Hidden Costs of Volunteering

As I blogged yesterday, I am continuing to document my experiences before I leave on my three month stint in Tanzania by addressing one key issue that may slip under the radar for anyone who is thinking about doing some volunteering abroad. That issue is hidden costs. I mentioned previously that the price of the project paid for accommodation, food and insurance. Obviously there's also the air fare (£795 + tax if you book via Projects Abroad. I paid £700 via British Airways) to pay unless you plan on walking there and a visa (~£35) to allow you into to allow you into the country. However, in Arusha I will also need something called a 'Permit C' which allows me to carry out volunteer work and it costs roughly £300. £300 to spend 3 months volunteering in your country sounds like a lot of money going into government officials pockets to me. Frustrating to say the least. There are also costs associated with the vaccinations you have to take. I was recommended to have Typhoid (Free via NHS), Hepititus B (£90), Rabies (£123), Yellow Fever (£60) and anti-malarial tablets (£20 with my ASDA discount card). These add up to a substantial amount of money. I also want to take a netbook with me as my 18.1" laptop is slightly to big and heavy to feasibly take with me and I would rather have my own access to the internet and a place to upload my photos than having to rely on internet cafés. The one I'm looking at is around £350, which is on the more expensive side but, as I will probably use it for law school come September, I'm looking at it as an investment rather than a one off expense. These are my essentials, I guess. Things that I must have before I go. Now onto things that I would like.

I do not particularly fancy taking a suitcase with me which travelling in Tanzania and Kenya so I'm looking at getting a fairly sizeable hiking backpack for around £70. Important but, in the end, not a life changing addition to my expenses. Then there are clothes. I'd like a few more shorts and shirts and a hat and stuff before I head off but again this costs money and is, as my mother keeps reminding me, unnecessary. I don't really know how much I'll spend on clothes but lets put it at £125. Then there is the 19 days that I will spent after my placement travelling independently of Projects Abroad. I have bought insurance (~£40) and will need a place to stay. I am currently looking at hostels catering for backpackers as they are cheaper than hotels. Seven days in Mombasa is about £140 for a single, private en-suite room on Nyali Beach. I would like to spend a few days doing the beach hotel experience and this will cost a fair bit more.

Another thing one should do when planning a trip like this is to decide well in advance what you are going to do. I gave myself roughly two months to prepare and that is not enough when you factor in working a full-time job. Give yourself enough time to get everything sorted well in advance, mostly the extra costs stuff that I have mentioned above. Laptops and clothes etc. can be bought in the sales rather than last minute. It also allows you to shop around for deals on travel and accommodation if you travel after. Give yourself six months to prepare and you will be set.

Anyway, some of that seems a bit obvious, especially the last part, but I have always needed a good idea to slap me in the face for me to realise it's there. This will probably be the last travel-based blog post for now. Will post another before departure and possibly one before then on ideas for lessons and stuff but it's hard to know what I'm supposed to teach when I know nothing about teaching children. However, in the next few days I'll post about other stuff affecting my life. Maybe my views on my beloved, and thoroughly underwhelming, Arsenal and where they are at the moment. I thought I'd miss football while in Tanzania but, to be honest, I can barely bring myself to watch more than a half when Arsenal are playing so badly. I'm also having a Community marathon with my cousin on Monday as he's never seen it. It's one of my favourite TV shows at the moment so there'll probably be a post about that too.

Anyways, Happy Weekend to you all.