Outdoor Recreation Volunteer

Please Note: Volunteer positions are temporary and the length of your volunteer term can be anywhere from 3 weeks to 1 year. You must be at least 21 years old to be a volunteer with us.

Organization Overview

The Tanzanian Children's Fund (TCF) works to eliminate generational poverty in rural northern Tanzania by ensuring that the children and families in this region have access to all of the care and services they need to lead healthy, secure, and fulfilling lives. Our work falls into 4 key program areas: Education, Health, Home and Family, and Economic Opportunity. You will be supporting activities in the Rift Valley Children's Village, which provides a permanent home and family for orphaned and vulnerable children in our community.

Position Overview

The Outdoor Recreation Volunteer creates fun, active, and engaging outdoor experiences for children of all ages in the village. This includes sports, structured group games, and daily physical activities — as well as taking advantage of the rural landscape for hiking, nature exploration, basic orienteering, camping concepts, and environmental learning. The role supports children’s physical, social, and emotional development while naturally reinforcing English through play.

Ideal Background & Skills

• Experience in youth recreation, physical education, coaching, outdoor education, environmental studies, or camp leadership
• Enthusiastic about sports, games, and outdoor adventure
• Comfortable leading children in natural environments such as forests, hills, villages, and farmland
• Strong organizational skills for planning diverse outdoor activities
• Basic knowledge of outdoor safety
• Creative, energetic, patient; comfortable in a rural setting
• Strong English fluency to model language during activities
• Culturally sensitive and collaborative

Core Expectations

• Provide safe, structured, inclusive outdoor activities
• Promote teamwork, confidence, curiosity, and joy in movement
• Incorporate natural English practice into activities
• Adapt programming to available materials and rural environment
• Collaborate with caregivers and staff on child needs and safety
• Support afternoon, weekend, and school-holiday outdoor programming

Primary Responsibilities

1. Daily Outdoor Recreation
   • Lead sports: football, volleyball, basketball, relay races, tag games, etc 11
   • Run fitness sessions, stretching, warm-ups, or fun exercise circuits
   • Organize cooperative games that build communication and teamwork ● Manage outdoor free-play zones and supervise child-led play
2. Nature Exploration & Hiking
   • Lead nature walks and hikes around the surrounding area
   • Teach children about local flora, fauna, insects, birds, and ecosystems
   • Encourage curiosity through observation: animal tracks, plants, rock formations
   • Organize scavenger hunts, “nature detective” games, and observation challenges
3. Orienteering & Outdoor Skills
   • Teach simple navigation skills using natural landmarks
   • Introduce basic map reading
   • Explain outdoor safety (staying together, hydration, sun safety)
   • Conduct basic outdoor skills workshops, such as:
     • Simple knots
     • Setting up a shade structure
     • Understanding directions (north/south/east/west)
4. Camping-Inspired Activities
   • Evening stargazing sessions
   • Outdoor storytelling circles
   • Team challenges that simulate outdoor problem-solving
   • Basic “leave no trace” principles and environmental respect
5. Environmental Stewardship
   • Teach the importance of caring for natural spaces
   • Lead small service activities: cleaning paths, watering trees, planting seedlings ● Help children develop a sense of pride for their natural surroundings
6. Weekend & Holiday Adventure Programming
   • Design outdoor challenge days (“Adventure Olympics,” scavenger days, nature quests)
   • Offer special activities for village-wide engagement
   • Blend adventure, environmental learning, and language practice

Impact of the Role

The Outdoor Recreation volunteer/intern helps children grow physically, emotionally, socially, and intellectually through nature-based exploration and structured recreation. By expanding the children's connection to their environment and providing joyful adventure-based learning, this role greatly enhances daily life at the village.