Stay with local family while you help in language exchanges.

Japão

5

It was absolutely a great experience with Jovin, Joseph and other volunteers:)) I teached English and math at the Day care centre on weekdays, and all of chirdren are so cute. it was rewarding. We could go to the beach or do some activities on weekends, and the host helped to plan them. I really appreciate all of you, especially Jovin and Joseph would always help me. The food is also amazing:)) I love Tanzania 🇹🇿

29 dias atrás

Espanha

5

I spent two incredible weeks volunteering at two schools with the organization. The children's energy and enthusiasm to learn were contagious. Despite their limited resources, their smiles and laughter were constant reminders of their joy. Meeting and working with other volunteers was fantastic. This opportunity taught me about the importance of education. Volunteering in Tanzania is a life-changing experience I highly recommend to anyone. If you get the chance, take it, you won't regret!!

1 mês atrás

Espanha

5

My stay with Jovin has been unforgettable. The children are affectionate and always smiling. The teachers treated us wonderfully, and Jovin and Joseph made us feel like family. Regarding previous travelers' comments, don't take them too seriously. Some complaints are narrow-minded, others are untrue, and many issues are being fixed. There is Wi-Fi, the food is varied, and mirrors will soon be in all rooms. Excursions like safaris aren't free, but Jovin always gets us discounts and negotiates prices for us.

1 mês atrás

Espanha

5

My experince could not have been better. The children are super happy, and I've learned a lot from them. The teachers are so helpful with us volunteers and Jovin and Josef, the hosts, treated me wonderfully, always ready to help. They even suggested/organized fun weekend activities for us like island trips and safaris. Regarding negative reviews from June, please ignore them, they come from super closed-minded people who focus on trivial issues like: no mirror, a broken sink, and too many carbs...The food is DELICIOUS, and the sink/mirror issue is resolved. Please DO NOT hesitate to come🩷

1 mês atrás

Bélgica

5

I've stayed 2 weeks in the organization with my daughter and we have loved every second of these days. Thanks to the organization for the opportunity, to Jovin for his constant help and for organizing so nice trips on the weekends, to his family for preparing so good meals, to the teachers for their kindness and to all the volunteers for the good atmosphere. At school the children have stolen part of my heart. I will never forget their smile, happyness, their eager to learn and the love they gave us day after day 🥰 It has been a wonderful experience I will keep in my heart forever. Naipenda Tanzania ❤️

2 meses atrás

Portugal

5

The best host I could have chosen, I always felt welcomed by Jovin and his sweet wife, attentive to my needs, always concerned about my safety, and honest above all, I loved our nights out. Thank you for everything, I brought much more than I gave I will never forget you❤️❤️

7 meses atrás

Noruega

3

I had a amazing time at Jovins house bacause of the other volunteers and the wonderful kids. There are a lot of things that were great about the experience, but there are some things that could be improved for the next volunteers. Things that were promised were not there, like free wifi, free drinks, discount on different things, free tours and so on. I had a wonderful time with the kids, but i think more information about curriculum and more engangement from the teachers are necessary. Sometimes you can feel pressured to donate more money to the schools, wich could feel uncomfortable.

2 meses atrás

Jovin respondeu

Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re delighted to hear that you had an amazing time with the children and other volunteers. Your insights are invaluable for us to improve the experience for future volunteers.

We acknowledge the issues you mentioned and have already taken steps to address them. We’ve installed free WiFi, added customized mirrors in each room, and fixed the sink. Regarding the free tours, while they aren’t 100% free since volunteers cover transportation and food costs, they do include a local guide from our team, offering a rich, local experience.

We understand the importance of providing structured curriculum information and teacher engagement. We’re conducting seminars to better prepare our schools and teachers for effective collaboration with volunteers. Our local teachers have a syllabus in place, but we encourage volunteers with an educational background to contribute their own ideas and methods to enhance the learning experience.

We also recognize the cultural differences, especially concerning disciplinary practices. We aim to address these sensitively and constructively in our orientations for both volunteers and local staff.

Thank you again for your valuable feedback. It helps us grow and improve our program. We hope to see you again in the future and wish you all the best in your endeavors.

Best regards,
Jovin

Espanha

4

An unforgettable experience. The children are wonderful, grateful and loving, a part of me stayed with them. However, this volunteering offers many things that are not true: there is no wifi, no discounts of any kind, no bicycles, etc. It should be noted that you are in a Tanzanian village, without sinks, mirrors and a hole in the ground is used as toilet. The food is based 85% on carbohydrates (rice, pasta and potatoes), only eating protein a couple of times a week. Joseph, a colleague of the organization, was our real support, he has became a friend. The volunteers made this experience amazing

2 meses atrás

Jovin respondeu

Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re delighted to hear that the children and your fellow volunteers made your experience memorable.


However, we apologize for any discrepancies between your expectations and the reality of your stay.We strive to provide clear and accurate information about the amenities and conditions in Chamazi village.

We acknowledge the absence of certain amenities like WiFi and mirrors. However to make it accurately, we serves protein nutrients in the meals, our typical lunch is rice or pastas served with beans, peas or Tilapia fish and avocados, we serves fried chicken, beef on regular basis.

While we are working to improve the internet facilities, we assist volunteers to get local Sim Card for internet connections which works pretty well.

We’re grateful for Joseph's support and the positive impact he made. Your insights are invaluable, and we will use them to enhance future volunteers' experiences. Thank you for your dedication and understanding.

Reino Unido

2

Mixed experience however one I will cherish. Jovin provides little support for volunteers and seemed to not care, even leaving for a week. Giving vague direction, and no plans. I found all my support in other volunteers and Joseph. What's listed on World packers is unrealistic, there is no WiFi nor workspace, amenities are limited, and I would have appreciated at least a sink. Joseph is amazing taking us to places and keeping us safe, experience would be completely different without him. Kids are incredible, They still hit the children, something that was deeply uncomfortable to witness.

3 meses atrás

Jovin respondeu

At least you could be fair enough to say apart from this volunteering mission i work in friend's travel company the one I told you when I was about to leave for a week while you were on three days safari holiday.


In 2024 the organization doesn’t need just one individual guy to run everything, I delegate the authority to my colleagues like Joseph and volunteers like Samantha so that they can cooperate in decisions making.

I strongly believe the experience could be way more better if you could at least put some trust to local host which eventually happened on the last days of your stay and I don’t blame about this because the situation put you in position to not trust a local host.


May be this volunteering mission isn’t for everyone especially the ones who’s likely to stay in his comfort zones. For the first two weeks someone can easily recognize unwillingness of Jake to cooperate in the organization’s projects. He was more harm in organization until he decided to change his rudeness behavior and humble his pride.

Alemanha

1

I, Carolin, originally planned a 4-week stay with Jovin but had to leave 10 days early. My experiences were overwhelmingly negative. I felt isolated as the only volunteer in a vast area and had to travel long distances for activities. What deeply troubled me was the morally unacceptable disciplinary methods used on the children, including physical punishment. Additionally, I felt uncomfortable in the house, often dining alone and being avoided. Despite discussions, the problems persisted, resulting in financial loss. Due to these concerning aspects, I strongly advise against this experience.

4 meses atrás

Jovin respondeu

Thank you for your feedback Caroline. I’m very sorry to hear about your experience and apologize for any inconvenience caused.


However since it’s one sided review, I would like to provide some few more narrations about the allegations.

First of all Caroline arrived a week earlier before a second male volunteer arrived, we introduced her to the entire staff and gave her the orientation and schedule of the school and organization.

We were bringing her to our non profit daycare and picked her up every day, as we always do to all solo female volunteer until they get used to it. The distance is 10 minutes walking to school.

The problem about Caroline I think she’s a little bit introvert, closed minded and racist. She judges everything from wrong point of view which makes us feel embarrassed.

We as local people, we have our own traditional cuisine which we like to cook some days like Ugali the stiff porridge from corn flour and local spinach (Matembele ) which we found not very exciting for international volunteers, that’s why we came up with this idea of having two different dishes the international cuisine like Spaghetti, French fries and rice for volunteers as well as local cuisine Ugali.for us local people, since we like it mostly.

Caroline wasn’t interested from very first place to try this local dishes which we totally understand and accept her preference that’s why we were making two different dishes few days in a week, the international cuisine for her as a volunteer and local dishes for us, we as a local people who are working for this project.

This may seems to be isolating volunteer from wrong perspective but it can also seems to be a special care and treatment for volunteers from the right perspective. Since we respect her right of choice of having the typical western cuisines.


Caroline developed the intimacy and romantic relationship with this male volunteer which was quite fine and lovely until the day he left to Kenya for another project which made Caroline struggling to accept the loneliness from this guy and then she started to make some silly excuses about leaving the project because of her feelings of loneliness.

Remember, she was here for a week before the guy and it was all good until the day he left to Kenya and Caroline started to feel desperate, crying all day, bought the flight the same day and left the same night as his boyfriend leaving to Kenya.

Apart from this immature behavior of not able to control her own feelings, she could be an amazing volunteer if she could be able to understand the life in different point of view especially being an open minded to learn new cultures and a way of life as the main purpose of this platform to exchange culture.


As the host of this project JOVIN, I can declare that, i have so many experiences from solo female volunteers like Uma, Pauline and Filomena and it was always great experience from both sides except for her.

Aplique agora