By Shama Saleh

I volunteered as a Youth Leadership team member in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with EQWIP HUBs. My experience volunteering abroad for the first time, was nothing short of amazing and truly transformative. This experience gave me the ability to apply what I learned in classroom settings to the public sphere-on a broader level. The team that I worked and lived with quickly became family in a way that I never would have expected. The work we were engaged in was mainly youth mapping and institutional mapping that required us to carry out primary research. This not only gave us the ability to talk and engage with Tanzanian youth but also converse with different service providers that potentially could partner up with EQWIP HUBs.

EQWIP HUBs allowed me to get one of my first research experiences in a foreign country while strengthening my communication skills, presentation skills, critical thinking skills and teamwork skills. By volunteering with EQWIP HUBs young students, like myself, come to understand the need to be culturally sensitive, and allows us to expand the comfort zones we’ve grown to be accustomed too. The 3-month volunteering placement was more than encompassing where I learned a lot about myself, the work world and how international organizations operate – with all of it being very affordable. This was definitely a life-changing experience and I thank EQWIP HUBs for that.

Volunteering abroad is a truly unique and transformative experience. That’s why EQWIP HUBs offers Canadians life-changing international volunteer opportunities in Bolivia, Ghana, Indonesia, Peru, Senegal and Tanzania. Join our global network of partners and collaborate with local youth seeking new, job-ready skills while acquiring some new ones of your own in the process. With departures throughout the year in January, March, May, July, September and November, we can find the right volunteer placement for you based on your skills and availability.

The experience of a lifetime starts with sharing yours.

EQWIP HUBs is powered by Canada World Youth and Youth Challenge International and is funded, in part, by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada.