Hujambo, the Swahili greeting "How are you?", is an extraordinary 24-day community service and learning program in Tanzania. Travel with us to Africa as we volunteer with residents of a rural village on projects to improve the area school. We learn Swahili, explore markets and visit NGOs and social service organizations working to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We conclude with a safari of a lifetime, trekking deep into the Yaeda Valley to spend time with the Hadza tribeand game viewing at the Ngongoro Crater and Lake Manyara National Park. Click on Read More to learn how you can join our summer volunteer program for teenagers and affect real and lasting change.

Each student who completes a service program with us will receive a Presidential Volunteer Service Award.

The first word we learn upon arrival is the lively Swahili greeting “Hujambo!” Imagine traveling to East Africa, where your daily routine is filled with the satisfaction of hard work and new friends, or rafikis. As we explore this vast country, we discover the beauty and the people of Tanzania, their conservation efforts and struggles while we contribute to a village off the beaten path.

We work with the local community to help construct a much needed addition to their school. While there, we exchange Swahili for English, catch glimpses of Mount Kilimanjaro ("Kili") from the village, and play soccer with the local children until the sun sets. Fully immersed in the culture, we visit homes of local families -- learning about the crops they grow on their shambas (little farms), explore the local markets, and taste (and cook!) Tanzanian cuisine, as we sing Swahili songs.

We move up and over the Mbulu Highlands in search of  the rapidly disappearing Hadza tribe. Here we learn more about what they know that we may have forgotten. Perhaps more than 100,000 years old, unimaginably, the Hadza have left hardly more than a footprint on the land. They grow no food, raise no livestock, do not engage in warfare, are free from possessions, religious strictures and many family responsibilities. We live with the Hadza in the Yaeda Valley and experience their way of life -- hunting with bow and arrow, sharing music and song, gathering honey and mastering how to start a fire with our hands in less than 30 seconds. We experience the "Hadza effect"— calmer, more attuned to the moment, more self-sufficient and a little braver.

We move to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and get a taste of safari life in the caldera’s 14-mile wide hollow full of spectacular game viewing. Every animal we hoped for is here for the viewing. Then it’s on to see the famous tree climbing lions in Lake Manyara National Park. We learn more about how HIV/AIDS is affecting this country and see what is being done to empower its people while building meaningful relationships and broadening our worldview.

Settling In

Gather in New York, NY (JFK) and board our group flight to Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania; orientation; Swahili lessons; introductions to the community.

Our Work

Help in the construction of a teacher's house at the school; volunteer at an area orphanage; teach English; assist teachers with their classes; learn about the work of various NGOs that work to educate about AIDS.

Our Play

Visit local markets; hike Mt. Heru; learn how to make traditional Maasai ornaments and batiks; explore Arusha.

Our Safari

Visit the Hadza tribe; trek across the Yaeda Valley; gameviewing in Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara National Park.

El Fin

Farewell banquet with community; group flight to New York, NY; homeward bound.

Swahili Language: Exposure within Community and Country