Levolosi Hospital

"I worked as a volunteer at Levolosi Hospital for four weeks through Viva Tanzania. When I arrived, Viva Tanzania helped me apply for my volunteer visa and introduced me to the hospital. Volunteering at the hospital is organized in a similar way to "western" hospitals. I was able to choose which area I wanted to work in and a volunteer coordinator asked me what I wanted to learn and experience during my time there. The people there were super friendly and I was even invited to a nurse's home for dinner and the volunteer coordinator and Viva Tanzania staff also checked in with me regularly to make sure I was having a good experience. There are many tasks that can be done by people with professional degrees as well as students and others, as the professional staff are often involved in cleaning, decorating, etc. The nurses were very happy to teach me how to mop, as we Americans obviously have a different method for that 😉 Although I spent most of my time volunteering at the clinic doing the minor medical procedures, I was also able to observe operations and was even allowed to help a little, for example adjusting the surgeon's headlamp when the power went out). Knowledge of Kiswahili would be useful, but is not necessary. It's really a great place for an internship or rotation for a medical or nursing student."