Interview with Jessica Ledieu, Kaya volunteer alum
Volunteer with children in Tanzania with Kaya Volunteers
GO: Why did you decide to volunteer with Kaya in Thailand?
Jessica: We had never heard of Kaya before and had just been researching different projects on google. We had come across a few in Tanzania which included one week in Zanzibar but when we found that you could volunteer in Zanzibar we thought why not visit it and volunteer there. Kaya was also one of the more reasonably priced companies that we found. They were wonderful with all the booking process.
GO: Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.
Jessica: Our day would start at 7am we were provided breakfast which consisted of eggs, fruit and fresh juice. We would then ride our bikes through the village for about 15 minutes to JTTI (Jambiani Tourism Training Institute) where we were allocated groups to teach English. It ranged from group 1 who spoke practically no english to group 5 who were fluent. We would teach from 9-10.30, then we would ride to our allocated nursery school. I alternated everyday between Sirajetil and Ibrahim nursery. We taught the children all the different types of animals the topic would change each week, we started with sea creatures, then wild animals, e.t.c. The kids were crazy but so much fun.
We would finish here at 12pm then return to the bungalows for lunch. We had a 2 hour break in which we could walk to the local hotel to use the internet and their pool or just go for a swim in the ocean which was beautiful although sometimes a little too warm. At 2pm we would prepare our lessons for the next day for both JTTI and nursery school. After this we would have some sort of manual labour, we either planted trees, provided bins in the community or cleaned up the beach. IN the evening we went to the kids club or taught at adult evening school we alternated days between all the volunteers. One day during the week we would eat at a locals house so we sat on the ground and used our fingers to eat it was a wonderful experience. We had the weekends off to do whatever we wanted.
Volunteer in Tanzania with Kaya Volunteers
GO: What made this experience unique and special?
Jessica: This experience was so unique because we were not only able to help out the locals and teach English but we were on a tropical island in which we could relax, swim in crystal clear water, snorkel with fish. Also the volunteers and tour leaders made the experience memorable, everyone you meet impacts your experience and everyone is there for the same reason so you all get along and become very good friends by the end. We didn't want to leave. We were lucky enough to visit one of our students villages we had to ride a decent trip to get there but it was well worth it. It was like they had never seen westerners before it was wonderful seeing how they live and their culture.
Also we got to meet one of the most famous people in Zanzibar a 98 year old woman called Bikidude who can sing and play the drums at the same time while smoking. We had a party and the crowd which it attracted was amazing, we danced, ate and had a fabulous time. We were also lucky enough to organise a Sports Day for the children were we had 3 activities and the kids competed against each other, we made trophies and provided snacks for the kids. It was a lot of fun and all th kids seemed to enjoy the day.
Get your hands dirty and give back in Tanzania!
GO: How has this experience helped you grow personally and professionally?
Jessica: This has made me realise what I want to do in life and also to do what makes you happy. I withdrew from my university course after coming back from Africa and am doigna one year course in tourism and tour guiding at TAFE. Next year I want to travel again for sure I cannot wait to return to Africa. It has made me want to travel everywhere and experience as many cultures as I can, it makes you feel so good to see the smiles on peoples faces and to feel like your actually making a difference. My outlook on life changed yet it is hard in the commercial world we live in. In Africa everything seemed so simple and the locals always said "hakuna matata" so it has kind of become my way of life and I try and implement it as much as possible here.
Jessica Ledieu, a 19-year-old student from Sydney, Australia, went to Tanzania from 1st May - 20th June 2011.
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Last May and June i spent 6 weeks in Zanzibar with 2 of my best friends everyday was like living a dream. We would wake up and watch the sunrise, the fisherman walking out to their boats and the seaweed farmers walking back to shore with kgs of seaweed. It was the most sureal experience i have ever had but it was incredible. I didn't want to leave. Our normal day would start at 7am we were provided breakfast by the wonderful and friendly chefs, then road our bikes to JTTI (Jambiani Tourism Training Institute) where we had been allocated groups to teach them english they ranged from no english at all to students that were studying the Martin Luther King Jr speech. At about 10:30 we would cycle to our allocated nursery their were 3 in total. I taught class 3 at Sirajetil and Ibrahim nursery the children were such a delight everyday and always full of beans. We would then return home at about 12pm for lunch and have a 2 hour break to prepare for our lessons the next day or going for a swim in the crystal clear waters. In the afternoon we would have some sort of manual labour we planted trees in the primary school, did a beach clean up and provided bins for the local community. In the evening we would have "Rainbow" which was the kids club or an adult evening class and the volunteers would alternate each day what they did. To finish off the day we could walk down the beach to the local bar were some of our students worked to have a drink (non-alocholic of course). The entire experience is something i will never ever forget the people you meet and things you see are make me want to go back in a heartbeat. We not only volunteered though we had the weekends off so were able to explore the island. We went to the very north of Zanzibar to Nungwi for a full moon party, visited Stone Town numerous amounts of time, got to snorkel off Prison Island which was indescribable it was so beautiful. There are so many highlights its hard to pick one but we were lucky enought to see 'Bikidude' who was so famous amongst the locals she is a very old woman who can play the drums and sing - she was a god to the locals. One of our students invited us to his village we left at 9am and got back at 6pm it was a day i will never forget the village he came from was beautiful. All the activites we were lucky enough to experience made the trip the wonderful and to see the smiles on all the villagers faces was amazing. I never once felt unsafe and the co-ordinators were wonderful. I would recommend this trip to anyone we had volunteers who were 18 up to 55 in our group. I would drop at a hat to go their again.