awesome volunteer travel options in Tanzania.

Check what's required to visit Tanzania

Check out the widget below to find out what the Covid-19 restrictions and visa requirements are for Tanzania, based on your country of residence.

Safety and support with IVHQ

Safety and support

IVHQ follows best practice and industry-leading health and safety procedures, which are regularly reviewed and optimized as part of the B Corporation recertification.

  • All volunteers encouraged to complete our interactive pre-departure training.
  • All local teams trained on best practice volunteer management & First Aid.
  • All IVHQ programs are required to adhere to IVHQ's Risk Management Policy.
  • All volunteers have access to 24/7 in-country support from our local team.
Learn more about IVHQ's safety

Essential country information

Capital Dodoma
Population 58 million
Languages Swahili and English
Currency Tanzanian Shilling (TZS)
Time zone UTC+03:00

Weather and climate

Tanzania is hot throughout the year and is humid on the coast and dry on the central plateau. The heavy rains last from March to June and can make unsealed road travel difficult. The hot, dry weather in January and February attracts the most tourists. The best time to visit the Serengeti is from January to March, when the grazers are calving and there are plenty of lions around. Or witness the wildebeest migration to and from Kenya, which occurs at the onset of the dry season and again with the first rains, usually around the beginning of June and mid-November.

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How to get started

Pick a destination + project and apply for free
Meet your personal volunteer travel expert
Pay the Registration Fee to secure your place and upgrade your MyIVHQ account
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