Maasai International Challenge

Eward was organizing a field trip for 13 students and 2 staff from Glasgow University. The experience was absolutely breathtaking and Edward but down an exceptional performance from beginning to end. He picked us up from Dar Es Salam airport, we drove to Dodoma University and then off to Lake Natron to our field camp. Edward provided an exceptional crew with cooks, police protection, two medical staff and local Masai guides. He helped to make the trip a full success including a hike up Ol Doinyo Lengai. I have read negative reviews about Edward and don't know what happened then, but during our trip there was not one negative thing, much on the contrary, Edward was extremely involved and became a close friend. He was also exceptionally helpful when we had to deal with problems like hospitalising one student and dealing with immigration issues. He produced exceptional value for our very tight budget. I can only recommend him for a real African experience. Of course I cannot talk about the volunteering program directly but for our trip he was perfect.

I would recommend anyone to volunteer in Tanzania. It is a safe and wonderful place, however I would never recommend MICATZ. The director is out to get the money. He is a dishonest, untrustworthy, lying person. My stay in Tanzania was amazing, but in no way thanks to him. I booked a safari through the director months in advance and it turned out that he didn't plan it until the day before. He also did not have the money to pay for my safari when it came time. Two others and myself had to pay even more money to actually go on the safari. All which he promised to pay us back with 4 days. It has now been over a month that I have returned home and he has not payed me the money of $390. Every time he lies and makes promises that he cannot keep. He is a poor business man and every time I had to deal with him it has been a struggle. I lost a lot of money, but nobody else should have to do that when volunteers just want is to feel safe and do good things for others. I would never use MICATZ again.

Let me start by saying: Tanzania itself is AMAZING, and the people are wonderful, barring this one..

Here are the issues I encountered with this particular program and it's TZ director EDWARD LAISER:
1. Edward, who is very pushy and aggressive about money from the start (even at you sending the first request for information), allayed my concerns about his style by sending what appeared to be a very thorough and well-thought out project assignment packet. Once I arrived, I found that my assignment was 100% completely different from what he sent me prior to my arrival. It's like he literally just found a document he had used before and slapped my name on it "here's your assignment" to appease me and get me to send him the money. Three Swedish girls that boarded at the same time shared my dismay as what had been communicated to them was also a complete misrepresentation (accomodations, work assignment, organization/location, etc). Another thing that was bothersome was that leading up to and during my time in the country he harassed me constantly about buying safari package upwards of $600 US and was completely dismissive in his dealings with me after my final refusal during the last leg of my trip. Later I found out that he owns a safari touring company, which I think is his real bread and butter.
2. The most upsetting issue that I had with this man is that he stole $120 US from me. The $120 was sent to him (at his pressuring) so that he could purchase an additional volunteer visa on my behalf which he said was easier and standard practice. He NEVER purchased it. When I asked him about it a few times he assured me he would get the money back to me. For at least one month (after my return to the US) he led me to believe he was working on getting my money back to me, until one day he just stopped responding to my emails. Watch out for this guy. He is dishonest and focused on lining his pockets.

Volunteering with IVHQ in Arusha was not only a fulfilling experience but also a huge eye opener.

I taught English in a small local school that had just been created for very poor children who cannot afford to pay to go to school. Although at the time I felt like I wasn't making a difference, when I talk to past and present volunteers, I can see that actually the children did progress over the time that I was there and this makes me want to go back and help and especially so I can see my little monsters again!

I stayed in the local volunteer house which housed up to 30 volunteers. It was a really great place and had been designed to Western standards so very comfortable and clean. The food was absolutely delicious with lots of fresh fruit a vegetables and great local dishes cooked for us by the 3 'mamas' who would come in every day. We had one mama who lived in the house with us and who was always there to help us if we had any questions or problems which was really reassuring. We also had a permanent security guard at the gates so that we always felt safe. The local staff and actually the locals in general were all really friendly and welcoming, though, for girls the men were sometimes overly friendly!

Because we were so many volunteers in one house, the social life was really vibrant with weekly trips to the local club, Via Via. You also formed really close bonds to others whilst you were there which was nice because you could get good groups to do some tourism with. Me and a group of volunteers did a safari together and I even went to Zanzibar for a week with my roommate. Luckily, IVHQ were really great at helping us to organise trips and at our orientation we got given a list of things to visit and which companies to use so it was all pretty effortless. At orientation we also got given a guided tour of Arusha so that we would know where to go shopping and get anything we may have forgotten.

Overall, it was definitely an interesting experience and one that I would happily have again. It definitely opened my eyes and made me so grateful for the life I have and the small comforts such as permanent power. It also made me realise how even just a little help can go a long way in developing countries an this has compelled me to go abroad and volunteer again. Although IVHQ may have been quite expensive seeing that Africa is such a cheap place to live, it is definitely one of the more afforable companies out there and it's worth paying a bit more to be with a reliable company that is always there for support and help.

From February until May 2011 I have been volunteering in Arusha, Tanzania through the organization called MICATZ which arranged everything for me before I went there and I was treated very well by MICATZ and got the information and help I needed.

In Tanzania I was very happy to work at Yakini Primary School in Arusha, and Micatz was very flexible to let me work at the school instead of the orphanage, which I thought I wanted to work at before I left Denmark and micatz donated 30% of the money l paid to them to my projects where l volunteered with and the rest of the money they used for volunteer house running costs for volunteer food,airport pick-up and for their office administration.

I was satisfied with the volunteer house I lived in, and it was nice to have the contact to other volunteers. The workers in the house were very friendly and open to me.
Micatz was a big support for me, and I was very satisfied with Edward and Christopher, which I had the most contact to and also felt safely under MICATZ in Tanzania.

The organization was very flexible, and I appreciated that I could make breaks from the work to make trips and then come back to work.

I recommend you to go with them.

Asante Sana.
Maria Louise