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Volunteering In Tanzania

On Friday the 6th July, I set off from Heathrow airport, with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, for Moshi in Tanzania. I was heading there to work as a volunteer with the charity i-to-i and afterwards to fulfil a personal mission to climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

This spirit of ‘giving something back’ to communities in need was, in part, nurtured when I was a Windsor Junior Fellow. The two-year personal and academic enrichment programme helped me improve my confidence and to aim for excellence. I was able to call on these positive thoughts as I climbed Kilimanjaro. Near the summit (5895m), as my energy was flagging, I had to dig deep to find the determination and the endurance to reach Uhuru peak. My guide Martin, like Carson Yarde, my Windsor Fellowship Programme leader, kept urging me to believe in myself and I would succeed. I reached the summit at 0630 on the 25th of July, a date that will remain etched in my memory. The view of the sunrise across the plains from Uhuru peak, the ‘roof of Africa’ was breath-taking. It was a high point in my life.

My stint as a volunteer with i-to-i was everything I hoped for. I met other volunteers from across the globe and we all got on really well. It was great to share stories about our lives and our hopes for the future. Each day brought surprises. As a volunteer coach, I expected to be coaching young people of my own age but was faced with a team of young men aged 19-26 years. I was bowled over by the enthusiasm of the young men and their willingness to learn. It left me in no doubt of the benefit of sport in breaking down barriers and providing some pleasure and meaning to the lives of those whose lives are scarred by poverty.

I particularly enjoyed living and working near the community I was serving. This way the volunteers could respond to its needs. For example, I was asked to help a couple of young students who wanted to improve their English. I gladly agreed to work with them. To my amazement by the end of the day, I found myself teaching a class of 20 people! Word had spread and so too had the size of this class. I had become a true Mwalimu (Swahili for teacher).

I arrived back in at Heathrow airport on the 28th July wearing a proud smile and the T-Shirt with the words announcing my summit success: ‘I Did It’. I would definitely encourage Windsor Junior Fellows and other young people who are thinking about volunteering to go for it. It’s an unforgettable experience.