Arusha Community Project

	If you would like to help families and individuals with HIV/AIDS or assist others in producing additional income for their household then this is the project for you! You will be able to help the Masaai woman to create and sell traditional products like clothes, beads and ornaments as well as spend time helping those with HIV/AIDS with their daily lives. All this while learning about their remarkable cultures.
Minimum Duration:	2 weeks	Cost:	From USD 160 per week
Where?	Arusha, Tanzania	Age:	18 years and older

Overview

Day to Day Activities
Helping Masaai woman create traditional products such as clothes, beads etc, caring for individuals and families suffering from HIV/AIDS, assisting families to generate extra household income and much more!

What’s Included
Airport pick-up, room and 3 meals a day, manual and assistance from a local coordinator and introduction days

What’s Excluded
Flights, visas, insurance, telephone, personal luxury items and snacks.

Accommodation
Staying in a volunteer house with local food three times a day. You may have to share room with other volunteers.

Requirements
A love for helping those in need as well as being respectful for local customs and cultures.

Working Hours
Generally from 8-14 hours

Nearest Town
Arusha, Tanzania

Guaranteed
Working with various families and individuals on a daily basis to help them generate additional income.

About

Currently the project supports about 730 patients with HIV/AIDS and about 2800 of their family members in 3 regions of Tanzania. Volunteers together with workers make daily visits to these patients to assist with the following tasks:

Informed nutritional advice and support
HIV/AIDS education
Cleaning and chore assistance
Financial support for food, transport and medicine

There has been a significant improvement in many of these patients who are no longer bed ridden and are steadily improving due to better nutrition and antiretroviral medication. Many of these patients are now able to take part in income generating activities that helps to improve their quality of life. These patients are encouraged to join the Village Community Banking program where they are assisted in saving their money with a set end date in mind. Once this end date is reached, the savings are either paid out partially or in full to the patients to use for their own needs.

Another part of this project is to help the Masaai woman generate an income by creating and selling traditional Masaai products. Even though the Masaai culture is a major attraction for tourists, the Masaai do not get any benefits from the tourism industry so this project works with the Masaai to generate an income from tourism.

Some of the tasks you will encounter while working with the Masaai are:
Creating Masaai products like crafts, beads, ornaments and clothes
Helping the Masaai woman to speak English so they can communicate better with tourists
Assisting Masaai woman with ways of marketing and selling their products
Helping the Masaai youth to speak English so they can generate additional income for their families by being tour guides

Needs

Besides the daily assistance you will be providing, there is also a need for financial support. Any possible gifts and donations provided by volunteers and their network of people are extremely appreciated. Instead of collecting goods and materials for donation, it is recommended to purchase and donate this on location.

Guidance and Supervision

The work of any volunteer or student is coordinated by our Khaya coordinator in Arusha, who will bring you to the project the first day and look after your needs and questions.

Accommodation

Accommodation is in a volunteer house where you will be part of the daily life and learn Swahili, eat local food and get to understand the culture. There is a cook and Christopher the coordinator who will make you feel at home. You will possibly share a room with other volunteers. There is local food 3 times a day. Tanzanian food includes meat, chicken, seafood and vegetarian dishes. Showers do no not always have hot water, but the weather is hot enough to shower cold!

Walk the streets in the area, shop for fruit and other foods and experience the friendliness and bustle of every day life!

It is important that volunteers of this project understand the importance of the following:

To be enthusiastic and independent
To show respect towards the people and culture of the local community. You might not agree with certain ways of conduct during your term here, but don’t forget you are a guest here
To follow rules regarding clothing and appearance

Fees and Dates

Volunteers have the option to start or finish with their project at any given time. Keep in account; the Tanzanian school holidays when the school will be closed and volunteers will be free to enjoy their spare time.

2 weeks               USD 350

3 weeks               USD 500

4 weeks               USD 650

All extra weeks will cost USD 150 per week.

Currency Converter

Amount:

From:

To:

Your donation will not only be helpful for the support of the school but will provide a local family a much needed extra source of income. Our way of working will also provide local employment as you coordinator is a Tanzanian who is provided with a full time job because of our volunteer projects.

Costs will cover the following:

Personal collection upon arrival from the Kilimanjaro airport or bus terminal in Arusha
First day introduction at the project and surroundings
Accommodation: Dormitory style room sleeps maximum of 4
All meals included (3 meals a day)
Guidance and supervision during your stay

Costs are excluding the following: