Zanzibar Super Saver Volunteering: Teaching and Community Development Project

Project Costs:

  • 2 weeks €870
  • 4 weeks €1295
  • 6 weeks €1685
  • 8 weeks €2075

Visit Zanzibar & join us on this must do project and provide teaching assistance in under-resourced schools, and make a positive outcome on the lives of underprivileged children. In the afternoons volunteers can assist with a wide range of Community Upliftment Programs, such as building initiatives, adult literacy clubs, afterschool programs, and helping out in Zanzibar Old People’s Home. We invite volunteers to join Zanziplanet Tours in making our mark in this spirited community…

We are now offering this Community Upliftment Program as a Super Saver Volunteering experience, to make it as affordable as possible for travelers looking to make a difference in underprivileged communities. Together with our passionate volunteers, we are making a huge outcome in the community on this well deserving project, and volunteers can expect the same level of experience as our regular volunteer program. We invite you to join us, and make your mark on this spirited community.

Zanzibar… Where travelers forget the times

Despite its tiny size and obscure location, Zanzibar holds an almost legendary status among travelers as an exotic island paradise blessed with palm fringed shores, timeless fishing village and lush aromas of spice plantations. Although a mere stone’s throw from the mainland, Zanzibar has an identity all of its own, shaped by a turbulent history which abounds with a colorful cast of characters, from slave traders and sultans, to pirates and princesses.

Education Initiatives:

Teaching volunteers’ spend their time providing much needed assistance within the educational establishments of Zanzibar. You do not need to be qualified for our Teaching Project; you just need the desire to bring the outcome!

Teaching Assistants – As a teaching volunteer you will spend your mornings in one of ten of our community schools that cater to orphaned and vulnerable children. You will be assigned a class and cooperating teacher to focus your efforts and get to know the individual needs of the students. While the teacher is in front of the classroom, teaching a class, it is extremely valuable to have a teaching assistant who can go around and help individual children with their assignments. Since classes are usually very large, the pupils do not often get this individual attention they need. The extra help volunteers provide has the potential to make a lasting difference by identifying students who are falling behind and giving additional support.
Group Work – A volunteer may find in class that there are a group of children who struggle to keep up with the rest of the class. Volunteers will take groups of children out of the class to go through the class work at a slower rate with greater repetition to enhance learning. Once students start to fall behind, it can be a difficult trend to stop as there are minimal structures in place at the schools to help struggling students. Early intervention is therefore a key.
Marking Tests and Assignments – Teachers at Zanzibar schools give a great amount of tests and assignments to their pupils, so there is always a lot of marking to do. Many of the teachers in the community schools are volunteers themselves who dedicate long hours to schools for minimal pay so the opportunity to relieve their workload and focus more on academic instruction is important. It may not even be a test that needs marking but homework or simple class exercises. This is an important role of the teaching volunteer but it is mixed it up with other teaching assistance methods so as not to become tedious.
Revision Classes – Since the pace in class is fast, and individual attention low, children often fall behind. By repeating subjects in revision classes, these children might have a better chance of keeping up during their regular classes.

Should you feel comfortable you can teach your own class using the in depth lesson plans. This is a fantastic opportunity to offer the students a fresh perspective and increase their intellectual curiosity.
Current School projects:

Nungwi Community School: (1020 pupils, 18 teachers, morning and afternoon sessions)
This is a fairly large school but still under construction. Zanziplanet Tours has built a new general classroom, a new classroom for the pre-schoolers and are in the middle of construction on a health and education center. We also have Physical Education classes taught by the sports volunteers.

Paje Community School: (650 pupils, 14 teachers, morning sessions)

A small under privileged school situated on Paje community overlooking Livingstone. Physical Education is facilitated by volunteers, also as well as Art Clubs and Reading Clubs.
Bwejuu Community School: (365 pupils, 9 teachers, morning sessions)

This is an extremely under privileged and tiny school and Zanziplanet Tours is proud to be associated with it. Teaching volunteers help out in the mornings providing assistance within the classroom. A good command of English is essential in Zanzibar so teaching volunteers specifically focus on improving reading, writing and speaking skills through reading clubs and similar extracurricular activities.
Uroa Primary School:

This school, although it is a basic (technically government funded) receives little in the way of funding and we assist with classroom assistance and soccer training as well as revision classes to the students.
Kiwengwa School:

This is an extremely under privileged school started by a group of elders from the community to meet the educational needs of vulnerable and orphaned children in Kiwengwa Village. We provide teaching assistance within the school, run reading clubs and teach Physical Education in our Sports Program.
Matemwe Community School:

A poor school operating in the corner of a larger government school, Matemwe caters to the vulnerable and orphaned kids in the area who cannot afford the school fees at the government school. Operating out of a converted abattoir or slaughterhouse, the school lacks basic infrastructure and resources. Volunteers assist with teaching lessons, reading clubs and physical education.
School terms
First term: 1st January to 6th April
Second term: 7th May to 3rd August
Third term: 1st September to 30th November

During school vacation time volunteers run “holiday clubs”
Holiday club is extremely important as it offers students valuable time to catch up on learning missed due to the Zanzibar “Hot Seating” system. Not only does it give young people a safe environment to spend their summer holidays, it is also a lot of fun whilst providing an effective educational tool. Teaching volunteers work closely with sports volunteers to teach lessons for the first half of the morning and then engage the students in recreational activities and teach the importance of a healthy lifestyle. For self-starters, this project is a fantastic way to direct instruction for a few weeks and leave your mark on the students.

Afternoon Community Projects

Volunteers will spend their mornings at one of the Schools we are working with, and afternoons you will enjoy one of many exciting Community Development initiatives:

  • Build / paint / refurbish schools and clinics
  • Reading Club
  • Art Club
  • Adult Literacy Club
  • Study Group
  • Zanzibar Old Peoples Home

 

 

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