Volunteering at the youth center in Zanzibar

My arrival - The first days in Tanzania

The adventure to Tanzania started for me on September 23rd. I landed in Dar es Salaam in the middle of the night. At the airport I was warmly welcomed by Emanuel (a member of the RGV team). With his three-wheeler he brought me to the RGV house in a suburb of Dar es Salaam. I stayed there for a few days and, with another volunteer, visited the nearby historic town of Bagamoyo, which was hosting one of Tanzania's largest cultural and music festivals at the time. After a few days, I and another volunteer went to Zanzibar. We also met Flora and Lukas in the Student House.

The first day in the youth center

Together with Hamisi from the RGV team we went to the youth center in the morning. There I met Teacher Victor, who welcomed me very friendly and who showed me the entire youth center. He could hardly hide his enthusiasm for the German language and our values. He speaks a few sentences of German himself and was keen to improve the language further. Later I also met the head of the youth center.

Together with him and Victor we created a timetable for me. Since there is a hotel management course in the youth center and the students are supposed to learn German in addition to English and French, I was responsible for the German course, which has not taken place in recent months due to a lack of staff. In addition to German, I should also assist in English classes and computer classes. However, since I also wanted to see the youth center's farm project, we decided that I would help out on the nearby farm on Thursdays and Fridays.

After the meeting, I was immediately introduced to the English class and was supposed to spontaneously take over the lesson. After a brief moment of being overwhelmed - improvisation isn't usually my thing - I was immediately overwhelmed by questions from the students, who wanted to find out everything about me and Germany. After the lesson, my first day at work was already over. Although I imagined my tasks in the youth center to be very different, since this is more of a school for older teenagers and young adults, I was satisfied with the tasks that should come my way in the next few weeks.

The work in the youth center

The lessons in the youth center always started punctually at 8 a.m. (which is rather unusual, since punctuality is not exactly the strong point of the people there). I started with an hour of computer lessons that basically explained the basics of the Microsoft Office package. With around eight functioning computers, the youth center is significantly better equipped than many other facilities.

It usually continued with the first German course. I only taught one student here because he had to work in the hotel on the east coast of Zanzibar during the later German course. This was followed by two hours of English. Those were by far the most exciting hours for me. We often had super interesting discussions about cultural and religious issues, but also political issues. Since some students were already able to express themselves very well, I learned an incredible amount about the culture of Zanzibar and Tanzania in these hours and heard many interesting views.

After English, the big German course followed at the end. I always had to prepare quite intensively for this. Teaching your own language is more difficult than you think. At 14 p.m. my working day ended. I often ate in town and met other volunteers there. On Thursdays and Fridays I went to the farm. There I planted different types of vegetables with the students or helped the teacher to explain new cultivation methods or irrigation systems. The time on the farm was a nice change from classes at the youth center.

The dream island Zanzibar

Weekend - vacation time. Well, it wasn't quite a holiday, but on the weekends we enjoyed the beautiful beaches on the east coast of Zanzibar or walked through Stone Town, the historic old town. Since Zanzibar is very touristy, there are many attractions, such as snorkeling trips or boat tours to offshore islands. You should also not miss a visit to the Jozani Forest or a Spice Tour. We often had to bargain with the tour guides for a long time, but with a little patience we were usually able to get an acceptable price. Compared to the mainland, we had enough free time opportunities and even after 4 months we still haven't explored every corner of Zanzibar.

My conclusion - experiences from 4 months Tanzania / Zanzibar

I really enjoyed my time in Zanzibar. My project was very demanding because I had to develop a complete concept for the German lessons and often had to prepare materials for the next lesson at home while other volunteers had been free for a long time. But that's exactly what I enjoyed a lot. I was able to get very involved in the youth center and exchanged a lot of experiences with the students. The fact that I was often labeled as a tourist in Zanzibar was difficult for me until the end. But I was able to explore the dream island for 4 months and enjoy the wonderful beaches. All in all, it was a super exciting experience that I won't soon forget!

Volunteering at the Youth Center in Zanzibar, by Jannik B., 20.02.18