Volunteering at the hospital in Tanzania

The first days in Tanzania

On September 13th I landed in Dar Es Salaam after an XNUMX hour journey. At the beginning I felt a little queasy because I was suddenly all alone in a new country and had no idea what to expect there. I spent the first three days in Dar Es Salaam. On the first day I got a little orientation, was able to change money, buy an African SIM card and at least gain a little insight into the city.

Unfortunately, there were a few difficulties at the beginning of my stay as I was not able to go to Iringa on the second day as planned, so I stayed an extra night in Dar Es Salaam and then continued to Arusha on the third day. I stayed there for the rest of the time. I was very happy that Lukas, the organizer in Tanzania, was able to quickly find an alternative city for me in Arusha.

The accommodation with my host family

After a XNUMX-hour bus ride (although very tiring, but definitely interesting because you could get to know the compatriots and the area even better), I arrived in Arusha and was warmly welcomed by Caroline, the host mother.

I stayed at Caroline's home with five other girls and felt very comfortable straight away. Caroline has a big, beautiful house. There were two or three of us sharing a room, but we didn't have running water. But you got used to that quickly and it was a great experience that I probably would never have had at home.

Working life in a Tanzanian hospital

Working in the hospital took a lot of getting used to at first. We were assigned to a very small state hospital and could, if we wanted to, take on all the doctor's duties. On the one hand wound care, but also sewing wounds, gynecological examinations and minor operations.

It's true that I didn't gain any knowledge in addition to my previous knowledge, but I definitely learned a lot for myself and it was very interesting for me to get to know the working life in this hospital in Arusha and to see how the doctors there with the few resources they had have, work (although it was often frightening).

"I do not want to miss a second!"

On the weekends we all did something together. We went on safari, drove to Kilimanjaro or visited the hot springs. The cohesion among us girls was super nice.
In summary, I am very happy that I got the opportunity to do this journey of experience. I don't want to miss a second and I'm very happy to have seen and experienced all of this and that I met such great people. It was a great feeling to live so closely with the locals and get to know the culture up close.

Arusha is a very beautiful city with a beautiful landscape around it, where you can do a lot of things.

I would highly recommend Arusha to anyone looking to go to Tanzania.

Voluntary work in the hospital in Tanzania, report by Teresa G., 19.10.2017