Volunteering area: People Care

Location: Mkuranga, Tanzania

Short description:
Mwanangu main community

Mwanangu is a charity that works with children in the curative and medical sectors. It is involved in the education and health sectors to improve the quality of education and health of children with and without special needs.

The facility is integrated into a Swahili village where community members participate in the development of the school. Located 20 minutes away from Dar es Salaam in a Coastal Region (Southern) at Vikindu Village, Mkuranga District. Tanzania.

The institution has 12 staff members; it cares for around 31 children with disabilities and 49 without disabilities, making a total of 80 children.

There is a Waldorf-inspired curative education school and a biodynamic and organic garden. Some children live temporarily in a residential home on site.

Parents of children with special needs are supported by Mwanangu Development Tanzania with income-generating anti-poverty activities. The goal is also to raise community awareness about disabilities and prevention. Income-generating activities are offered there such as clothes making,  cooking, a village community bank and a small gift store located in a tourist highway area in Pugu Hills.

At Mwanangu Development Tanzania, volunteers are assigned to where their skills are of best use. Volunteers support day-to-day activities, such as in classes, the dormitory, rehabilitation therapy, office, or agriculture.  They are also invited and encouraged to actively participate in meetings and morning circle time.

Mwanangu House of Hope in Nyegezi Mwanza

Mwanangu House of Hope is another project they have which consists of a transit home for children with hydrocephalus and spina bifida who are receiving treatment at Bugando Medical Centre. We accommodate children and their parents/caregivers before, during and after surgery. At the house, we conduct health education, home visits and outreach programmes to raise awareness of these disabilities in the community. 

We also conduct rehabilitation therapies and education for the residents. We attend the clinic, major ward rounds and work. The volunteers who are planning to take a health-related career are ideal candidates for this volunteer as it involves medical interventions and health-related issues. You should be ready to work on emergency cases and support the team going back and forth to the hospital with a sick patient. We require high flexibility and dedication to work at the house of hope.

We work hand in hand with the neurosurgeons in the neurosurgery department. At the house, we provide free of charge meals and accommodation for the families of this kids families as the majority are coming from very poor families. We support these mothers in navigating through the big hospital and we translate and coordinate between patients and doctors. In a year we accommodate 300 children, and at the hospital, we serve over 1000 patients.

Main activities will include (but are not limited to): 

Tasks at the Mwanangu main community:

• Support teachers at the school during the classes, attending needs that come out spontaneously, supporting the teacher with the lessons in some moments, etc.
• Support the Mwanangu team with after-school activities and sports
• Help in the office with social media, website development and technology, etc.
• Participate in social events and fundraising activities of the school
• Help with agricultural activities on the farm
• Help assist the basic needs of the children living in the residence
• Help with medical and rehabilitation therapies of the children
• Any activity you can introduce to the children is mostly welcome

Tasks at Mwanangu House of Hope:

• Welcoming the parents and children at the House of Hope
• Register caregivers, signing the consent form and code of conducts
• Give a tour of the house, the rooms and surroundings of House of Hope
• Measure temperature of the children that needs it and register it in the book (morning and evening)
• Record their next clinic appointment into the register
• Teach the children who are able to learn at the house classroom
• Participate in the weekly house meeting and contribute your ideas
• Join daily cooking/cleaning/education activities at the House of Hope
• Any activity you can introduce to the children is mostly welcome

Specific information/requisites:

– In the Mwanangu main community, the working day usually goes from 07:30 to 16:30. There is a 30-minute snack break from 10:00 to 10:30 and a 1-hour lunch break from 13:00 to 14:00.

– Volunteers are accompanied by a mentor and introduced to the work. 

– Volunteers are accommodated in a shared facility. In this, volunteers share a room. Volunteers eat together with the children in the common house and in the school.

– Volunteers should like to work with children and those with and without disabilities.

– Volunteers should have a very fluent English level and willing to learn Swahili.

– The city of Dar-es-Salaam, which has a population of approximately 7 million, offers a variety of recreational and excursion opportunities. Some interesting museums, parks, markets and islands can be explored. The facility is integrated into a Swahili village, close to the Indian Ocean.

– The climate is tropical and largely dry. 

More information: Mwanangu Development Tanzania Instagram