My pre-school volunteering in Tanzania

Finally arrived in Dar es Salaam, I was amazed at the large house with huge grounds, which I would call my home for the next half year. After a few days of getting used to it, the project started for me. I drove every day (Mon-Fri) with the boda boda (motorcycle) to the preschool, it only lasted about 10 minutes.

The workday at the preschool

My tasks in the pre-school were preparing the exercise books, looking after and looking after the children. My daily routine was as follows: At 8:00 the students arrived and a short time later the classes started. While the teacher taught, I sat at the desk and prepared the notebooks for tomorrow. Sometimes I would stand in front and do ABC or counting from 1-10 with them. After the teacher explained the material, the children got their notebooks and got down to the exercises, with me helping them if they had any questions. At 10:00 a.m. there was a small breakfast and thus a short break. Then we continued as before, until there was a lunch break at 12:00 p.m. Then there was a longer break. After that it was bedtime, and on the one hand I put the children to sleep, but, even more, I protected them while they slept.

At 14:30 p.m. we woke her up again and got ready to go home. School ended at 15:00 p.m. and I went home too. I always had the afternoon off and we often went to the mall to eat. But we also went to the beach or to the market more often.

My accommodation in Dar es Salaam

As already mentioned, the accommodation was larger and nicer than I expected and I was very satisfied. There I met another volunteer. The house has a terrace with a great view and great seating for relaxing and daydreaming, you can also have a good breakfast there. At home we often watched films on the projector. Our hosts showed us many places to do, so we had a good free time.

My conclusion

The whole stay in Tanzania was a good experience in every respect, even if I thought at the beginning that I would do more, help more, I think I made a difference anyway, because of course there was a cultural exchange, I could show them and tell how I live in Germany and how we clarify things. In return, I got a great insight into the culture of the Tanzanians. The whole thing certainly did a lot for me too, so I'm grateful that I was able to help a little for six months and was able to live in the great student house.

My pre-school volunteering in Tanzania, report by Annika H., August 2018