Institute for Field Research Expeditions - IFRE

The experience I had in Tanzania through IFRE was great overall. My first week was spent doing the Language and Culture Program. Although it was beneficial to learning some Swahili, my teacher mostly read from a phrasebook and I wrote the words down in a journal. I was shown around town and taken on a trip to Marangu Falls. The trip to Marangu Falls was great, but my Language and Culture experience didn’t coincide with the itinerary or promised trips on the website. After spending a week in Moshi, I was taken to my project in Arusha. I stayed at Mama Jane’s Orphanage for two months. During my stay there, I played with the kids (age range two to 18), taught math to the primary age children, helped with the class held at the orphanage, and taught various subjects at a school in Ngara Mtoni. It was great to live with the kids at Mama Jane’s, because I was able to connect with them and get a better idea of the Tanzanian culture by constantly being with them. Teaching was sometimes stressful because of the language barrier, but I still feel like I have made a contribution. My last couple of weeks were spent doing surveys of children in Ngara Mtoni that are part of Mama Jane’s program, though not living at the orphanage. I was supposed to do the Women’s Project, but it never really happened, partly due to a recent passing of the woman in charge. In the beginning, I was overwhelmed and felt as though I wasn’t making a difference, but once I became more comfortable, I really got into the projects and came to love what I was doing.
The home-base accommodations were great. At Mama Jane’s, the accommodation was much simpler—there was no running water, and power outages were frequent. The volunteer bedroom was fairly nice, with its own bathroom. It was a good size and pretty comfortable. Sometimes the outside tap was working and clean water was easily accessed, but other times the drinking water that was provided was murky. I highly recommend a water purifying system. I got three meals a day. Lunch was usually just bread with provided peanut butter, and lunch and dinner were larger meals with a fair amount of variety. I thought the traditional food was delicious. I was typically able to spend afternoons and weekends how I wanted, but there were also times when we left unexpectedly and were gone for quite some time. I often wasn’t really sure what was going on, but it lead to some adventures that ended up being a good experience.
For the most part, IFRE was a reliable organization and I feel like the money I paid was well spent. I would consider using IFRE again as an organization to volunteer through. The country coordinator was helpful for me, though a few other volunteers had different experiences with him. The information I was provided about my project was mostly accurate, though some details were outright incorrect. As a whole, I’m incredibly glad that I came to Tanzania through IFRE, and feel that my experience was something I can walk away from feeling happy and satisfied.