Description

The charity Village Africa is looking for qualified teachers to teach a range of subjects at a new secondary school in a beautiful rural location.

* About the secondary school

The school is called Mibukwe Secondary School. This combines the names of the 3 villages in the area including Milingano. It is based just outside Milingano, a 30 minute walk from the village centre where volunteers live.

It is a government school and opened officially in May 2007. The school was built by the government and villagers together in partnership as there was no other secondary school in the area with many students unable to continue on into secondary education.

It is an English medium school so all classes are taught in English although the level of English is low. The school follows the national syllabus and take national exams. They need particular help with science, maths and English teaching.

The school currently only has students in the first year and each year they will have a new intake, building up to full secondary status. There are 41 students in Form One, the first year, and it is hoped they will all continue into the second year. There are 4 teachers including the Headmaster, who speaks good English.

Education is highly valued by families and some children walk for up to 3 hours to attend school each day. Orphans and children from one parent families also attend school, rather than being kept at home for chores.

* A typical week

A normal week will have around 15 hours of lessons from Monday-Thursday allowing weekends free to relax, explore the local area and have weekends away.

Highlights

Lifestyle and Accommodation:

A huge part of the adventure of Tanzania is the environment you will live and work in. The villages are in an extremely beautiful area with a mixture of forest and farmland. There is lots of wildlife including dikdiks, rabbits, chameleons and birds. The people who live here are subsistence farmers and, despite it being fertile, are incredibly poor.

Volunteers live together in simple houses in the village, with a walk to school. A housegirl is employed to fetch water, shop, cook and clean and a watchman is employed to oversee the houses at night.

You will soon adapt to the Tanzanian way of life that is dictated by the hours of daylight. With the absence of electricity, waking hours become fairly similar to daylight hours. You will have plenty of free time to relax, enjoy Africa, get to know local people and learn more about yourself. There are also some great hiking opportunities in the area including viewpoints of Kilimanjaro and the Tanzania/Kenya border, waterfalls and historical caves.

On alternate weekends Village Africa organizes transport to allow you to do some travel and exploration and have a change of pace and scene. A popular choice is the ancient trading port and beaches of Tanga, offering good facilities, including email, bars and restaurants.

Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world and as such the standard of living appears very low to us. The Tanzanian way of life is extremely laid back, relaxed and friendly. Society is generally not money driven and provides a very different view on how to live. This can lead to a degree of culture shock for people visiting, but more often leads to culture shock on the return home at the end of an extended period of time living in a local environment. Longer term this can help to produce a much deeper and more mature understanding of our own society and a more tolerant and caring view of other peoples and societies.

Qualifications

Volunteers must be qualified teachers (PGCE) and able to commit to at least 4 weeks of teaching time (preferably longer).

If you do not have any teaching qualifications we also have a primary school teaching project.

Languages

• English

Cost in US$:

4 weeks: GBP 822, extra fortnights: GBP 156

Program Fees Include:

* Travel advice and assistance
* A comprehensive information booklet
* Pick up and drop off at Tanga
* Transfers to the village
* Local introductions and tours
* Orientation to the Tanzanian education system
* Accommodation in a house shared with other volunteers (your own room)
* Ongoing support, help and advice from the Village Africa team

Experience Required

yes

Qualified teachers only for this project

Volunteer Types

• Education
• English Teaching
• Public Education
• Secondary Education
• Teaching
• Tutor

Age Range

18 and above

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participants.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Apartment/Flat
• Other

Participants Travel

Independently

Typically Participants Work

Independently or in Groups of Normally 1-2 at a time

Application Process Involves

• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Other

Post Services Include

• Exit Debriefing Abroad

Personal Overseas Development (PoD)'s Mission Statement

PoD is a leading non-profit organization arranging ethical, inspiring and supported volunteering opportunities around the world. Established in 2001, our aim is to support ongoing projects with our partners in Belize, Cambodia, Nepal, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam by providing passionate and committed volunteers. We work with long term projects that we know personally and where there is genuine benefit to local communities. A placement with PoD will not only develop volunteer's skills and confidence, get them out of their comfort zone and exploring incredible parts of the world but also the ability make a genuine difference. We currently offer gap year, career break, working holiday, volunteer projects and school expeditions from 1 week to 6 months with year round departures. We offer a personal and professional service drawing on years of experience from staff in the UK and overseas. Volunteers are needed to help work with disadvantaged children, communities, animals and conservation projects including: caring for elephants and wild animals; joining an Amazon jungle conservation project; scuba diving and marine conservation; community building projects; volunteering at orphanages and care homes; teaching English and running summer English camps. PoD believes in providing challenging, safe and fun experiences for individuals and groups to enjoy. We are passionate about giving volunteers of all ages the opportunity to use their energy, enthusiasm and personality where it counts.

Year Founded

2001