Overview
Want to look after underprivileged children and enjoy a stunning tropical island at the same time?
Zanzibar is a sun drenched island located off the coast of Tanzania, rich in history, culture and full of amazing beaches. Stone Town is the old city and the cultural heart of Zanzibar and here you will be able to explore the winding alleyways, bustling bazaars, mosques - not forgetting the extravagant dwellings of the Arab elite. Stone Town is so awesome that it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Along with living in this wonderful place you will be helping to teach and care for some amazing children in nurseries or day centres.
Trip Highlights:
- Exploring the beautiful beaches of Zanzibar
- Working with some amazing children
- Tasting the excitingly exotic island dishes
- Soaking up the rich cultural heritage of this incredible island
Fast facts
What's included
What's not included
Itinerary
Day 1 (Saturday) – Arrive into Zanzibar
Welcome to Zanzibar! You’ll be met by a member of the i to i team at the airport. Then it’s a short drive to your accommodation where you will be able to settle in to your room. Here you’ll have time to relax after your long journey, meet other volunteers and start to acclimatise to the lovely warm air.
If you aren’t able to arrange a flight to get you into Zanzibar on your official arrival date then we’d recommend you fly in a day early. We can arrange an early airport pick-up for you including one night’s accommodation. Please give us a call for more information.
Day 2 (Sunday) – Zanzibar!
Today you will have your orientation meeting which is a crucial part of settling in to life as a ‘Mzungu’ (Westerner) in Tanzania. You’ll have the opportunity to meet the local team who will take you through what it’s going to be like at your project, do’s and don’ts, how to stay safe. This is your prime opportunity to ask any burning questions that you haven’t yet had answered.
After the orientation you’ll have some time to relax and prepare before your first day at the project tomorrow, or if you prefer you can head out into Stone Town and start exploring!
Day 3 – Monday - Meet the kids;
Today is the day that you will meet the kids and the team that you will be working with! You will be accompanied by the in country team - it is only about a 25 minute walk away.
Days 4 to 7 - Tuesday to Friday - Getting stuck in!
Over your time at the project you'll be doing a variety of different things from looking after the children and teaching them English to playing games and helping put some fun in their lives! Be prepared to be flexible and get immersed in whatever is needed by the project. Don`t forget that the kids here are much more enthusiastic to learn than back home so be prepared for lots of questions! You will be working at the centre from 9am to 3pm, the children are aged between 6 months and 6 years so be prepared for some fun times!
Days 8 and 9 - Saturday to Sunday - Free time
It's the weekend! Take in the wonderful atmosphere or if you feel more energetic then take a wander around Stone Town. The beaches are gorgeous, why not head there for the day?
Following weeks
As you'll be in Zanzibar for at least another week you'll have time to get a real feeling for this beautiful island. Your time will be filled helping looking after these adorable children through creative play, support and whatever is needed by the project.
Your last day - Saturday
Your last day will come around more quickly than you realise and it will be time to head home or on to further travel. You can take a taxi to airport in Zanzibar (or if you arrived into Dar Es Salaam you can take a taxi to the ferry port and then after the ferry trip you can take a taxi to Dar Es Salaam airport. If your flight is early in the morning then you can transfer to Dar Es Salaam on the Friday and stay overnight, our team can help you with these arrangements.) Please note that the return transfer is not covered within your project fee.
Please note that the project may be affected during the week of Eid celebrations.
Visa Information:
When you’re volunteering in Tanzania the project you work with benefits from your help. You’ll need to apply for a Permit in order to do this; it’s a working Permit that allows you to volunteer. We’ll send you all the documents straight after booking so you know what you to do. The team in Tanzania will apply for your Permit and keep it with their records. You will need to enter Tanzania on a tourist visa which you can get on arrival (to be paid in US dollars cash, cost varies dependant on nationality).
IMPORTANT: If you want to travel around Tanzania, go on safari, climb Kili etc please ensure that you do this BEFORE your project start date whilst you are still on a tourist visa - the tourist visa you enter the country on gives you far greater freedom in terms of where go and what you do!
- Our team in country will be responsible for you under the rules and regulations of the Class C permit and you will need to confirm with them any weekend travel plans. This is to ensure that both they and you are able to ensure that you remain within the regulations of the work permit.
- Once you have started your project, due to the rules and regulations regarding work permits in Tanzania you will only able to take tours offered by our in-country partners. These will usually be during your free time at the weekends, you will be expected to work at the project through the week.
- After your trip, it is expected that you will leave Tanzania to return home. At this time you’ll cease to be the responsibility of our partner company. If you do wish to spend more time in East Africa you will need to head across the border to Kenya, get a tourist visa there and then return to Tanzania on a tourist visa as well. Both visas cost around US$50 so it is by far the cheapest option to do your tourist activities before you start your volunteering.
Project
What does the project do?
We work with a number of nurseries and day care centres in Zanzibar which aim not only to provide a safe caring place with a relaxed atmosphere but a good basis of education for the children of the area that are needing that extra care while their parents are out at work. You may find that some of the centres are homes where half of the house has been converted into a day care centre especially for the plight of the local children.
These projects provide a friendly atmosphere for these children and aim to give them the best start in life that they can. The importance of education is apparent as is the care that the children are given. These centres have up to 30 children and usually only a small number of teachers, so your extra pair of hands is definitely needed. The main aim of the centres is to widen the childrens English knowledge, but you will also be helping to prepare their food, sleep time and to help develop the children`s arts and crafts skills.
Activities and schedule
English, art, games, songs, reading, Kiswahili and sports are all taught at these nurseries and day centres. The children at these ages need to focus on developing their English skills, key motor skills and their language. You will be teaching English, singing, playing games, reading and writing with the children along with general basic care such as washing, feeding bathing etc. If you love babies and young children then this is the one for you!
You will be working Monday to Friday, for half a day's volunteering. If you want to volunteer for longer there are plenty of activities that need your help in the evenings from 5pm to 9pm such as helping the children with their homework, or playing sport.
Please note that school holidays run from the end of June to the middle of July, end of August to the beginning of September and beginning of December to beginning of January. During this time you will be involved in various activities such as painting and renovating the premises and holiday sessions or whatever is needed by the project. Please also note that schools are closed during Ramadan and you will participate in alternative activities such as above.
Project resources and advice
Zanzibar is very limited when it comes to stationary. Colouring books, ready books, coloured pencils, plastic scissors painting equipment and sharpeners are all very hard to come by so if you could brings a few of these, the project and the children would be so grateful.
As Tanzania is a modest country you will need to dress conservatively at your project so remember that shorts and skirts should be to the knee or below and tops and shirts should cover the shoulders. Bikinis, short skirts and shorts, strappy tops should be left for the beaches!
Please note that you will need to produce a yellow fever vaccination certificate on arrival.
Please check the itinerary to find out more about your visa requirements.
Accommodation
Tell me more?
Your accommodation in Stone Town is in a renovated colonial hostel right in the centre of the action, and is for the use of the volunteers only. You’ll be sharing a room and bathroom with up to six other volunteers.Each room has it’s own bathroom apart from one bedroom that has a separate bathroom - rooms are basic but do have a western style toilet, sink and a shower, water is based on cold water. There is a large area where there are chairs and tables for you to eat your meals, read, chat and relax.
Breakfast will be made for you, and lunch and dinner are for you to arrange for yourself. We’d suggest eating out as there is such fantastic food and it's all very cheap! However, if you fancy preparing something for yourself you can use the kitchen at the hostel.
We'd suggest bringing:
- Sleeping bag for the cooler winter months or if you plan on travelling on the weekends
- Towels
- Your bed will have a mosquito net but they are not new so you may prefer to bring your own.
- There is no TV (hooray!) so bring a couple of books to take to the beach with you
You’ll find local people dress surprisingly smartly. Bring trousers or long skirts and modest tops for your project.
What you get
What exactly do i to i Volunteering provide?
It may seem like a strange concept to pay for your volunteer experience. You'd be right if you think you shouldn't and the truth is you actually don't! Your placement is free; it's the benefits around it that you pay for. It's important to note that i to i Volunteering is a travel company and not a charity. We provide a professional travel service. We are responsible for finding and assessing worthwhile projects across the world, preparing you for the volunteering experience and supporting you whilst you're there.
Here’s some more information about what your placement fee covers….
Project sourcing and assessment
We work with hundreds of locally run partner projects around the world and are constantly sourcing new opportunities. We visit all projects to check that they are worthwhile and legitimate and we also conduct a thorough safety assessment before we'll send volunteers there.
Expert help-desk
Almost everyone who works for i to i Volunteering has traveled extensively or worked overseas. This means we're a goldmine of information; we're always available to offer support and guidance before, during and after your trip.
Thorough project briefing materials
Once you book on to a project you'll receive an online account that contains loads of general information about volunteering, about your chosen country and how to have fun and stay safe. We'll also give you advice on visas and inoculations.
Airport pickup
It can be pretty daunting arriving in a different country for the first time - especially after a long flight! If you arrive on your project start date, there'll be a welcoming face at the airport to pick you up and take you to your accommodation.
Arrival orientation
Soon after you arrive you will attend a thorough orientation with our in-country team. This is to cover important safety and security information. You'll also get some tips about sight-seeing options for your time off and maybe even learn some of the local lingo!
Accommodation and meals
Accommodation is included with all projects and meals are even included with some. We only use locally-owned and operated accommodation so that part of your placement fee is filtering back into the local economy. Most projects offer homestay, guesthouse or shared volunteer houses as standard accommodation, but some offer the chance to upgrade to a more comfortable living standard.
Local in-country coordinators
Your in-country team will arrange a pick-up for you at the airport and will conduct your orientation upon arrival. All coordination teams are English speaking and are locals of your destination country. They won't be at your project every day, but will be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week if you need them.
24/7 emergency support
Aside from the local support from your in-country team you'll be given access to a 24/7 emergency phone line manned by our response team in case any problem should arise while you're overseas. We also hire crisis management professionals to be on hand in case of a situation that requires additional expert support.
Ongoing training
The safety and security of our volunteers is paramount. For this reason we provide ongoing crisis management and emergency response training to our local teams around the world. We also fly in our in-country coordinators to the UK regularly for thorough training to help them offer the best safety to the thousands of volunteers they support each year.
Supporting our projects
We don't fund our projects directly from the project fee that you pay us. Instead we choose to support a number of projects through our Helping Hands Foundation to provide resources to those projects that really need it.
Recruiting people like you
We make no secrets of the fact that part of your placement fee is reinvested in to recruiting volunteers just like you! The volunteers recruited in one week will typically deliver over 2000 man-days of service. The difference this makes to projects overseas is immeasurable. Many of our overseas projects rely on assistance from international volunteers, so it's necessary for us to put together brochures and websites to find the people who can support them. This recruitment process is vital to ensure programs have a constant stream of reliable volunteers.
Volunteer numbers
Please note: You may be the only volunteer at your chosen project at any one time. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact us.
Next steps
Flights & insurance
Insurance
It's important that you get adequate travel insurance for your i to i Volunteering experience and as many of you will be working this often means standard policies won’t work. The good news is that no matter where you're coming from we have already found a policy to suit you.
The best time to get your insurance is when you book your project as this means you can get a fully tailored policy exclusive to i to i Volunteering, just ask your consultant for further details at the time of booking.
For prices, policies and key facts click here
Flights
As with insurance we advise you get these booked as early as possible to avoid high prices and to make sure you arrive on the right day. The i to i Volunteering team is right up to date with the best deals no matter where you’re flying from; their insider knowledge could save you some time and money.
