Here are some comments from previous Go M.A.D volunteers:
We also keep blogs made by current teams out there. for that click here.
Robin
Go MAD in Tanzania is amazing! This gap year opportunity allowed me to do such a great variety of things from building a water tank and pit latrine, to helping in an orphanage, to singing and dancing in a church choir.
The best thing about it was building relationships with the locals, both in the town of Musoma where we stayed and in the village of Mkirira where we did our service. People are so friendly and it’s great to see how people live in Tanzania. Real people, not just the glossy touristy view of things.
It has been a great eye opener and I no longer see POVERTY as just a word associated with nameless faces, but the real circumstances of my friends here.
This has been such an opportunity to learn about life in Tanzania, to learn Swahili and also to learn how people worship God in their own culture. They are full of faith, hope and happiness, despite all their hardships.
If you want to serve and have a good time with lots of fun and adventure, you can do it here in Tanzania. You will be making a difference and I guarantee you won’t come back unchanged.
Naomi
The whole Go MAD adventure has been exciting and eye opening. Tanzania is so colourful and alive. Working in the village, but living in the town provides the best of both worlds as we serve two very different communities. Both as welcoming as each other and both providing hilarious characters, who I feel privileged to call friends.
The best thing about this gap year scheme is the variety of projects it offers, from Children’s work to building projects, from playing sport to health care and lots in between.
Annie
As part of the October 8-week team, I went with Go MAD to Tanzania in 2010. It was the greatest time of my life and I can’t wait to go back!
As an all-girl group we were all a bit nervous to start with, especially worried about our lack of building knowledge and lack of strong guys to help us! However, thanks to God and everyone who was praying for us at home, we bonded as a group better than we could ever have imagined and there was nothing we weren’t able to do together.
The first week was jam-packed with learning all the skills we needed to be builders and then we were off! Over the eight weeks, we managed to build and install five mosquito-proof windows and two doors for a pastor’s house; we built a pit latrine toilet in a poor village, with secure doors and separate ‘ladies’ and ‘gents’; and we helped repair two water tanks which now collect clean water for many families who would otherwise struggle to find even muddy, diseased water.
We joined our village each Sunday for church, worshipping with them and teaching Sunday School. We also taught some lessons in a school (English, R.E, Health Education and sport) and gave healthtalks in the villages where we gave out 240 mosquito nets, one per family. One of our favourite activities was helping in an orphanage, cuddling and playing with the toddlers and babies – so cute and just so wanting some love and attention.
It wasn’t all hard slog though, we spent every Sunday afternoon without fail on the beach and went on a two-day safari holiday in the middle which was incredible! We learnt some Swahili, had team Bible studies and made friends with the most welcoming and generous people I’ve ever met. We learnt a huge amount; about God, the poor and ourselves too. It was a life-changing experience and most of us got the ‘Africa bug’!
