Take a volunteer vacation in Tanzania

Volunteer vacations are becoming more popular, and one such program, Projects Abroad, is in need of help this summer. The organization needs people to help with a new water and sanitation project in Tanzania, which begins July 12. It follows a similar one last year in Jamaica done in conjunction with BridgIT Water Foundation.

Wendy Tisdell, a director at BridgIT, guided the program in Jamaica last year and is doing likewise in Tanzania this summer. She is a former Projects Abroad volunteer whose experience inspired her to use her professional skills and give communities around the world a chance to access clean water.

“Volunteering with Projects Abroad opened my eyes to the possibilities that my professional skills could be impactful in the world,” Tisdell said. “I knew first-hand that utilizing the expertise of Projects Abroad to organize the water and sanitation programs and provide enthusiastic and qualified volunteers would be integral to the success of the program.”

Volunteers are needed in Tanzania to help install guttering and set up a new tank system to catch rainwater at an orphanage, a hospital and a health clinic in Arusha, an area suffering from unreliable water supplies. The program will create the infrastructure to give more than 200 residents of the community access to safe water.
Tisdell visited Jamaica as a Projects Abroad volunteer in April 2008, and this year arranged for BridgIT Water to sponsor the Tanzanian effort through the nonprofit Projects Abroad.

For information, visit www.projects-abroad.org/projects/culture-and-community/tanzania-water-and-sanitation-project/

Posted by Paul E. Kandarian, Globe correspondent

Photo from Project Abroad website