Rural Communities Welcome ICS Volunteers as Valued Partners

The world is facing huge development challenges

Climate change threatens livelihoods, biodiversity and water supplies.

Rural communities around the world lack the tools and support they need to thrive.

Limited access to safe water and poor hygiene practices affect millions, causing poor health and stopping people from attending school or work.

Young people particularly struggle to get into employment or earn a living.

Over the past week ICS volunteers have been envisaging a new way of thinking and doing. The training they have received has prepared them for what they will experience and how they partner with their U.K. and Tanzanian counterparts to improve access to water sanitation and hygiene facilities as well as creating environments which are more conducive for youths to settle or remain in rural areas.

Youth for sustainable livelihoods

Livelihoods is a programme which involves implementing an entrepreneurship course for community members, helping to provide much needed employment and business opportunities for rural youth in Tanzania.

Three groups will work with our project partner, Tanzania Forest Conservation Group, the largest NGO in Tanzania, specialising in protection of natural forests.

Our programme run in partnership with TFCG aims to increase the capacity of people in Kilosa District to develop successful enterprises that do not negatively impact the local environment.
TFCG encourage our volunteers to see that local communities are best placed to manage their own resources; their livelihoods almost entirely depend on them and therefore a high value is placed upon them.

Providing specialist training to entrepreneurs

Four other ICS groups with be working with East African Dairy Development (EADD) on an existing project that has provided extensive training on dairy husbandry, business practices and operation, as well as marketing of dairy products to 179,000 farming families in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
EADD has grown to be one of the leading market-orientated development initiatives in East Africa. Raleigh Tanzania will work alongside EADD over the coming few months to provide specialist training to entrepreneurs interested in starting or growing an enterprise related to the dairy value chain.

Only 38% of schools in Tanzania have an adequate number of latrines
– Government of Tanzania guidelines.

Seven ICS groups will be working in Dodoma and Morogoro regions on water, sanitation and hygiene for schools (SWASH) programmes this spring.

“We hope to improve water, health and sanitation standards by showing the benefits of efficient hand washing and educating the future generations to have a cleaner lifestyle and give them hope for a safer life.”

– Deacon is now on project working in Magaseni, Dodoma.

We strive for behavioural change amongst students to establish linkages between hygiene practices, poor sanitation, polluted water sources and disease. Provided with quality facilities and an adequate understanding of what good hygiene practices are, students can create a multiplier effect, enhancing the learning of their peers on key water, sanitation and hygiene issues.
Raleigh’s vision is to put young people at the heart of safe water, sanitation and good hygiene, ensuring long-lasting access to, and use of, safe WASH facilities for 75,000 people across all of our projects 2017-2020.

More than half of the world’s population of nearly 7.5 billion people are under the age of 30

Raleigh Tanzania aim to increase income for 600 youth through sustainable and successful self-employment in Morogoro, Iringa and Songwe regions by August 2018.

We believe that as a generation, they have the energy, optimism and creativity to make change happen.

We work with young people, equipping them with the skills, confidence and experiences they need to be empowered, effective and energetic partners and leaders in development.

Raleigh International exists to create lasting change through youth

Young people are ready to take ownership of what is happening in the world. Young people are full of creativity, innovation and determination. Given the chance, they can be leaders at the heart of global change.

This is passed through to the volunteers through their deputy operations managers and their volunteer managers who guide and mentor their younger volunteer counterparts through the project.

Look out for the progress of our ICS projects by reading the volunteers’ blogs via our social media posts (Facebook and Instagram).

We are a global community working to build a sustainable future.

Words by communications officer, Rebbie Webb. Images by Hilary Sloane.