Volunteering Experience in Tanzanya

Week 1

During my first days here, we started by preparing bags together. We worked efficiently as a team and finished quite quickly. These bags were prepared for an orphan camp, and the children there were incredibly sweet and heartwarming. In the following days, my counseling process at the school officially began. We started by helping with cleaning duties. Here, tasks such as pre-school cleaning, organizing the library, and arranging the storage room were usually handled by the teachers. Noticing this, my friends and I also got involved, started contributing, and became part of the process. After that, we began working on organizing our annual plans.

In between, we also went out to explore. We visited Paje and a few other places. The locals were extremely kind, welcoming, and always smiling. At the same time, there were various activities on campus as well. We had performances and farewell programs, which created a very lively and emotional atmosphere.

We spent quality time with visiting guests, and in the evenings, we played games and had long, enjoyable conversations. From the very first week, I met genuinely wonderful people, and these connections made the entire experience even more meaningful.

Week 2

The second week went much better than I had expected. We started attending classes, and during the first few days we joined as assistant teachers. Spending time with the students was extremely enjoyable and fun. Especially the Nursery 1–2 classes were very pleasant, as working with younger age groups was incredibly engaging.

All of the students constantly expressed their affection. This surprised me a lot at first, because I think that in city life the respect and affection shown toward teachers has decreased to some extent. Receiving so much love from the children made me very happy. They would constantly come to hug and kiss me. In addition to this, because they value teachers so much, they try to show their respect in many ways: after meals, they attempt to collect the teacher’s plate; when entering the classroom, they try to bring my slippers; and when leaving, they even tried to help me put my slippers on. This level of care truly shocked me on the first day.

On the following days, playing games with them and accompanying them during lessons made me feel very good. They are very intelligent and eager to learn. They are also highly talented: some of them dance very well, some have beautiful voices, and some are very skilled in certain areas. I am sure that with proper guidance, they can develop their abilities much further.

Over the weekend, I had different responsibilities. On Saturday, we visited children in their homes. Their families were very hospitable and kind-hearted.

On Sunday, we went to an orphanage to distribute sanitary bags. We prepared these bags together every evening, and in total we distributed them to 500 children. Afterwards, we organized a meeting to discuss how local women could develop their businesses. Some local women try to earn a living by selling products to tourists. We held a discussion on how they could grow their businesses further and how they could manage marketing and budgeting more effectively.

Overall, this week was full, intense, and deeply fulfilling. Being part of the classes, spending time with the children, and providing counseling sessions for them felt both meaningful and rewarding. It was a week that strengthened my motivation and reminded me why I value this work so deeply.

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