WE INSPIRE CHANGES
Our Story
Volunteers of Tanzania came to life in 2018, this was the year where VOT Mwanza Limited was legally registered as the company that provides accommodation services in Mwanza Tanzania serving students at the nearby St. Augustine University of Tanzania. Since then, the company has developed to possessing more than 41 hostel rooms and 10 rooms for incoming volunteers. The volunteer house is designed so that it provides Confort to incoming volunteers.
6+
Years of experience
13+
Available Programs
75+
Happy Volunteers
&
Interns
7+
Professional Staff
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Life in Mwanza.
Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 3,699,872 in 2022, it is Tanzania's second largest city, after Dar es Salaam. It is also the second largest city in the Lake Victoria basin after Kampala, Uganda and ahead of Kisumu, Kenya at least in population size.
Within the East African community, Mwanza city is the fifth largest city after Dar, Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kampala. It is slightly ahead of Kigali, Kisumu, and Bujumbura in the population of city proper limits.
Mwanza city is also the capital city of Mwanza Region and is administratively divided into two municipal districts within that Region -Ilemela and Nyamagana.
The Sukuma constitute over 90 percent of the population of the Mwanza Region.
Other ethnic groups in the region, in much smaller proportions, include the Zinza, Haya, Sumbwa, Nyamwezi, Luo, Kurya, Jita, Shashi and Kerewe. They live mainly in the Mwanza city area. National policy, however, gives very little importance to ethnic groupings and reliable data is difficult to find.
Language use in daily life
Swahili is Tanzania’s official language, and English is used alongside it. Most people speak two languages – their own tribal language and Swahili. Many Tanzanians speak English as their third language. So, when travelling to Tanzania, you can expect to hear Swahili and English spoken throughout your journey. By preparing yourself with some basic Swahili words, Tanzanians will love to interact with you.
Tanzania Greetings
Greetings are an important part of Tanzanian culture, and asking how someone and their family are is important. If you shake hands, it may last longer than you expect. This is a normal gesture in Tanzania. Tanzanians treat the elderly with the greatest respect. To greet an elderly person, you could consider saying, ‘shikamoo’, to which the response will be ‘marahaba’.
Tanzania Religions
Christianity, with approximately 63% of the population, is the most practiced religion in Tanzania. 34% are practising Muslims with only 1.2% following traditional religions and remaining 1.8% are non-believers.
Tanzania Dress
If you are wondering how to dress in Tanzania you will discover that many Tanzanians have a conservative style. Traditionally women only wear long skirts with knees and shoulders covered. In places like Zanzibar, there is a strict dress code where you should cover knees, shoulders and arms in public places. At the coast you will discover the use of the colourful kikoi (a sarong for men) and kanga (a sarong for women).