Alex, in his own words: "Having finished University I wanted to do something different before finding a job, so next thing I knew I was in the African sun being bombarded with questions by what felt like half the population of Tanzania! After some first day nerves, I soon worked out that I was definitely in the right place. That feeling of it being right must have stuck, as I have now been a further two times, and am planning my 4th trip for later this year.... It took me a while to realise that even if I didn't dig a well, or single-handedly construct a building, just being in the school gives the children a great lift. Many of them just want someone to make THEM the centre of attention, which they don't get otherwise, and giving them time and room to express themselves is an incredibly uplifting and gratifying experience. Realising that you have made even a small difference makes the sweat and the mosquitoes worthwhile a thousand times over. Staff, pupils, indeed everyone, will fall over themselves to make you feel happy and welcome, and there is always a job to be done, a class to teach, football to be played, a mango to be eaten! Or, if it all gets a bit too much, a sea to be swam in and some sun to be soaked up... Buguruni School for the Deaf is a fantastic place, and I really could not recommend highly enough spending some time with the wonderful students there, seeing the world they live in, and also being looked after by wonderful Nuns. It is such a vibrant and happy place, absolutely everyone should treat themselves to a visit.."

Hamish is deaf himself and is a former pupil at Mary Hare School. He volunteered during a gap year before going to study at Chelsea Art School, and he made a real mark on the school. Staying for four months, he made friends with every pupil and joined other volunteers to create a beautiful new art room. He also taught, played games, organised Sports Day, was a marvellous role model and generally had a lot of fun.

Holly and Hayley volunteered for three weeks and threw themselves into making sure the children had a fun time with them. They helped teach maths to the younger children, and English to the older students. With Hamish, they organised the first Sports Day the school had ever held, with the children (wearing team face paint) participating in what turned out to be highly competitive races! The favourite games seemed to be 'Don't Drop The Water Bomb' (an instruction that was largely ignored by participants) and 'British Bulldog'. The winning team was awarded chocolate medals, whilst every child received a sweet for taking part.

Students from Oxford and St. Andrews, they threw themselves into school life with enormous energy for three weeks. They helped Hamish to create the art room and organised endless games for the pupils. They also helped out in class and improved their own sewing while purportedly 'helping' the vocational students, who ended up teaching them more than the other way around!

Lucy worked at the school and UMIVITA for a year during a sabbatical from PA Consulting Group in 2007-08. She made an enormous difference to the work of both organisations and fell in love with the people, with Dar and with Tanzania. In the school, Lucy taught English and Maths, took the children out on trips in the surrounding area, and helped the sewing class to make Christmas decorations which they sold in the UK. She also led several major projects which made permanent improvements to the pupils' everyday lives, including arranging for the local Rotary Club to provide running water at the school for the first time in fifteen years, supervising the construction of a new playground, and setting up a partnership with the International School in Dar-es-Salaam. Lucy has since returned to the school several times to help out and check on its progress, and is now the chair of Tanzanear.