Volunteer Abroad in Tanzania with Children

work with children in Tanzania Volunteering abroad in Tanzania is a rewarding way to help improve conditions for disadvantaged children in Africa. You can contribute towards this important development work during a gap year, career break, or vacation time. Volunteers with skills and experience are welcome but you do not need to have either to volunteer. Energy, passion and a commitment to the underprivileged children that we work with is enough to partake on a placement.

Tanzania is a country of ancient tribal traditions and rich natural resources. Although Tanzania is no longer one of the poorest five countries in the world, a position it occupied in the mid 1980s, due to the increase of HIV/AIDS life expectancy remains low and many children in Tanzania still need extra help.

There are thousands of orphans in Tanzania, about 40 percent who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. With an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate at 9 percent and an estimated infection rate that is much higher, the situation is unlikely to improve for years to come. In many of the orphanages and care homes, staff struggle with limited resources to feed, clothe, and educate children in their care. Staff in these facilities often don't have the time to provide the individual love and attention that these children crave, which is where your needs as a volunteer come in.

International Volunteer Work doing Community Development and Volunteering in Orphanages with Projects Abroad

volunteer with children in Tanzania


We have a variety of volunteer abroad opportunities in Tanzania, working in both orphanages and care centers with children aged from 0 to about 14 years old. Our Care placements are located in and around the town of Arusha in northern Tanzania. Despite the initial impressions of a safari tourist hub, many areas of the town are home to people who have yet to experience the benefit of the tourist dollar and there is plenty of work that care volunteers can do.

We have volunteer opportunities in smaller care homes and day care centers that look after children from single parent families or for the children of street beggars.


Your Role Volunteering Abroad with Children in Tanzania

volunteer work Tanzania Whichever volunteer care project you join in Tanzania, you need to be ready for a challenge. Many of the children are desperate for attention and there may be children in your care who have health problems or need special attention due to disabilities.

It is your role as a volunteer - spending quality one-on-one time with a child, playing games with a group and finding a way to put a smile on their faces - that Projects Abroad volunteers are so valuable.

Whether you are feeding and bathing babies or toddlers, taking a group of children out for an afternoon trip, helping older children with English school homework or playing a game with the younger ones, you will be an essential part of their development. Please let us know about any extra interests or skills that you have which could be used in a care placement.