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Gap Year Teaching - Gap-Year-Tanzania - Africa and Asia Venture

Gap Year Teaching

Teaching under the Snows of Kilimanjaro

Where?

In primary and secondary schools around Arusha and Machame (near Moshi). This is Maasai country. Arusha is one of Tanzania’s most developed and fastest growing towns at the base of Mt Meru. It is the gateway to Serengeti, Lake Manyara, Tarangire and Arusha national parks.

Machame is a small village about 20 kilometres from Moshi in the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro and one of the starting points for climbing the mountain. A view from the top will give you an idea of the vastness of this country, which will take your breath away. Many Lutheran missionaries worked in this area and their legacy remains. Map>>>

Outline Experience

Who will I be teaching?

Tanzanians are very friendly but, at the same time, maintain an air of dignity and quiet reserve. You will teach mostly in primary schools or, possibly, thelower forms of a secondary school. The staff will be friendly and welcoming and the children eager to learn.

Classes tend to vary in size from normal to excessively large (what don’t you do in a Maths class of 137? Answer: take the register or set too much homework!!). The children are a pure delight and will be so happy to play with you and learn from you. Their smiles will make the experience all the brighter!

What and Why?

Education is a priority in Tanzania and primary education is free and compulsory. By the late 1980s the county’s literacy rate was one of the highest in Africa but much of this initial success has been lost. Schools are poor and they lack furniture, textbooks, sports equipment, and even windows and stationery. You will be helping them in all sorts of really valuable and highly appreciated ways.

The official language is Kiswahili and primary school children have a very limited knowledge English. So, if you are in a primary school, you will help mostly with English but also be able to teach art, drama, music and sports. In secondary schools, where the standard of English is much better, you will be invited to help with just about any other subjects that you feel able to teach, and they especially like help with science and IT (if they are lucky enough to have them!).

Most schools do not offer many extra-curricular activities or sports so assistance in these areas is hugely appreciated.

Ideas

Think about running a club, decorating a classroom; painting a mural; preparing visual aids; organising a school magazine; inter-school sports matches; a school trip; bedtime stories for the boarders; extra help for less able children. The possibilities are endless – just use your imagination and a lot of energy!

Living

You will be living either in pairs or groups of 4-6 volunteers. AVs are clustered around Arusha and Machame so you will have plenty of friends close by. Your new environment might be a wee bit of a culture shock, initially.

You will be living in basic staff houses, sometimes with no running water, and possibly a pit latrine ‘long drop’ at the back. Most houses have electricity but sporadically. Don’t worry - after a couple of weeks you will have adapted and you will love your ‘AV’ house.

You will shop and cook for yourselves but many AVs also take advantage of the basic, but filling, schools lunches. The houses are generally in the school compound or within easy walking distance of it. All schools are near to main roads linking you by mini-bus to Arusha and Moshi, where you will be able to use the Internet cafés for email and change money at the forex bureau and banks.

Travel

After 14 weeks at your school you will have nearly 3 weeks of independent group travel to explore the wonders of East Africa. You like beaches? Fine. Try a dhow ride from Dar es Salaam or Mombasa to Zanzibar, or even the fabulous Kenya coastline – snorkelling, diving, swimming (with or without dolphins!) or just sunbathing near one of the many beach bars and restaurants.

Once you feel the rush of energy overtake you, try some white-water-rafting, quad biking or a bungee on, by or over the Nile in Uganda. Oh! There are some of the world’s best game parks in Tanzania and Kenya too, not to mention Africa’s 2 highest mountains. You won’t be stuck for things to do, so plan it carefully.

Finally, we will arrange a 6-day, all-inclusive safari into 2 of Kenya’s famous wildlife reserves to see the ‘Big Five’ and masses of other wild game in its natural habitat.

If you’re like 99% of those who have been before you, you’ll agree that it will have been the best 5 months of your life so far. You’ll find leaving difficult, but will doubtless return, as so many past AVs do. Our AV staff in Africa love to see old AVs and catch up on news, so let us know when you o come back.

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