Support Healthcare and Women's Rights

We are STEP Africa – Exchange for Change, a Tanzanian social enterprise that was founded in German-Tanzanian cooperation in 2014. We organize and supervise meaningful and ethical volunteer placements and internships in Arusha, Northern Tanzania. Till date we have hosted over 500 interns and volunteers from all over the world.

With our programs we aim to contribute towards international understanding and give our participants intercultural and global ability to act. With the support of our participants we are committed to worthy projects and initiatives in Tanzania. We believe that working together in intercultural teams by exchanging ideas and viewpoints will let everyone involved, Organizations such as volunteers and interns, benefit in the long run.

Our team combines relevant qualifications and many years of experience in project coordination, volunteer mediation and social work in Tanzania and abroad. Our supervisors are available as contact persons on site at any time for our volunteers and projects. We offer our volunteers the opportunity to use their knowledge in Tanzania to get involved in meaningful projects and to gain valuable professional experience in different fields such as Social Work, Women’s Rights, Primary Schools, Daycare Center, Health Care, Animal Welfare and Environmental Protection.

We firmly believe in the power of change through intercultural exchange. With our programs we promote and demand equal rights and cultural tolerance. We place our volunteers exclusively in projects in which they can gain valuable experience for their future. Our volunteers do not replace local employees. Volunteers are assistants who offer support to local staff and, for example, perform tasks for which there is otherwise too little time. It is important to us that we only place our volunteers in projects that share our values towards international volunteering.

Our Volunteers are encouraged to start fundraisers for their respective institutions in Tanzania before, during or after their stay in Arusha. We have experienced great success with this in the past and present and saw our volunteers making great impacts in this area as well. We are connected to several European NGOs founded by our former volunteers that are continuing to support and promote their former work institutions here in Tanzania.

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Project description  

HIMD is an NGO (non-governmental organization) founded by Mackrine Rumanyika in 2003, which works primarily for those affected by female genital mutilation, HIV / AIDS and teenage pregnancy, but also supports many other programs. HIMD relies on a health-based approach and is a non-confessional and non-tribal organization. The NGO is active throughout northern Tanzania in the regions of Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Manyara and Mara. The following programs are among the core activities of the organization.

Ekenywa Dispensary

Ekenywa Dispensary is a small clinic with 8 beds in the Ngaramtoni district of Arusha. The HIMD Head Office is also located in the immediate vicinity.  The clinic specializes in pregnancy care and birth support and mainly treats patients from the Masai communities that surround Ngaramtoni. General medical treatments, preventive examinations and minor surgical procedures are also carried out in the clinic.   Many of the treatments are free of charge or come with minimal fees for patients. The clinic also works with “NHIF” (National Health Insurance Fund), the national public health insurance, which covers a wide range of treatments at very affordable prices.

Youth Friends Corner

In the rear of the Ekenywa clinic premises, three wooden huts with tables and benches were built. Young people can gather in these “Youth Corners” and receive free advice on contraception and general sex education. Pregnant teenage girls are also advised and attempts are made to find individual solutions for them, as in Tanzania pregnant girls are permanently excluded from school and often also expelled from home by their parents.

The “Youth Friends Corners” were set up outside the main clinic in order to offer the young people a protected space in which they can speak freely and without fear or judgement.

Emayani Dropping Center

Due to the high demand within the Maasai community, the Emayani Dropping Center was established in Ngusero, in which girls and women who are fleeing from circumcision and forced marriage can find a temporary home. The house currently houses around 35 women. Most of the women managed to escape with the help of the Maasai women's groups (see below), which have now formed in many villages. In cooperation with local authorities, educational institutions and families, individual solutions are sought for the women in the center. Many choose to do an apprenticeship and start an independent life.

Maasai women groups

Visits to women's groups within the Maasai communities are an integral part of the work that HIMD does. Many women's groups have been supported and promoted for years, so that the meetings are accepted, albeit reluctantly, by the families and husbands of the women.

During the meetings, HIMD provides information about the health consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM). Although this practice is illegal in Tanzania, it is still widely practiced within the Maasai tribe. Husbands hope to make their wives compliant and, since sexual intercourse is associated with pain for women through circumcision, to keep them from cheating.

The health consequences of FGM are fatal. Many girls and women suffer from severe inflammation as a result of unclean procedures and other chronic secondary problems such as incontinence. In addition, an above-average number of Maasai women bleed to death during the birth of their children, since the birth canal and vagina have become less elastic and prone to multiple tears and deep injuries due to the tissue that has been narrowed and scarred as a result of the circumcision. Since most women do not go to the clinic for delivery, medical help often comes too late in such cases.

Women who are not circumcised are sometimes mutilated without their consent during the birth of their first child in order to preserve the “honor” of the family.

The formation of women's groups within the Maasai villages has been becoming more and more popular for years, because they give women a framework in which they can speak freely and share their experiences. Mutual support also creates local trade initiatives and small businesses that enable the women to earn additional income.

During the visits to the women's groups, HIMD explains the health consequences of FGM without judging the cultural practice per se. Therefore, a health-oriented approach is chosen, not a culture-critical one. Models are used to explain the consequences of genital mutilation for women and their husbands. Practical tips on scar tissue care and general health topics are provided. By including the entire village community, the educational work should gradually bring about a complete cessation of the practice of female circumcision - even if this is a long way.

Over the years, HIMD has convinced dozens of former female circumcisers to quit their jobs and instead support them in their educational work and, if necessary, enable young women to escape circumcision and forced marriage. HIMD describes these women as “champions”, as more and more villages and those affected can be reached with their help.

Mobile Clinic

The HIMD medical team organizes regular mobile clinic days in remote villages and rural areas, so that even people and families without local health care can take advantage of treatment options. Vaccinations and screenings of children and pregnant women are carried out, but also other diseases and injuries and, if necessary, patients are being referred to larger clinics in Arusha.

"Tuwatetee" Project (educational programs in schools and colleges)

As part of the Tuwatetee program, HIMD employees visit various schools and further educational institutions in order to raise awareness among young people and young adults. These programmes are not only about sex education, contraception and HIV / AIDS education, but also include topics such as personal development as well as education on legal issues. The work within the program is very sensitive for the employees and involves numerous hurdles, as sex education in Tanzanian schools is not an integral part of the curriculum and is not welcomed by all school principals and local officials. Young people who obviously need individual help will be helped discreetly by forwarding the contact addresses and telephone contact of the HIMD team.

"Awareness" Programs

 HIMD is involved in numerous action days and events to educate the general public about their work. This includes stands at trade fairs as well as participation in action events such as the World Aids Day and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Individual help for women, families and children with disabilities

Many more families and individuals receive help and support by HIMD. In addition to the women and families known from the "Outreach" programs described above, employees also make regular home visits to children and people with disabilities in order to develop individual support services and solutions.

The NGO welcomes volunteers with various skills and interests and thus your daily schedule will heavily depend on where within the organization you will work. 

The project is based in Arusha, Tanzania. There are several free time activities volunteers can engage in. We organize Safaris, mountain climbs and shorter tours like hiking, horse riding, visit to a nearby massai village, trip to the hotsprings and waterfalls, coffee tours, etc. to the nearer surroundings at affordable rates. We always make sure, that all guides and staffs are being paid fair wages. At the same time there are lots of things you can do during your free time or at the weekends in Arusha itself. There are different markets like second hand market, spice markets or massai market, as well as typical african restaurants and bars. Furthermore, the area you will live is very beautiful and you can either go to a lake and do canoeing or you can go to a lodge with a pool near to the hostel to relax for little money. Our other volunteers from the hostel will be happy to show you everything and if you join them at your free weekends!