Agriculture

The Agriculture sector is firmly grounded in sustainable agriculture and natural resources management. In Tanzania, 80 percent of the population live in villages, where all Agriculture Volunteers are posted. Tanzania’s rural poverty rates and food insecurity have dramatically increased, despite recent rises in gross domestic product. Due to high levels of poverty in villages, Volunteers spend significant amounts of time creating and facilitating opportunities for villagers to improve their livelihoods with regards to sustainable agriculture. Volunteers are well equipped to assist with training and provide resources to rural Tanzanian community members to improve their food security and natural resource management practices.

Education

Education Volunteers teach math, science, and English subjects in both public and private secondary schools. The language of instruction is English.

Of the current Volunteers in Tanzania, about 60 percent serve in the Education sector. The majority of Volunteers teach secondary school math, science (biology, chemistry, physics) or English subjects. Volunteers also teach information and communications technology (ICT) or are placed at teachers’ or technical colleges. Peace Corps/Tanzania does not place Volunteers in primary or pre-primary positions. Volunteers work with a focus on the two goals of the sector: improved achievement in math, science, and English proficiency and comprehension; and assist Tanzanian teachers to improve their content-based, student-centered teaching techniques in these subjects. 

Health

The Health sector has a substantial focus on HIV/AIDS education. Volunteers play an important role in HIV/AIDS prevention through behavior change communication, education and life skills activities. Due to high levels of poverty in villages, Volunteers spend significant amounts of time creating and facilitating opportunities for villagers to improve their livelihoods.

Volunteers also play a big role in primary health-care education, which includes instruction on safe water and sanitation, prevention of waterborne and diarrheal diseases, malaria, and maternal and child nutrition. Volunteers are also involved with care and support for people living with HIV and orphans and vulnerable children, targeting them and empowering them with the needed knowledge to manage their health conditions as affected populations.

Feed the Future

In 2013, Peace Corps partnered with USAID’s Feed the Future program to fight poverty and under-nutrition across Tanzania. Some Volunteers, in collaboration with Tanzanian counterparts, work on projects or trainings involving:

• Chicken husbandry and large livestock rearing (cows, goats, etc.)
  
• Fuel-efficient cook stove construction
  
• Beekeeping
  
• Water storage and sanitation construction
  
• Post-harvest techniques
  
• Latrine construction
  
• Food value added/processing (e.g., drying, canning)
  
• Water irrigation
  
• Gardening/tree nurseries/seed beds/seed saving
  
• Land use management (e.g., agroforestry)
  
• Environmental sustainability
  

President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

Recognizing the seriousness of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania, all Peace Corps Volunteers receive training in strategies for awareness and prevention as part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPRAR). They are encouraged to be involved in these activities in their communities in an effort to reduce the 5.1% prevalence rate of the disease. In the field, Volunteers and their Tanzanian counterparts educate about transmission, prevention, and treatment of HIV, organize mass testing and counseling events to reduce stigma, host World AIDS Day events to raise awareness in their communities, arrange assistance for People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) through nutrition and life skills education, sustainable agriculture activities, and income-generating activities.

President's Malaria Initiative

The fight against malaria has been a Peace Corps initiative for decades through the President's Malaria Initiative. While advancements have been made against malaria, it is still the #1 killer of children under 5 years old in Africa. The goal is to prevent and cure malaria in rural communities.

Volunteers and their Tanzanian counterparts:

• Teach malaria science, prevention, and treatment in the classroom, community meeting or clinic environments
  
• Start a school health club
  
• Encourage the use of Indoor Residual Spray and bed nets
  
• Coach PC SKILLZ, a life skills program that uses soccer to teach life skills topics, including malaria
  
• Host World Malaria Day (April 25th) events to raise awareness in their communities (e.g., voluntary testing, sports, community theater, awareness parade, showing films)