Previous volunteers are the single greatest resource and result of the work that SPW Tanzania has been doing. Every one of you are trained, committed and empowered to know the difference that an individual and groups of individuals can make in the world. This page is designed to give you a few suggestions about how to use your skills and abilities to impact your community and also to highlight your successes as you change the world around you. Keep up all the good work!

 If you are living in Iringa there is a fantastic opportunity for you to get involved and make a difference in the lives of local youth. SPW currently helps to facilitate a very large youth centre in the heart of the town that has an amazing number of resources from games and sporting activities to a large-screen television. What this centre needs are some dedicated ex-volunteers to start up a youth mentorship program. This could include organizing regular sporting activities at the centre, using the space for musical or artistic expression or even just creating a hang out spot where youth would feel comfortable and safe. Use your experience and training to reach out and make a difference in the lives of the youth around you!

Please note that it is possible to do this in any community and even encouraged, Iringa is simply a specific example…

Kijana Shupavu Event

Three of SPW’s ex-volunteers, Baraka A. Dunga, Adam Mndeme and Renista Mkoba organized a great event in partnership with the Ngao Youth Group known as the Kijana Shupavu Event. This event was a great success and a credit to all of their hard work. It was designed to be a large-scale one day event targeting out-of-school youth living in the Manzese region of Dar es Salaam. They used a combination of entertainment, speeches, games, music, dancing and activities to attract youth and to train them on HIV and AIDS, STIs, life skills and the effects of drug abuse. They took great initiative and procured all of the funds they needed by writing a detailed proposal plan and approaching corporate sponsors in the region to participate and give back to the community.

 All three of the ex-volunteers are full time university students at the University of Dar es Salaam who managed to squeeze the extensive planning required for this event into their busy schedules. Excellent job!

Usikike! Be Heard Youth Film Project 

Ex volunteers Derek Thorne and Fid Thompson (Environment Programme, 2001) are currently working on a youth film project in collaboration with SPW Tanzania. The project, Usikike! Be Heard, aims to give young people in the Iringa region of Tanzania a chance to express themselves through film. Derek and Fid are working in collaboration with six youth groups in Iringa municipality:

·         Kiwohede – a Tanzanian NGO that provides vocational training for girls from abusive or vulnerable situations

·         SPW Talents – a youth performing arts group, educating the community on youth issues

·         Folk Development College – a vocational training centre for Iringa youth

·         Neema Crafts – an organisation that provides training and employment for deaf and disabled people in Iringa

·         Iringa Municipality Community Development Office – local government of Iringa town

Youth from each of these organisations are leading the process – from creating the film idea to shooting and appearing in their own films.

The films will feature issues important to young people in Tanzania (e.g. slang, employment, disability, music, comedy, relationships), many of which will be relevant to young people in the UK. The films will be shown in Tanzania in various settings and will also provide a resource for raising awareness of developing world issues in the UK. There is also a group of young people in Northampton, UK, who are making a film to exchange with the films from Tanzania. For more information, please visit the project website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northamptonshire/entertainment/film_and_arts/usikike/

The Usikike! Project is funded and supported by Pixel Shift Productions in the UK. www.pixelshiftproductions.tv  If you are interested in getting a copy of the films for use in educational activities, please get in touch with Derek or Fid at fic60@hotmail.com .

 May 18, 2007 - Alumni Dinner: SPW Tanzania is in the process of organizing an Alumni Dinner for all ex-volunteers. This event promises to be a great deal of fun as it will be attended by several donors, SPW trustees from the UK and USA and SPW Tanzania staff. Together we will learn what SPW Tanzania is doing now and into the future. There is a possibility this event will be held at the Blue Pearl Hotel in Dar es Salaam but final details are not yet confirmed. Please check back for more information.

 If you are interested in planning an event but are not sure where to get the funding there is an organization known as Peace Child that provides small grants to youth-led programs. This organization only funds projects that are organized and planned by youth and is a perfect opportunity to get some proposal-writing practice. This could be an excellent opportunity if you were looking at organizing an event and needed some extra resources. Check out their website at www.peacechild.org for more information.

There are no new career opportunities at this time but please check back soon.

We would love to hear what you have been doing since you worked as a volunteer with SPW Tanzania! If you have any stories or are planning an event or activity please send us a note telling us all about it at spwdar@spwtz.org. Any comments or suggestions for this page are also greatly appreciated!