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Fantastic 4.54rating (29)
  • Reduced Inequalities

Second Chances for Teenage Mothers

location
1 - 12 weeks  ·  Age 17 - 50+
Verified

Highlights

  • Support a Tanzanian NGO that takes in more than 30 young mothers and their babies each year - women who had to leave school when they fell pregnant, often far too young.
  • Teach a trade that pays: the centre runs training in tailoring, hairdressing, cooking and handicrafts, and volunteers work directly alongside those workshops.
  • Choose the role that fits your skills - English teaching, computer training, pre-school assistance, marketing and fundraising, or the Montessori daycare.

Highlights

  • Support a Tanzanian NGO that takes in more than 30 young mothers and their babies each year - women who had to leave school when they fell pregnant, often far too young.
  • Teach a trade that pays: the centre runs training in tailoring, hairdressing, cooking and handicrafts, and volunteers work directly alongside those workshops.
  • Choose the role that fits your skills - English teaching, computer training, pre-school assistance, marketing and fundraising, or the Montessori daycare.
  • Work with a project whose focus is women and girls who have survived gender-based violence and trafficking, helping them reach real financial independence.
  • Base yourself in Arusha, the gateway to the northern safari circuit - the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater are weekend trips from your front door.
    • You don't have to pay anything yet

    Especially good for

    Age 17+
    Singles
    Couples
    Groups
    50+

    About the program

    Support a Tanzanian NGO helping teenage mothers finish their education and train in a trade, while their children are cared for in the on-site Montessori daycare.

    What the project does

    In Tanzania a girl who becomes pregnant has, in practice, usually finished with school. This centre in Arusha exists to reverse that. It takes in more than thirty young mothers a year, houses them with their babies, and gives them two things at once: the basic education they ...

    About the program

    What the project does

    In Tanzania a girl who becomes pregnant has, in practice, usually finished with school. This centre in Arusha exists to reverse that. It takes in more than thirty young mothers a year, houses them with their babies, and gives them two things at once: the basic education they missed, and a trade they can actually earn from.

    Its wider remit is women and girls who have survived gender-based violence and trafficking, in both urban and rural Tanzania. The goal is not sympathy but social and economic stability – a woman who leaves with a skill, a qualification and a plan.

    How it works

    Vocational training runs in tailoring, hairdressing, cooking and handicrafts, alongside entrepreneurship and literacy teaching. While the mothers are in class or in the workshop, their children are cared for in a Montessori daycare on site – which is the practical detail that makes the whole model possible.

    Where you fit

    You will not be handed a single fixed job. Volunteers are placed according to what they can actually offer and what the centre needs that month, and most people end up combining two or three roles:

    • English teaching, and basic literacy and numeracy
    • Computer training – genuinely in demand and often the hardest role to fill
    • Tailoring, handicraft and cooking instruction, if you have the skill
    • Hairdressing training
    • Pre-school assistance and support in the Montessori daycare
    • Marketing and fundraising – helping the centre sell what its workshops produce

    If you have a professional skill, say so on your application. A volunteer who can teach bookkeeping, run a social media account or set up a simple online shop is worth a great deal to a project like this.

    Practicalities

    Minimum age 17. A clean criminal background check is required, and under-18s need a parental consent form. You will stay in the volunteer house in Arusha with other volunteers from around the world.

    Typical day

    Morning

    Breakfast at the volunteer house with the other volunteers, then to the centre with your coordinator. Mornings are when the structured sessions run – classes, workshop time, or the daycare depending on what you are doing that day.

    Through the day

    If you are teaching, you will have your own ...

    Typical day

    Morning

    Breakfast at the volunteer house with the other volunteers, then to the centre with your coordinator. Mornings are when the structured sessions run – classes, workshop time, or the daycare depending on what you are doing that day.

    Through the day

    If you are teaching, you will have your own group and a rough syllabus to work to. If you are in the workshops, you will be working alongside the trainers, and the mothers will teach you as much as you teach them. If you are in the daycare, you will be with the toddlers and babies so that their mothers can concentrate on their training.

    The centre runs on very little, so the practical stuff matters too – helping with meals, organising materials, and joining whatever fundraising or awareness work is running that week.

    Late afternoon and evening

    Back to the volunteer house. Arusha's town centre is close by for a coffee, the Maasai market or dinner out. Evenings at the house tend to be the social hub, with volunteers from several different projects comparing notes.

    Weekends

    Free, and this is Arusha – the staging post for the entire northern safari circuit. The team can help you book the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire or Lake Manyara, and Kilimanjaro day hikes and Materuni waterfall trips are easy shorter options.

    Free-time activities

    Volunteering runs Monday to Friday, so you have your evenings and every weekend free. Arusha is an unusually good base for that.

    Safari - the reason most people come to northern Tanzania

    Arusha is the gateway to the northern circuit and the local team will help you book. The Serengeti and the Ngorongor

    Free-time activities

    Volunteering runs Monday to Friday, so you have your evenings and every weekend free. Arusha is an unusually good base for that.

    Safari - the reason most people come to northern Tanzania

    Arusha is the gateway to the northern circuit and the local team will help you book. The Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater are the classic two- or three-day trips. Tarangire, famous for its elephant herds and baobabs, and Lake Manyara with its tree-climbing lions are both doable in a single day. Arusha National Park is on the doorstep and cheap enough for a spare afternoon.

    Kilimanjaro and the mountains

    You do not need a week to see Kilimanjaro. Day hikes on the lower slopes, the Materuni waterfall and the coffee-farm tours around Moshi are all straightforward weekend trips. If you want to actually summit, plan it for the end of your placement and budget properly - permits alone are substantial.

    In Arusha

    The Maasai Market is the place for carvings, fabric and beadwork, and haggling is expected. The Cultural Heritage Centre is worth an afternoon. There is a good cafe and restaurant scene around the clock tower, and volunteers from the different projects tend to congregate in the same handful of places.

    Further afield

    Zanzibar is a short domestic flight and makes an excellent end-of-programme week - beaches, Stone Town and spice farms. Some volunteers combine the two.

    Weekend trips and safaris can be arranged through your in-country coordinator, and add-on tours can also be booked in advance through your online account.

    Requirements

    Requirements

    Minimum Age: 17 years

    In order to join the program you need to be at least 17 years old on the program start date.

    Criminal Background Check

    required

    Required Documents

    Criminal background check

    Nationality Restrictions

    No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.

    Other Skills

    No qualifications are required, but this project rewards people who bring a specific skill. Tailoring, hairdressing, cooking, bookkeeping, computer literacy, social media and marketing are all directly useful, so say what you can do on your application and you will be placed accordingly. Swahili is not needed. A clean criminal background check is required; under-18s need parental consent.

    Time Commitment

    Your helping hand will be required on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

    What's Included

    What's Included

    On-site Services

    Included

    • Airport pickup at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), or from the bus station in Arusha if you arrive overland
    • Accommodation at the volunteer house for your whole stay
    • Meals as provided at the volunteer house
    • Orientation on arrival and your placement at the project
    • 24-hour assistance and support from the in-country team
    • Help booking weekend safaris and other trips
    • Comprehensive pre-departure information
    • Certificate of participation, on request

    Not included

    • Airfare
    • Travel and medical insurance – mandatory, and available through us at extra cost
    • Visa and volunteer permit fee – Tanzania charges a permit on top of the visa, so budget for both
    • Return airport drop-off – can be arranged locally at extra cost
    • Local transport, vaccinations and personal spending
    • Safari and weekend trips – the team will book them for you, but the cost is yours

    The price shown already includes your application fee – there is nothing further to pay us on arrival. Programme fees can be paid in interest-free instalments, with the balance due 45 days before departure.

    Airport Pickup at Kilimanjaro International Airport

    Airport pickup is included. Fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), roughly an hour from Arusha, and a member of the local team will meet you and drive you to the volunteer house.

    If you are arriving overland – from Nairobi, Dar es Salaam or elsewhere in Tanzania – you will be collected from the bus station in Arusha instead, and that is included as well.

    The return drop-off is not included in the programme fee, but the team can arrange transport for a small additional charge. Give them a couple of days' notice of your flight.

    Note that Tanzania requires a volunteer permit in addition to a tourist visa. The team will confirm the current fee before you travel; it is payable by you and is not part of the programme fee.

    Accommodation

    You stay at the volunteer house in Arusha, shared with other volunteers and interns from around the world working across our different Tanzanian projects. Rooms are shared, and for most people that mix is a large part of what makes the placement work – you arrive on your own and end up with a group to travel with at weekends.

    The house has the basic amenities you need rather than luxury: running water, electricity, communal living space and somewhere to eat together. A local coordinator manages it and is on hand throughout your stay.

    Arusha town centre is close by, and the house is the launch point for weekend safari trips out to the northern circuit.

    Food & Beverages

    Meals are provided at the volunteer house and are included in your fee. Expect Tanzanian home cooking – rice, ugali, beans, stewed vegetables, chapati, and fruit that is far better than anything you will get at home.

    If you are vegetarian, or have allergies or other dietary requirements, note them on your application form and remind the house team when you arrive. Tanzanian cooking accommodates vegetarians easily.

    Drink bottled or filtered water rather than tap water. It is cheap and available everywhere. Budget separately for meals out in Arusha and for food on safari weekends.

    Internet Access

    Good access at the project site
    You don't have to pay anything yet

    What's NOT included?

    What's NOT included?

    Flight Tickets

    The nearest airport is Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) in Kilimanjaro. We assist you to find cheap flights to Tanzania. FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS

    Travel Insurance

    Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Tanzania provides security and is a plus to have. GET A QUOTE

    Vaccines

    If you are intending to volunteer in Tanzania you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Tanzania. VACCINE CHECKER

    Details on arrival

    Start dates: weekly, year-round – choose whichever week suits you.

    Airport: Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), about an hour from Arusha. You will be met on arrival and driven to the volunteer house. If you are coming overland from Nairobi or Dar es Salaam, you will be collected from the bus station in Arusha instead – that is included too.

    Airport drop-off at the end is not included, but the local team can arrange it for an extra charge. Ask them a couple of days before you fly.

    Visa: most nationalities need a visa for Tanzania. A volunteer permit fee is also payable and is not included in your programme fee – the team will tell you the current amount before you travel, so budget for it.

    Health: yellow fever vaccination is required if you are arriving from a country where it is present, and antimalarials are strongly recommended. See a travel clinic well before departure.

    Spending money: budget for lunches, local transport and any safari trips you book – the latter is the big one, so plan for it.

    Availability
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

    Program Fees

    $436 per week 1 - 12 weeks Age 17 - 50+

    Payment methods

    Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

    NO CREDIT CARD FEES

    Duration

    1 - 12 weeks

    Deposit

    Reserve your spot with just a few clicks and a small, secure deposit. You can pay by credit card, PayPal, or other convenient methods.

    Final Payment

    You’ll agree on the final payment method with your local organization during the application process. This final payment is only due closer to the start of your trip.

    You don't have to pay anything yet
    4.5
    Top Pick
    One of the top picks on Volunteer World, according to travelers

    Location

    Africa > Eastern Africa > Tanzania > Arusha

    Meet your project coordinator

    Sahil
    29
    reviews
    4.54
    Fantastic
    2007
    Founded

    Verified

      Below average response rate
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    Travel dates

    1. - 1. Jan 1

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