Gap year case study - Jo volunteers in Tanzania

Find a teaching volunteer project

Teaching in a Maasai school in Tanzania

Sitting at a desk daydreaming of the Great Rift Valley, the Serengeti and the Maasai, Jo Williams finally decided to stop procrastinating.

Three months later she was living in a modest guesthouse in Longido, volunteering with MondoChallenge, a UK based NGO. After travelling in a shared taxi to Longido (shared being the understatement, maybe it should be squashed taxi) she arrived at the foot of Longido Mountain, home to 7000 Maasai and embarked on the adventure of a lifetime.

Mornings consisted of teaching in an Open Air Boma school; Open, in that it was a) outside and b) that all were welcome. And Boma referring to the traditional Maasai thatched hut. Afternoons were spent in the Maasai Women’s Market, in the shade of an acacia tree. Generations of women went to the market daily to make their traditional jewellery and for 2 hours every afternoon, they squeezed onto the two wooden benches and took part in role plays. Much of the interaction between the Maasai women and tourists is selling, so Jo introduced roleplays in which she was the Maasai and they were the Mzungu (white person). Laughter was the main outcome, along with practical teaching.

After 2 months, Jo had become enough of a respected member of the community to be invited to more than a cup of chai, she was invited along to a Maasai ceremony where a girl chooses her boyfriend - slightly different from an encounter at a nightclub...

"We arrived to see the warriors in their full glory, ochre red faces, spears at the ready and what looked like a wig on top of one of the spears (never got to the bottom of what it actually was). They looked fit and ready to fight for the girls’ attention, who ranged in age from 6-14...”

"I really felt like I was watching a documentary on BBC world, the warriors were jumping, the girls were hollering, the warriors were running at the girls screaming. If I hadn't been standing in the field, ankle deep in cow dung, the sun beating down on me, the flies dancing around me, and little Maasai children holding my hands, I don’t think I would have believed I was there.”

That was one of many highlights of Jo’s trip, but she will always remember one thing in particular. “It’s amazing, the Maasai are so true to their culture and heritage, western ways are slowly penetrating their environment, they have mobile phones tucked in their shukas (traditional robe) and ride bikes, but their belief in the family, traditions and the roles everyone plays is unwavering. Their belief in Engai (Maasai God) and the will of God brings with it a sense of peace. However infuriating at times I found the Maasai attitude, for example the ongoing, despite illegal female circumcision, giving water to the cows rather than women and children in the dry season, I also felt incredibly in awe. These people wholeheartedly believe in what they are doing. When questioned on my “beliefs and culture” I felt totally inadequate, I see my family occasionally, I think I believe in God, and the British culture these days seems to be referred to as a “Pub Culture”! How could I explain that we have so much freedom. The true essence of happiness, of which the Maasai have in abundance, seems, in the Western world to have become elusive and that in some ways we may have become rather lost?”

The experience Jo had was incredible, and will remain with her forever. “MondoChallenge seemingly effortlessly arranged my placement in Longido, and were there continually to support me both in country and in the HQ back in Northampton.

"I like the way MondoChallenge raise money and spend it directly at grass roots level, helped by the volunteers, who can see directly on the ground what needs doing. For many receivers of these benefits, long term plans are too late, immediate action is required and I really felt that we could change lives”.

Keen to continue in the development field following her unforgettable experience, Jo has offered to take over the support of MondoChallenge volunteers in Tanzania for the next 6 months.

Around 200 MondoChallenge volunteers will join projects this year in Tanzania, Kenya, the Gambia, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Chile and Ecuador. Typically, they will go for three months – either on teaching assignments, or using their business skills in areas such as accountancy and marketing to help small business enterprises and individuals. For more information, call 01604 858225 or log on to www.mondochallenge.org.

Jo Williams spent two months in Longido as part of a volunteer programme organised by MondoChallenge. Longido is located 60 miles from Arusha, the main town in northern Tanzania.