When I booked my flight to Mwanza, I thought I knew what volunteering abroad would look like: I would arrive, help out, and leave having made a small difference. Six weeks later, standing on the shore of Lake Victoria as the sun went down, I realised the difference had been made to me.
Arriving in Mwanza
After thirty hours of travel, I was met at the airport by a TRHM coordinator and driven to the Rest House — a quiet, welcoming guesthouse whose rooms and services fund the organisation's community health work. It was the perfect base: safe, affordable, and three minutes from the team's office.
The first week was all about learning. An orientation covered Swahili essentials, cultural norms, and the realities of community health in the region. By the second week I was riding along with the street medicine outreach team, and by the third I was leading basic health education sessions in village schools.
The work
Every day was different:
- Morning outreach to street-connected communities with the mobile clinic team
- Supporting clinicians at Bisou Bailey Medical Dispensary
- Running first aid workshops for community health workers and school groups
- Learning Swahili phrases until the children stopped giggling at my accent
None of it felt like charity tourism. TRHM's programmes are run by Tanzanians for Tanzanians, and volunteers work within that team rather than beside it. That distinction matters — it is the difference between helping and getting in the way.
“I arrived expecting to help others, but I left having gained so much more. The TRHM team became family.”
What I brought home
The clinical skills I practised were valuable, but the real education was human. I learned how a community with almost no formal resources builds resilience — how a trained neighbour, a stocked first aid bag, and a network of responders can change the outcome of an emergency.
I also learned what accountable, grassroots development looks like: revenue from the Rest House funding training, every shilling accounted for, and local staff making every decision that matters.
Would I do it again?
In a heartbeat. If you are considering volunteering abroad, bring humility, an open mind, and a willingness to be taught. Come ready to work, and the experience will change how you see global health — and your own place in it.
TRHM is now accepting applications for its volunteer programme. You can find the application process on the Join Us page.