Faqs - Volunteering
Kwetu Afrika Trails is a Tour Operator and a private volunteer and internship organization in Northern Tanzania run under Tanzanian leadership. Together with our volunteers, we support projects in the fields of education, social work, women’s rights, and medicine. Our entire team is on-site to ensure the best possible support for our volunteers and communication with the projects.
All our projects are located in and around the city of Arusha in northern Tanzania, East Africa. Arusha is the third largest city in Tanzania and plays an important role both politically and economically (safari tourism). Many large and small non-governmental organizations have their headquarters in Arusha. Tanzania is considered one of the safest travel destinations in Africa and is also one of the most beautiful and culturally diverse countries on the African continent.
All our volunteers live in one of our cosey volunteer houses in Arusha. The hostels are quietly but centrally located. Volunteers sleep in shared rooms, there are also private double/twin rooms, single rooms, common rooms, outdoor seating areas, several bathrooms, and communal kitchens. Our house assistants prepare a typical Tanzanian breakfast and dinner with western elements. Our team office is located directly at one of the hostels, so you will always have a team member to talk to.
Meaning and goals of volunteering:
- Intercultural learning/immersion into a new culture.
- Help and support your project “on a small scale”
- Acting as an ambassador for your project after returning home
- Observe & Understand
- Gain personal and professional experience
- Recognition and certification of internships (including nursing placements, and clinical traineeships)
- Sufficient knowledge of the English language for communication in everyday life, hostel, and project (Swahili knowledge is not a must)
- Understanding of the meaning, goals, and limits of volunteering
- High motivation and willingness to work
- Reliability
- Police clearance certificate
- Minimum age of 17 years (with a declaration of consent of the custodians)
- Minimum duration of stay 4 weeks
We work with smaller organizations/NGOs, institutions, and clinics in Arusha. These include daycare centers for children, a baby orphanage, schools, hospitals, and women’s rights organizations. We make sure that the projects make a meaningful contribution to the development of Tanzania and value the holistic understanding of volunteering as much as we do.
We encourage our volunteers to raise additional funds for their projects and provide advice and support. In addition, we repeatedly support our projects financially from parts of our income.
Many of our students are pupils, high school graduates, trainees, or students. However, we also encourage professionals and pensioners with us to support our projects for a few weeks or months.
In Arusha, there is a large volunteer community with volunteers from all over the world.
Pricing
To cover accommodation, meals, airport transfers, and support services, a program fee will be applicable. The fee varies depending on the duration of the program.
Volunteers in the medical field also pay a mandatory donation of $150 per month, which goes directly to the clinics and is used to cover running costs.
It is always difficult for us to give a guideline for pocket money as this depends very much on personal interests. However, you can calculate an approximate amount of US$50 per week. For bus rides (approx. 25 US cents per one-way trip), weekend meals (from $10 from our recommended restaurant), and daily necessities. If you would like to go on a safari or other tour, you should set an additional budget for this aside.
Program Fee
To Get exact princing check contact information
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Volunteers enter with an Ordinary Visa for “humanitarian and charity activities” or a “Student Visa”. This costs US-$ 50 and should be applied for directly at the airport or at a land border. Should there be any changes in the visa regulations during the preparation period, we will of course keep our volunteers updated. The visa can be extended once, allowing a maximum stay of 6 months. The extension costs $250.
We take care of the entire organization of the visa extension in cooperation with the immigration office in Arusha. You need an international passport, which should be valid for at least 6 months beyond your stay.
All volunteers are required to plan their arrival on Thursdays. Orientation days take place every Friday so that the weekend can be used for resting and acclimatization, before the first day of the project on Monday.
Departures should preferably take place on Wednesdays. Volunteers who would prefer to arrive on a different day of the week (than Thursday) should contact us individually. By having a fixed arrival day volunteers would avoid missed opportunities and therefore give all volunteers equal chance to start and get to know each other better.
Ideally, you book your flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO). We can pick you up there at any time of the day (or night).
As we only have limited places available in our volunteer houses and also in the projects we recommend that you apply at least 3 months in advance. This gives you enough time to prepare for your stay. Applications at shorter notice are also possible but are subject to availability.
The minimum length of stay is 4 weeks (stays of less than 4 weeks are only possible in exceptional cases and by prior arrangement). Due to visa requirements, volunteers can stay in Tanzania for a maximum of 6 months.
If you have decided to participate in the Kwetu Afrika Trails Volunteer Program, the first step will be to fill out our online application form (https://kwetuafrikatrails.co.tz/volunteers-programs//apply-now/). After your application has been approved, you will receive your official confirmation from us within two working days. As soon as you have transferred your application the stay is confirmed.
In addition to your application, we need your curriculum vitae (CV) with a photo as a PDF document. We also need a certificate of good conduct from the police / an extract from the criminal record for all volunteers regardless of the project they have chosen. Volunteers under the age of 18 should also send us a written declaration of consent from their parents/guardians.
Yes, of course! We always try to listen to our volunteers’ wishes when allocating the projects. If there are no more volunteer positions open in the desired project for the intended assignment period, we continue to search until both – the volunteer and the project – are happy with the decision.
Many of our volunteers divide their time between two or more projects in order to get an insight into different fields of work. We do not charge additional fees for project combinations.
Not all projects have fixed working hours. You can therefore often decide whether you want to work part-time (approx. 4-5 hours a day) or full-time (7-8 hours a day). Universities usually require full-time work for internships, so ideally you should gather the necessary information about any requirements from your school or university beforehand. At the beginning of your stay, your working hours will be determined in consultation with your project. The children’s home has a shift plan, which also includes weekends.
In most projects, weekends are free or work on these days is not obligatory. So there is plenty of time for activities.
You are also welcome to go on trips of several days’ duration, provided you discuss this with your project in advance. In general, however, you should interrupt your work as little as possible and plan longer trips before or after the end of your project.
Some travel vaccinations such as typhoid, meningitis, yellow fever, and hepatitis A and B are recommended for a stay in Tanzania. Yellow fever vaccination is required if you want to visit the island of Zanzibar or enter Tanzania via neighboring countries such as Kenya, which are considered risk areas. Only recognized yellow fever vaccination centers can usually administer the vaccination.
Malaria prophylaxis can also be useful under certain circumstances. Note, however, that even the best chemoprophylaxis can never provide 100% protection and the risk of malaria in Arusha is generally low. The most important thing is an effective protection against bites!
The situation in Tanzania and Arusha in particular is politically very stable. Of course, in this day and age, no place in the world can be 100% safe from e.g. a terrorist attack but the situation in Arusha is also very relaxed as far as religious conflicts are concerned. In Arusha, Christians and Muslims, live peacefully side by side and with each other, and conflicts are extremely rare. In addition, the crime rate is significantly lower than, for example, in other African cities. During the day one can move freely. Pickpocketing occurs in places such as the market but can be prevented if you take good care of your belongings. After dark, it is not advisable to walk around. The streets are poorly lit and robberies are unfortunately more likely. Nevertheless, even as a European or American, you do not have to worry about living in Arusha. All our projects are easy to reach and would not be chosen by us if the way to get there was not safe. We also give our new volunteers a detailed orientation day, which also includes the topic of safety.
Our main argument is usually the fact that we ourselves live in Arusha with our families and would not do so if we did not feel absolutely safe!
Yes! Much more important than a certain qualification are motivation, creativity and the willingness to get involved in a completely new culture and way of life. Volunteers are not professionally qualified development workers, but rather “normal people” who want to support their project and learn a lot from the people in Tanzania.
All our projects accept volunteers as additional helpers, which means volunteers are not there to replace local workers. Volunteering should be seen as much more than just active support on the ground. As a volunteer, you have the unique opportunity to see how aid work “works” in a developing country in order to gain a more differentiated and, above all, realistic picture. Volunteering means seeing with your own eyes, learning, understanding, and actively participating in an intercultural exchange.
As a former volunteer, you also act as an ambassador and can tell your family and friends about your experience and “your” project. This can even lead to a long-term partnership and support for the project long after you return home.
Tanzania is considered one of the most beautiful travel destinations in Africa. In your free time, there are many beautiful places to discover. In and around Arusha there are numerous hotels with swimming pools that you can use for a small fee, yoga classes, small cafes and restaurants, museums, snake parks, lodges, and hiking groups. There are also diverse markets to explore (e.g. fabric market or second-hand market) or you can get involved in the legendary music and dance scene in various bars and nightclubs.
We organize tours to the hot springs, waterfalls, coffee tours, and a Maasai village. The absolute highlight is of course a safari. Kwetu Afrika Trails organizes tours to all northern national parks and of varying lengths. The safari participants are made up of our volunteers and sometimes also their friends and family members. By traveling in a group, the costs are kept as low as possible. We also organize climbs to the roof of Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as its little brother, Mount Meru.
We have several permanent contact persons who are always there for you on-site! These are our Volunteer Coordinator, Constantine Munishi, our Volunteer & Travel Advisor, our Head Chef, Nisa Lodhia, and our director, Arif Ahmed. We are absolute insiders and will help you to find your way in your project and daily life in Arusha. Arif is mainly responsible for all organizational matters “behind the scenes”. But he is also one contact person for our volunteers on site.
