Volunteer

Uvi Foundation for Education is a Tanzanian NGO that was born as an implementing structure for development projects initiated by management company A.D. Views Management in 2020.

Uvi House & Restaurant is a social business concept combining a hotel, restaurant, sewing workshop, charity shop and food manufacture. It’s a private business and thanks to it, Dagmara – our main funding seeker, Abdul our chairman, Frida and Talita – our secretary and treasurer, can engage in projects free of charge, without remuneration.

Volunteers are under no obligation to stay with us. They can rent a house, a room, but as you suspect, the possibilities in the area are quite limited. The house can be rented, but without a shower, running water, often lights, etc. hence Uvi House comes across and offers a really small amount for accommodation with full board.
We are not a large organization with permanent subsidies, etc. We implement projects based on temporary grants, sponsorship of people and the Development Fund transferred to projects from the income of the hotel. Therefore, we do not have the budget to pay volunteers. 

Especially that the basic difficulty being Swahili knowledge, most volunteers have a limited capacity to help. If however, you speak Swahili, you have extended experience in working with children (not only in Europe – because it’s a completely different approach, environment), you have large creativity, your own (good) ideas – in general, you are a specialist with a high added value – we would gladly treat such a person into a free stay.

We are looking for people who love children, have open minds, are not afraid of hard work, generally “easy going” people who are open to learning and experiencing other cultures and lifestyles. Lovers of nature, for whom the environment is important. We do not require experience in working with children as such, but of course it is welcome. But the ability to dance, sing, draw, etc. is also welcome. The minimum amount of time is 1 month, however we encourage longer stays, up to 3, even 6 months. The longer you stay, the more impact you make. 

But from our experience, most volunteer candidates have limitations that only allow them to do basic math, painting, games and activities with the kids. So quite honestly, if we were to pay someone extra, we’d rather hire a Tanzanian person without communication issues, who knows the local customs, specificities and it equally helps development by creating job opportunities. Please always remember that the volunteering should have more value for the person being helped, not for the person helping.

Special Rates for Volunteer’s Accommodation & Food

Please keep in mind that Uvi Foundation for Education is a local NGO conducting development projects. Uvi House is an AirBnB accommodation, our business and thanks to this job we can donate our time and efforts to the projects without remuneration. Myself and several other people employed at our company are also working full time on the projects. Kindly remember that the volunteers are under no obligation to stay with us. They can find a house, a room, but as you suspect, the possibilities in the area are quite limited. The house can be rented, but without a shower, running water, often lights, etc., hence the House offers a relatively low priced accommodation for volunteers including full board meal plan. The rates are probably even lower than the statistical costs of living in the West. We are not a large organization with permanent subsidies. We implement projects based on temporary grants, sponsorship of people and occasional crowdfunding campaigns.

*Change of prices due to various reasons possible (drastic increase in food prices, transport prices etc.) Included for all volunteer, studies related and internship stays: drinking water and slow wifi. Excluded: visas, translators and other local workers, swahili lessons, local transport.

Below you can download a volunteer form to fill out, and a pdf with the costs of accommodation & meals at Uvi House & Restaurant for volunteers.

Download volunteer form

Please remember that we are remotely located in the Usambara mountains, so occasional water cuts can occur. We use solar power so charging of different devices has to be planned, the phone network can disappear from time to time. There are bugs and lizards and all kinds of small wildlife! Mosquitoes are very rare but can manifest themselves occasionally, however they don’t carry malaria in our area and the rooms have mosquito nets. 
All those imperfections and “challenges” are a great opportunity, for the right people, to disconnect from the wold, rethink and revalue your life, reconnect with the Nature instead. And the stunning views and amazing smiles can compensate all the little discomforts.