Arusha
The city is located in north-eastern Tanzania and is home to a population of about 250000. It is located at an altitude of 1400m (4500 ft) on the slopes of Mt. Meru, which results in it having a very pleasant climate of cool dry air for most of the year.
Tanzania's famous national parks are in the vicinity and Arusha is the gateway to what is referred to as the “Northern Circuit” of safari travel. The Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Manyara and Tarangire parks as well as Kilimanjaro and the Olduvai gorge are all situated relatively close.
Arusha has many schools and universities, as well as many hospitals and is served by Kilimanjaro International Airport. The city is also home to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and many other international organizations and their staff. A very pleasant African city, Arusha is safe and able to provide a good environment for volunteers to do their work among the welcoming and always smiling locals.
The city is served by Kilimanjaro International Airport, which is about a 30 minute drive away, while many choose to fly into Nairobi, Kenya and take a 4-5 hour shuttle bus to Arusha.
Moshi
A smaller city than Arusha, it is located on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, about 1 hour's drive from Arusha. Moshi has a number of manufacturing industries, and has historically been a commercial and industrial hub in northern Tanzania. Populated by the Chaga and Masai peoples, it is a quiet town with a large hospital and many quality schools. Moshi is also the gateway for Kilimanjaro climbers and home to the Kilimanjaro Marathon.
Masai villages
The Masai people are a semi-nomadic people, whose main activity is cow herding. They have largely managed to keep their traditional pastoralist lifestyle, while some have integrated into Tanzanian and Kenyan social structures. The Masai are a patriarchal society where most major matters are decided by the village elders and oral law and traditions govern daily life. Cattle is an important part of their culture, and one's wealth is measured in the size of one's herd and the number of one's children. They are described in more detail here.
Accommodation
Volunteers in Arusha are accommodated in a variety of places, depending on their project. Most volunteers will live with a local Tanzanian family that is close to their placement, and will receive 3 locals meals a day, water for showering and laundry. All host families are carefully vetted and inspected before any placement is considered.
Some projects offer self contained houses and others offer group volunteer accommodation, similar to boarding houses, but there is always a guard and a housekeeper that will cook meals and help with the laundry.
Volunteers in rural placements can stay in a traditional Boma with a Maasai family. This is a more adventurous form of accommodation, as there is usually no running water and no electricity.
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