During your first 48 hours in Tanzania we'll get you settled-in and introduce you to your new environment. During this period you'll spend most of your time with your coordinator. Here's what that entails;

• Airport pick-up
• Introduction to the volunteer house & neighborhood
• Swahili lessons (2 hours/day)
• Walking tour of Arusha town
• Introduction to placement
• Local customs
• How to best get to the places you want to go
• Health & safety

Volunteers will stay in the volunteer house which is located about 7 km east of downtown Arusha. The house has 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a large living room and patio, and is gated. Its a western style house with flush toilets and electricity (240v). There's limited hot water for showers, but then it can get rather hot out anyways! A computer with internet is available though service can be spotty.

We have an on-site staff that will cook, clean and take care of the grounds. We also have a Masai guard during the evenings, and a watchdog (he's really just a pup at this point) named Scooter.

You'll stay in shared room and sleep in a bunk-bed under a mosquito net that's provided. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily and the staff will wash your clothes for a nominal fee, or you can give a shot yourself!

During your volunteer period you'll typically work 4-5 hours per day on your assignment. The actual time you spend working may depend on the nature of your assignment(s). TVE's staff will accommodate, as best as possible, your desires to work in excess of 5 hours per day. There's plenty of need in the community, and spending more time volunteering would be much appreciated by community organizations. We do ask our volunteers to follow through on their base assignments, as the people and organizations you've agreed to serve will be expecting to share in the benefits of your time spent together!