Volunteer Information

Welcome to Tanzania!  For those of you who have never traveled to an emerging country, you will find it a life changing experience.  There is a condition known as "Tanzaphilia" characterized by "once you have been there, you will always return".

Language -  Most Tanzanians speak several languages: English (amount varies), Swahili, and their mother tongue.  Whether you are here for a long or short time, it is important to at least learn common greetings. 

In Tanzania, greetings are very important, and before business is started, it is always expected to exchange greetings and to inquire about the state of things at home and work. There are small handbooks which will help you acquire basic greetings and words.

Air Travel -  There are two international airports: Kilimanjaro International Airport located about halfway between Arusha and Moshi, and Mwalimu Julius Nyerere International Airport located in Dar es Salaam.

Most of you will be coming into Kilimanjaro if you are volunteering in Mwanza.  From Kilimanjaro, there is a local flight to the city of Mwanza.  This involves staying overnight in Arusha.  If you need help with the transfer, we have people in Arusha that will pick you up and bring you to the hotel and make sure you catch the flight to Mwanza the next day.   For details, contact Paula at paula@ihptz.org.

Another way to get to Mwanza is by having Paula come to pick you up at the airport.  Keep in mind that this is a 7 hour drive through the Serengeti and although animal viewing is magnificent, special arrangements have to be made.

If you will be working in Dodoma, you can land at either airport, but Dar es Salaam is recommended.  From Dar es Salaam, it is a 6 hour drive to Dodoma.  There are no local flights.

Room and Board -  In Mwanza, room and board are arranged for by Paula.  The cost of room and full board (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) is $20.00 (USD) per day.  Laundry is available for about 300 (Tanzanian shilling) per item with socks and underwear being free.  There is a lovely group dining room and kitchen, or private dining for those staying in one of the houses.

Seasons -  There are fours seasons: Long rains (usually starting in March), Long dry season, June-November, Short rains ( November) and the short dry season.  These seasons are not always predictable and famine often occurs if the rains are not adequate or long enough to plant and harvest.  Tanzania looks dramatically different in the rainy seasons and the dry seasons.  Travel is adventuresome in the rainy season, but rewarding to see the green landscape and wild flowers.  Travel is easier in the dry season, but the landscape is dry and dusty.

Clothing -  If you are in the game parks, shorts and sportswear are acceptable.  However, if you are in towns or upcountry, modest clothing is necessary.  Skirts at or below the knees are good; mini-skirts are not appropriate.

Emergency Contact Number -  If there is an emergency and your family or friends need to contact you while you're in Tanzania, they should try Paula's cell phone number at: 011 255 784 749 320.

More visitor information can be found on the FAQ page of this site.

All teams need to turn in their authorization documents together with the date they are coming, and they should be Fed Exed to:

    Mary Ellen Kitundu

   966 Haile Selassie Street

   Dar es Salaam

 with the phone number 0755665740.

Please allow time to process everything. A month would be a blessing. People go on vacation or to seminars or are ill, and we cannot control this. Also sometimes we have electrical outages, many national holidays, and non-functioning email. It gets very stressful if Mary Ellen Kitundu has to get the authorization a couple of hours before she gets on the plane.

If you are bringing drugs or medical equipment, it must be run through the Tanzania Food and Drug Administration (TFDA). This is because some people are dumping expired drugs and terrible equipment into the country. Give me at least 2 weeks to process these. The TFDA is 1 hour of rough nail biting heavy traffic driving from my house, and it takes at least 3 trips to process one request. Then the request has to be mail expressed to the airport and scanned and mailed to you so you can come into the country without hassle.

To review: drugs should be in a table form with the following headings: name of drug, Quantity, Manufacturer, batch number, expiry date (must be more than 6 months)and value.  We also need a letter stating that the drugs are a bona fide drug (on letterhead of some kind).  They also require another "invoice paper " which has the following information on it: 1. country of origin, 2. name of donor 3. date and flight number if hand carried and by whom hand carried, 4, total value, 5, some kind of "invoice number"...make one up like 2010-123.  All this is entered into a computer program and if one thing is missing, the process stopped.  All this can be emailed to mkitundu@gmail.com.

Equipment must have 1) An "invoice paper" which has the following information on it: a) country of origin, b) name of donor, c) date and flight number if hand carried and by whom hand carried, d) total value, and e) some kind of "invoice number"...make one up like 2010-123.,  2) Bona fide gift letter, 3)In table form: country of origin, name and manufacturer of equipment or supplies, 4) expiry date if applicable, 5) value, 6) invoice number and document if purchased.

OK, lots of paperwork, but if everyone follows the rules and spends a little time on these issues, it pays off in the end. If you don't have it, there is lots of trouble at the airport. We have made it known that IHP-TZ does not pay bribes and once a bribe is paid, it makes lots of trouble for groups and volunteers that follow.

Physicians:  Please note

• If doctors come as part of a team, the fee for all the medical is $50.  A team can be a doctor and a couple of nurses, many doctors, or a husband and wife.  If you come alone, the fee is $300.  We pay this and you pay it back.  DO NOT SEND MONEY THROUGH THE MAIL.

• All items can be mailed to Mary Ellen Kitundu, 966 Haile Selassie Street, Dar es Salaam and will be hand carried to the Registrar of the Medical Council.

• Copies of originals should be notarized and stamped and impressed with a raised logo of the notary public. The raised impression is important since there is a belief here that this cannot be forged.

• All doctors MUST have temporary permission to practice.  Just as we do not allow foreign physicians to care for patients in the United States, neither does Tanzania permit unregistered physicians to practice in Tanzania.

• Click here for forms: PHYSICIAN FORMS.  They must be completely filled out.  Please add the dates you will be in Tanzania.

• Note: The medical council here needs an original letter from your medical board stating you are in good standing.  Internet downloaded pages are no longer acceptable.  Given time this is usually not too difficult.  We have even had a doctor get one of these letters within 3 hours.  Someone from some country has faked the internet download, so we are all paying the price! 

Remember to check to see if you have the following seven items: (If any document is missing, the process does not continue until all items are present!)

• two passport pictures with your name written on the back and notarized

• notarized picture page of your passport

• curriculum vitae

• notarized copy of your MD degree.  If your diploma is in another language, i.e. Latin, it HAS to be translated.

• notarized copy of your current license to practice

• application form (fill out and sign first two pages)  Please indicate exact days you will be in Tanzania. You can get this from the link above.

• a letter of good standing from your medical board.

Please see the "Volunteer Information For All Medical Teams" section on this page for additional information you should know.

The Nursing Council recognizes that all these forms could take a long while to complete.  All items in the Application Packet are absolutely necessary before you come are:

1. Application packet with all items listed below should be mailed to Mary Ellen Kitundu, 966 Haile Selassie Street, Dar es Salaam:

   1.  Application form
   2.  Two passport pictures - notarized
   3.  Certified or notarized copy of diploma
   4.  Notarized copy of current license

 Note: an email to mkitundu@gmail.com that the application is coming is appreciated.

Mary Ellen will write a letter of introduction for you to begin the process.  She will pay the Nursing Council fees and you can reimburse her when you come.  DO NOT send money through the mail. Two applicants have lost all their documents because someone figured out there was cash in the envelope. 

The fees vary so please contact Mary Ellen for actual amounts.  If doctors come as part of a team, the fee for all the medical is $50. A team can be a doctor and a couple of nurses, many doctors, or a  husband and wife. If you come alone, the fee is $300.

IHP TZ will gather all the forms and bring them to the Nursing Council under a cover letter from IHP TZ.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but remember that the US would not allow any nurse to work there without a license, and the same applies to Tanzania. 

Nursing Application Forms are available here:  NURSING FORMS

Please see the "Volunteer Information For All Medical Teams" section on this page for additional information you should know.