Community Engagement In Rural Tanzania Past Review
By Ryan G (Anthropology and Urban Studies, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh) for
Amizade: Tanzania
You have to check out Amizade's programs in Tanzania. My experiences there really have been a high point in my undergraduate career. Doing this program has given me a whole other perspective that I continually reflect upon in both my academic and personal life.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
|
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
|
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
We stayed at a very nice guest house (hostel) that had single and double rooms with showers that had hot water for a brief period of time in the evening. I did not expect the privacy or comfort that Amizade provided us through this guest house. What was even better was that the guest house had several Tanzanians and Ugandans staying there, which allowed us to talk, relax and learn informally even at our guest house. |
| * Food: |
No food shortage here. Everything is fresh and tasty. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Daily interactions with NGO's and community residents along with special visits to local hospitals, clinics, coffee co-ops, rural farms made the program and incredible experience that not only allowed me to learn about the Karagwe District, but more importantly connected me to a community that I would never have known existed. The program's mixture of formal learning/discussion, informal/formal experiential learning, free time exploration, and reflection provokes thought about your abroad experience. We finished our trip with a once in a lifetime excursion that included an overnight ferry ride over Lake Victoria, a safari through the Serengeti Plains and the Ngorogoro Crater, and a few days on the beautiful picturesque beaches of Zanzibar Island. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
I say this to all my friends and they still find it hard to believe, but it is one of the safest places I have lived/traveled to in the world. The community is friendly and welcoming and at no point did I ever feel uncomfortable or unsafe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
|
Finances
|
* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
|
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Learning Kiswahili informally or formally through a few lessons will provide you with enough language skills for daily interactions with the community. Amizade provided us with translators for our community engagement project and provided formal and informal Kiswahili lessons to facilitate our language skills. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
