Holly Schwarzenberg

I chose Work the World (WTW) because our university highly recommended it, and the reports from previous students were excellent. It was much easier than organising my elective, especially during a busy term! The website included lots of case studies and videos from previous students who had travelled with WTW, and they were all very complementary. I decided to go to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and I'm so glad I did!

The WTW house is really nice, and all the staff are lovely! Mark and Alpha, the main managers in charge, helped with any problems we had and gave loads of useful advice, like how to organise trips to Zanzibar. There is a pool, which is brilliant for jumping in after placement when the weather is hot (often!). There are also sun loungers around the pool and an iPod docking speaker, so it was a nice area to chill around in the afternoons.

The food is fantastic, and the cook, Rehema, caters to everybody's tastes, including vegetarianism. Everything is homemade, and there is plenty of fresh fruit and juice every day. If you suggest ideas for meals, she will also be happy to make it - we all were craving soup, and she made delicious homemade soup for dinner. The BBQ nights were my favourite as Mark brought his laptop and played music for us, and we also tried and failed to balance water buckets on our heads, which was funny.

I enjoyed my placement at the regional hospital in Dar es Salaam. I spent four weeks on the labour ward, which I loved! My primary supervisor on the labour ward was lovely. Her English was excellent, and she was great at teaching me new skills. During my time spent in the labour ward, I was fortunate enough to deliver a baby! This was a life-changing experience and has inspired me to train as a midwife once I finish my nursing degree. I also spent time on the surgical ward and in theatres. I watched a few procedures and did my wound dressings.

I would recommend the Village Healthcare Experience to anyone considering going to Dar es Salaam, as it was one of the highlights of my trip. I enjoyed my placement at the healthcare centre because we got involved in every clinic. The work every day was very varied, so we learnt so much quickly. We were involved in the under-5's immunisation programme, the TB clinic, the HIV/AIDS clinic, and giving tetanus injections to adults.

The afternoons were filled with a different activity every day. We visited a witch doctor and learnt how he treats people without medicine. We watched traditional dancing performed by primary school children. We also rode bicycles around a ugar plantation and went on a waterfall walk, which was stunning. My favourite activity however was visiting the primary school sports day. We watched the races and football match and joined in with the sack race even though I lost it was still great fun! My friend and I had brought school equipment donations with us to hand out to the winners of each race. Seeing their faces light up when they received the gifts was lovely.

We visited a witch doctor and learnt how he treats people without medicine

I had several memorable travel adventures during my time in Tanzania. I went on a safari and arranged Work the World before leaving, which was fantastic! We were lucky enough to see the Big 5, which was amazing! It was a surreal experience watching all the animals in their natural environment instead of in a zoo or on television. It was such fun to go with other WTW students and experience it all together; we had a lot of laughs and giggles! We stayed in the park to watch the sunset and got fabulous pictures. We stayed in tented accommodation with proper beds and mattresses. We had a chef, and the food was delicious! We had a campfire and ate marshmallows whilst listening to Maasai stories from our chef. Going on safari was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will cherish forever.

I visited Zanzibar 3 times during my 8-week placement in Tanzania! It is my favourite place in the world, and I have such good memories from my trips there! The island has white sandy beaches and crystal blue sea that is clearer than a swimming pool. PARADISE! We went to the famous Kendwa rocks party on Saturday night in the north part of the island! We saw very entertaining traditional dancing, acrobatics and the Michael Jackson tribute, followed by a disco! The pizzas and cocktails are excellent! During my time in Zanzibar, I also went snorkelling, swam with dolphins, went on the spice tour and the sunset 'booze cruise'.

Don't waste a minute of your time in Tanzania—I did a lot, but I could have done much more!

Read more about our Electives in Africa, where you'll discover various options in Tanzania and beyond.