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Volunteer Programs in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

The largest city in East Africa is also one of the most rapidly-growing the world, and as a volunteer in Dar es Salaam, you’ll have the chance to get caught up in the whirlwind of its development. Translated as "Home of Peace," volunteers in Dar es Salaam will learn that it's also home to tingatinga painting, "Bongo Flava" style hip hop, Tanzanian barbeque, some of the best acrobats in Africa, and even Roald Dahl back in the 1930s.
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12 Volunteer Programs in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Travel For Teens

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TFT: Tanzania Service and Safari

Hakuna Matata and a warm welcome to Tanzania! Get ready for the adventure of a lifetime as we travel into the heart of this stunning country to get a true taste of African culture and community enrichment. We will get to know the country like locals as we embark on a week-long cultural exchange with a local school for girls, participating in activities with them as we grow to learn about both ourselves and our new friends. Together with our host students, we will participate in community enrichment projects, such as spending time with children at a local orphanage and learning about sustainable farming techniques. As we head up north, we’ll learn how to live the rustic, African way of life as we spend our days in the bush viewing wild game and our nights camping under the clear, starry skies. Our encounters with local tribes will give us valuable insights into how people have existed in the area for thousands of years and the many ways that they continue to preserve their cultures today.

Volunteer World

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Best Volunteer Programs in Tanzania

Tanzania is a prime example of what most people expect when they think about Africa. The endless wilderness of the national parks with a vast variety of wild animals in their natural surroundings, the exotic and colorful Maasai culture and mountaintops from where you feel like you could see the edges of the world. And although all these romantic ideas of endless landscapes and wild animals are true, there is so much more to discover when you volunteer in Tanzania. There are plenty advantages of being a volunteer in Tanzania in comparison to just traveling the country as a tourist. There is no better way to really get to know the culture and the people of a country than to become a part of the society by offering a helping hand. Benefit from exceptional encounters with new people and take a chance to explore Tanzania with the eyes of an insider.

help2kids

9.64

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Inspire Young Lives with help2kids: Volunteer in Tanzania

As a volunteer with help2kids, you can choose from different educational projects in Tanzania! Make a difference in the lives of local children through various ways: * Teach small and big groups of students * Spend one-on-one time with a child * Assist teachers * Supervise children in the class and during break time * Help the cook with the preparation and distribution of porridge and lunch * Teach basic computer skills Connect with children through teaching, playing, and listening. Our dedicated team of local and international staff supports volunteers to help children excel in school and build a path to success. You will stay at our secure and welcoming Volunteer House on the scenic help2kids campus. Here, you’ll live alongside fellow participants and staff members, fostering community and collaboration. We offer dormitory-style accommodation with options for single and double rooms, daily breakfast and lunch, a fully equipped kitchen, a cozy living room, and a spacious outdoor area for socializing. We also provide visa administration assistance to ensure a smooth experience. If you need more information about our program, please feel free to contact us.

Children’s Hope Organization

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Volunteer, Learn, and Experience Tanzania with Children

Children’s Hope Organization is a community based NGO located in Tanzania that supports children from low income families through education, care, and community development programs. This volunteer experience is designed for individuals who want to make a real impact while immersing themselves in local Tanzanian life. Volunteers assist with teaching and tutoring, early childhood education, after-school activities, childcare support, and community outreach projects. Depending on skills and interests, volunteers may also help with creative activities, sports programs, or basic administrative tasks. The program is hosted within local communities, allowing volunteers to interact closely with children, families, and teachers. No prior experience is required only a genuine passion for working with children, patience, and a positive attitude. This program is ideal for students, gap year travelers, educators, and anyone seeking a meaningful volunteer and cultural experience. Volunteers gain valuable hands on experience while contributing to sustainable community development and children’s well-being

AMANI HOSTEL

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Volunteer in a Sports Project in Tanzania

Teach children and teens in Tanzania the importance of sports and inspire them to lead healthy, active lifestyles. If you’re passionate about encouraging youth sports, no matter your favorite sports, you can make an impact in local communities. As a volunteer sports coach, you will be placed in either Arusha or Dar es Salaam. In Arusha, you will work in primary and secondary schools in USA River, a small rural community on the outskirts of town. In Dar es Salaam, you will work in primary schools or universities as well as at a community center, where you will coach children from surrounding neighborhoods. Your duties generally include helping local teachers lead physical education classes in the morning and coaching youth sports teams in the afternoon. We welcome volunteers across a wide range of ages, from students on a gap year to professionals on meaningful travel. You don’t need previous experience in coaching to participate in this sports project, although it would be fantastic if you do. All we ask is that you have a passion for sports and the desire to help others, especially young people, develop their physical fitness.

See All 2 Programs

Kilimanjaro Volunteers Tanzania

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Volunteer with Flora Foundation: Women & Widows Support

Volunteer with Flora Foundation through Kilimanjaro Volunteers Tanzania and help realize our mission to help women in Tanzania. Your primary responsibility is to provide training in how to use a loan or microfinancing to start a small business. You also teach women how to run their chosen businesses. Gain practical experience and insight into the daily lives, as well as share in the customs, of Tanzanian women while supporting their economic growth. Plus, get the chance to immerse yourself in the local culture and discover beautiful places. This program is open to volunteers who can teach local women about microfinance as well as starting and running a small business.

Mo Dewji Foundation Trust Fund

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A Life is Equal to a Life, The Impact is Real.

The Mo Dewji Foundation (MDF) is a bold, responsive philanthropic organization dedicated to improving lives and expanding opportunity across Tanzania. Since 2014, MDF has focused on three pillars essential to human dignity and national development: education, health, and clean water. Through innovative programs and high-impact initiatives, we empower communities, provide access to quality healthcare, support students through scholarships, and improve access to safe water in underserved regions. Our approach is community-driven, sustainable, and designed to deliver lasting change. Volunteers with MDF become part of a mission that goes beyond charity; we create opportunities for transformation. Whether contributing skills in healthcare outreach, education support, community engagement, or program innovation, volunteers help us scale impact and bring dignity and hope to countless lives. Join us in building a stronger, healthier, and more equitable Tanzania. Together, we can expand opportunity and create change that lasts for generations. Visit our website to learn more by clicking "Enquire Here".

Maternal Care Foundation (McF)

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Community Exchange for Maternal & Child Health

This volunteer program is a unique opportunity to engage, learn, and contribute to Tanzania's reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH) initiatives. Highly immersive, it fosters global collaboration, capacity building, and hands-on learning among health professionals, students, and practitioners passionate about improving maternal and child health outcomes. Volunteers engage in fieldwork, training, and collaborative projects, gaining invaluable insights into healthcare systems, policies, and cultural contexts. Under mentorship, they develop and implement projects, participate in community health initiatives, and contribute to ongoing efforts to address health challenges in underprivileged communities. The program's flexible duration, ranging from 2 weeks to 3 months, caters to varying professional schedules and learning needs.

Mikoko Development Foundation

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Young Environmental Scientists (YES) Education Program

Join MDF in shaping the next generation of climate leaders through the STREAMS model, a unique approach blending Science, Technology, Research/Robotics, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, and Sports/Scuba. As a volunteer, you will work directly with children and youth aged 5 to 26 years, helping them connect classroom learning with real-world environmental challenges. Activities include facilitating eco-education sessions, guiding eco-clubs, debates, and science fairs, and mentoring hands-on projects such as recycling, gardening, robotics, and creative arts for sustainability. You’ll also inspire outdoor exploration through sports and scuba, building curiosity for marine conservation. The impact is powerful: young minds gain critical thinking, innovation skills, and environmental stewardship, preparing them to lead their schools, communities, and Africa’s green future. This program is your chance to combine education, creativity, and action to empower a generation to Plant, Grow, and Protect.

See All 2 Programs

Eatl Tour Company

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Volunteer in Tanzania

Eatl Tour offers a Volunteer package to all people around the world who want to volunteer in Tanzania in any field, As a team we organize the place where you will volunteer, you will be under Eatl safety the whole time of your volunteer service, and we organize the accommodation during you're staying and all transport means. The team also will help you to connect with different Organizations and other offices. Apart from that you will engage also in different community activities and cultural activities during your stay. Everyone is invited and welcome to Tanzania we will make your life simple and easy. You can contact us for the customization of your Volunteer service.

A Guide to Volunteering Abroad in Dar es Salaam

Why Volunteer Abroad in Dar es Salaam?

Volunteer programs in Dar es Salaam are perfect for those who have an interest in education, health care, women's empowerment, or childcare. Tanzania has been hit hard by the HIV epidemic, and its intersection with high unemployment rates and poverty has lead to an epidemic of child abandonment, too. A volunteer abroad in Dar es Salaam should expect to be involved in work that provides aid for any or all of these crises. 

Volunteering in Dar es Salaam is certainly not for the faint of heart, but your hard work will give way to opportunities for playing hard and chilling hard too. You'll be in close proximity to Mount Kilimanjaro for unbeatable hiking and climbing opportunities. When it's time to relax, the white sand beaches of Zanzibar Island (aka paradise) are within easy reach. 

Start searching volunteer opportunities in Dar es Salaam today!

Latest Program Reviews

The midwife hospital assistant program is highly recommended!

March 10, 2021by: Georgina Saliczek - United States

Program: Best Volunteer Programs in Tanzania

9

Before commencing my placement I had honestly mentally prepared myself for the “culture shock”. I was prepared to see poor conditions, limited resources and poor treatment of the women. However what I did not prepare myself for was the battle to assimilate and integrate into the team of nurses/midwives. In hindsight, and overall, my experience at the hospital was incredible and I was in no way ready to leave. However at times, especially in the first week, I was very ready to book the next plane home. The first two weeks proved to be the most difficult for me. As a young midwife, I am very used to being supported by senior midwives, I am also very used to midwifery as a group practice involving team work throughout the entire shift. Coming in to the hospital as a qualified midwife had its advantages but also its disadvantages. The advantages included having the appropriate midwifery knowledge and skills to (quite literally) throw on a pair of sterile gloves and accoucher a birth as I turned around to see the presenting part on view. It meant I could decrease the workload on the local nurses/midwives by attending full antenatal assessments of women and transferring them to antenatal ward as they silently progressed through the first stage of labour (I am still to this day in awe of Tanzanian women’s pain thresholds). It meant I could receive in caesarean sections and knew the policies around sterile fields, aseptic techniques and those associated with operating theatres. It meant I could prepare a woman for a caesarean section by cannulating and commencing an IV infusion of normal saline and putting in a indwelling urinary catheter. It meant I could give IM injections, IV medication and remove urinary catheters once the woman was 24hrs post-delivery. It meant I could perform solo (in one occasion) or work with the nurses/midwives in neonatal resuscitations and make important decisions re if a newborn should be transferred, if a woman should go for a caesarean section etc. All of these things I performed on a daily basis however it wasn’t until my third week that the nurses/midwives started trusting me and my practice, trusting that I was skilled enough to work alongside them. That’s where the disadvantages come in. Being qualified meant the nurses/midwives were very unaccepting (for the lack of a better word) of me. They, at first, didn’t believe or trust I was qualified and when I began to perform tasks and use skills they would continuously tell me my practice or judgment was wrong. They then talk about me in Swahili to their colleges making my self-confidence plummet through the floor. That’s when the desire to jump on the next plane home set in. However Pearl warned me of this, she reminded me that it wasn’t malicious it was their culture and I kept that in the back of my mind the entire time. In hindsight this questioning and feeling of being a poor practitioner did wonders for my self-confidence. Confidence not only in myself as a person, but in myself as a midwife. It, strangely enough, made my love for midwifery grow, it made me back myself, trust myself and become my own hype girl because I knew what I was doing was right and I knew I was doing it because I had a burning passion to empower women. Having been trained in a tertiary (level 6) hospital, I was accustomed to clean wards, single rooms, sterile/single use equipment and unlimited resources. Working at the hospital was a big shock to that system. Women labour side by side, sometimes two to a bed. In the Labour Ward there are three beds, no curtains or any attempt to provide privacy. The door is always open. Fetal heart rates are auscultated using a pinnard, ARM’s are performed with broken oxytocin vials. There is really adequate sterile equipment and women have to supply their own cord clamps, congas, sterile gloves, oxytocin, sutures, cotton and more. Although it was a shock and hurdle to practice in such conditions, it was something that I acclimatized too quite quickly and was able to provide the best possible care in the given situation. As mentioned, overall and in hindsight my time at the hospital was an incredible experience. It changed the way I viewed myself as a person, a midwife and a member of this world. It enhanced my love for midwifery and empowered me to use my love, skill, knowledge and now determination to return to a place like the hospital and work to make it better, for both the staff and patients. Walking into Siret Hostel on arrival day was such an overwhelmingly pleasant surprise. My boyfriend and I paid for the private room and it was decorated with so much love it felt like home the moment we entered. It was spacious enough for two people, had a wardrobe, four post double bed with mosquito net, a couch, a universal power board (life saver) and a place for us to store our empty suitcases. The lounge room and dining room at Siret were also decorated with so much love they felt very comfortable and homely. The area was spacious, there were comfortable couches, access to wide range of novels and other books, a very large fridge and freezer for us to use and a water filter. The highlight of my experience was my last shift at the hospital. My travel buddy/boyfriend who is a pre-med student was working in the Minor Theatre however there were no patients. Labour Ward was busy so he came over and experienced labour and birth for the first time. There was just myself and another nurse and within the space of an hour we had three births. The first was very straightforward and he stood and observed. He learnt how and when to give IM oxytocin, how to swaddle and weigh a newborn etc. Quickly after another baby was born, the nurse called me over as the baby was very evidently premature and required full resuscitation. As the nurse and I started compressions on this baby we hear a grunt and both look left to see another woman crowning, quite literally about to deliver. I leave the nurse with the resuscitation and smack on some sterile gloves, I tell Alex to draw up the oxytocin and lay out the congas and he does. The baby is quickly born and in perfect condition (thank goodness). Alex administers IM oxytocin (the first IM injection he’s ever given), and takes the baby to swaddle and weigh it while I deliver the placenta and ensure all blood/clots are expelled. Not many people in this world can say that they delivered a baby with their boyfriend but I can, and that’s something that will make me smile until the day I die. (The premature baby was successfully resuscitated and transferred to NICU at Mt Meru). Go in to this experience with enough knowledge in that you feel prepared, but enough ignorance that you make it the unique experience that it is for each individual. Be prepared, feel supported but remember, ignorance in bliss.

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