Why did you choose this program?
I sought to immerse myself in a completely different style of living. Having never visited East Africa and learning unique facts about Tanzania's history and culture, it was a place I wanted to see for myself.
The Raleigh programs focus on sustainable development through young people, who I believe are the sole determiners of the future we will have globally and therefore the most important people to inspire and mobilize into making a difference beyond their immediate surroundings.
The incentive that all the programs are delivered with the consultation and approval of the communities that will benefit from them, made, the prospect all the more genuine and alluring; promoting achieving success collectively, while immersing in a new culture promised to have a profound experience on my development and that of all those around me involved in the program.
What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?
Once signed up, Raleigh provide an extensive information pack with everything I needed ahead of the expedition from vaccination requirements to travel and visa advice, and a fundraising guide and packing list.
Raleigh also has dedicated volunteer coordinators who support you all the way through to departure. I also attended a development event for a weekend, where I was trained on things like the challenges and realities of going away, on what my role would be like and also got to meet fellow volunteers who would be on the program with me, which was comforting when I got to country to see some familiar faces.
Upon arriving in Tanzania, there was an induction period at the base of operations where I was trained extensively on many things -- life and culture of Tanzania, health and safety procedures, cultural sensitivity, safeguarding -- which all left me in a very confident position to be in a duty of care of young people while on program while exercising my volunteer manager role.
On my own, I organized my fundraising initiatives, my flights and vaccinations and sourced my kit ahead of the expedition. On the program, the fundraising covered my food, accommodation, insurance, and travel in country while on the program.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?
Primarily, to embrace it, to make the best of it because it does go quickly. Be open minded and flexible because you gain so much more perspective on people and situations when you really give yourself the chance to understand them. Be brave in the face of challenges; overcoming them is the best feeling.
What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?
There was no average day or week; it is fast paced and easy to love. Coming into contact, first person, with the work Raleigh does and everyone involved and facing the enormous responsibility I had to contribute to its success was such a driving force to my focus.
I was primarily at field base (which boasted an impressive backdrop of a cluster of mountains behind it, which you can explore) as a communications officer, turning content into blog posts about the expedition, which had a flexible 9 to 5 framework, and the nature of the work required me to travel to projects for days in order to collect material from communities and the volunteers.
I saw a lot of the country, I visited all the projects and it was adventure at every turn, changing according to requirements, always offering opportunities explore and learn while making an active difference.
Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?
My biggest concern was immersion and seeing poverty to such a degree that it would make me miserable and angry, and I would take that back at the end of the program somehow.
My assumptions were dissolved when I was welcomed into the homes of people who were happy and eager to share what little they had. There was no misery and no anger, just an incredible focus on generosity and amenability, which was profoundly humbling. I gained perspective on this way of living, which I admire and value, because I stepped out and chose to see and experience it for myself.
What is your favorite story from your time in Tanzania?
I can share one memory that I will never forget, not because it was inspiring or life-changing, but actually on the account of how much I laughed at that moment. I went on a project support visit with some fellow volunteers to a village called Iyegeya, in the district of Mufindi, located around 1600 meters altitude. It's quaint but surrounded by really breathtaking landscapes.
At our homestay, on the first night, we were welcomed by the baba (father) and mama with a nice meal of wali na maragi (rice and beans), after which we stayed up fairly late working in the living area. At around 11 pm, our hosts began playing this tune, from their room next door, which I can only really describe as a mixture between some horrendous game show theme and Mario Kart music. On a loop. For what turned out to be the whole night.
We didn't know why or what, but rather ironically, we didn't want to disturb or impose on our hosts. So instead, as we lay on the mattresses on the floor, curled up in our sleeping bags and before putting on our headphones for the night, to drown out the sound, we cried with laughter at how absurd, after a long and draining day of work, this whole situation and choice of playing music was. The next day we asked our baba what was up with it, and he just shrugged, smiled and went, "I like music."
He didn't play it again the next night, but all the way to the end of the expedition we recalled it and still laughed our heads off.
