Jil from Germany (Pre-Medical Student):

My time in La Paz is now coming to an end, and it’s unbelievable how many things I experienced during my stay here. I immediately felt very comfortable at my host family and we did lots activities and excursions together in La Paz and the surrounding area.

Also the time in the hospital was an unforgettable experience. Right from the beginning I felt part of the team and despite my basic Spanish skills, none of my questions remained unanswered.

During the weekends I usually did tips and excursions to Coroico or to Lake Titicaca. Bolivia has so much more to offer than one can experience in just one month.

Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible and made my time here so special.

Best regards,

Jil, Germany

Jil completed her elective abroad with World Unite!, a specialist provider for electives, internships and volunteering in medicine, nursing, therapies and midwifery. Click here to read more about the Arco Iris Hospital in La Paz and learn how to apply for your own elective abroad!

Alexandra from the UK (nursing student):

I chose India as my destination to carry out my nursing elective as I had travelled in the Northern area two years earlier and fell in love, with not only the country but the culture and everything in between. So, when it came around to a choice where I would go it seemed obvious! I found World Unite online and they had links with a hospital in Kerala, so I started the process of booking it!

It is very hard to sum up a month spent in India, even after a second visit the country never ceases to amaze me and being able to work in a hospital there it allowed me to really understand the people.

My accommodation was a Guest House in the lovely town of Fort Kochi which I grew very fond of over the month. Antonio was the owner and the coordinator of World Unite! and the contact of the hospital. He really looked after me and the induction on the first day was very useful as it made me orientated to the area. He also took me to the hospital where I was first introduced to the director and nurses who I would be shadowing. The bus ride to and from the hospital was a crazy, loud ride and a bit of a guessing game to which one you should get on as the signs were all in Malayalam which is the local language. However, all I had to do was shout up to the ticket man “Fatima” and he would tell me. By the end of the month they recognised me, and we would always have a friendly chat on the bus.

From my time in the hospital, I have gained better listening, observational, communication skills and an amazing overall experience that I would not have gained if I stayed in the UK.

I was in the hospital from 9:00 till 17:00 Monday to Friday working across A&E, post-surgery ward, general medicine ward and occasionally in the operating theatres. It was interesting to observe the way in which everything was ran and to see patients being treated for illnesses like dengue fever, a tropical disease which you don’t see in the UK. The nurses were extremely friendly and would explain to me in English what was happening. They were also very keen that I kept eating and would constantly share their food with me which was delicious. I was mainly shadowing but could take observations on the patients and help with medications. It amazed me how resourceful the staff were with such little equipment. It certainly took a week to get used to the surroundings and the heat but after that you quickly feel at home.

Things didn’t always come easily to me in India, for example finding reliable food even though there are many choices on the street it was always tough to figure out what would be reliable, but you really just need to get out there and get involved, ask around, make friends with the locals. I learned to embrace the people and the country so much that there was never a dull moment. I miss the Indian food, the colourful clothing, the crazy transport, the smells, the people, the music, the weekends away and more than anything I crave the Indian tea (chai)! In between the cows lying on the streets, tuk-tuks and buses constantly beeping their horns, scooters and motorbikes driving in any direction on the crazy roads and the odd camel or elephant thrown in for good measure- I can honestly say there is nowhere I would rather be.

I will return to India again for my third visit as it is a place that truly has a place in my heart. Thanks World Unite! for allowing me to have my nursing experience in my favourite country, it has been the experience of a lifetime, one I will never forget!

Best,

Alexandra

Alexandra arranged her medical elective through World Unite!, a specialist provider for medical electives and internships in nursing, therapies and midwifery in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Click here to read more about Alexandra’s placement and learn how to apply for your own elective in India.

Sarah from Canada (medical student):

I had an amazing time in Moshi, Tanzania doing a medical elective at the Pasua Health Care Center! The staff were very welcoming and kind. On this placement, we were able to decide what we wanted to do every day to make sure we had a full experience based on our interests. We worked in the inpatient unit, outpatient unit, labour and delivery unit, laboratory, family planning clinic, and more. The staff being always happy to have our help was always explaining to us how and why they made their care decisions. It was very eye-opening experience to see that even with fewer resources they are able to care for these patients as they deserve to be treated. My only recommendation I would be to know some Swahili before coming to this beautiful country, as it will enrich your experience working with the patients. Luckily, the staff do speak English!

Moshi is a beautiful city to explore. It is easy to walk around and access everything. They have great coffee shops (we actually ended up going to the same one every day as their coffee was so good)! During our stay, many were celebrating Ramadan, which allowed us the opportunity to be introduced to the food and culture. We were even invited to prepare food with the locals, which was a wonderful experience.

To finish, World Unite! is a great organization! They were well organized and always available to answer our questions. Everyone was so nice in Moshi and very welcoming! We went on a day trip to the hot springs and on a weekend trip to the safari, all organized by World Unite! It was absolutely amazing! It’s very easy to plan and you have nothing to worry about.

Honestly, it was my first time visiting an African country and it was an experience of a lifetime that I will remember forever! If I could use three descriptors for my trip, they would be eye opening, amazing, and outside my comfort zone. As a last recommendation, I suggest you visit Zanzibar for a weekend, the beach is FANTASTIC!

Enjoy!

Sarah arranged her medical elective through World Unite!, a specialist provider for medical electives and internships in nursing, therapies and midwifery in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Click here to read more about Sarah’s placement and learn how to apply for your own elective in Tanzania.

Rosemarie from Germany, Nurse & Medical Student:

Why Moshi and Tanzania?

I’ve been wanting to volunteer in Tanzania for a long time, because I had heard so much about this country. I had tried to apply for a nursing placement before through other organisations but strangely may application never worked out. From another volunteer I got the contact information of World Unite! and got a fast and detailed reply about my future placement straight away! Moshi, Kilimanjaro, really spoke to me as a location.

To apply for my placement, I only needed an English CV and a letter of reference from my medical school. To prepare for my placement I used the information provided on the World Unite! website and on the information platform for participants. The information materials included information about vaccinations, living standards, public transport, general information about Tanzania and my place of work, among others. When my placement was confirmed, I only had to book my flight and paid for my service package. Considering the extensive services I got on-site and before my trip, booking my trip through World Unite! was totally worth it!

Arrival to Tanzania

I flew into Dar-es-Salaam (World Unite! recommend me to get an inexpensive flight to Dar first and to book a national connecting flight from there to Kilimanjaro). Make sure you allow a few hours to get to your connecting flight on-time, since getting the visa in Dar-es-Salaam can be quite time-consuming. I only had one and a half hours between my arrival in Dar and the next flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport and it was not enough, so I had to take the next flight five hours later. Of course, I informed my World Unite! coordinators in Moshi so that my pickup from the airport could be postponed.

When I finally arrived in Kilimanjaro in the evening, World Unite! had sent a driver to the airport to pick me up and to take me to my accommodation, where I met my local coordinators Adelina and her husband George.

When Adelina gave me a hug and welcomed me to Tanzania, I suddenly felt safe and at ease, considering that I had just arrived in a country that was totally new to me!

Adelina showed me around the accommodation and made sure I was comfortable. The next morning, Miriam, the other coordiantor, picked me up from my shared apartment to show me around the city. We had breakfast together and she gave me an introduction to Moshi, helped me to withdraw my first local money (Tanzanian Shillings) and to set up my phone with my local SIM card. She also showed me how to use the public transport system (Daladala = public mini bus) and explained which bus would take me home and which one to take to get to the hosptial. My shared apartment was located conveniently close the Daladala station KDC and it took me only about 15 minutes to reach the city center and my work place.

My Accommodation

Our shared apartment had three bedrooms and a kitchen and was located on the property of the owner, Mama Rose, and her family. Each room had its own bathroom with a western standard toilet, a small sink and shower. However, the water pressure was often very low and instead of using the ceiling shower head, we used the additional hand shower, which ultimately worked quite well. Whenever there was no water, it was worth asking the very helpful owner or her family members for help, as it may be that the water had accidentally been turned off and the problem was easier to sovle than expected. There were two gas stoves in the kitchen, where we could easily prepare our own meals so we did not always have to eat out. Due to the heat it was recommend to us to store everything edible in the refrigerator, including fruits and vegetables.

On a side note: My boyfriend came to visit me during my placement in Moshi and he was welcome to stay at my accommodation too.

My Placement at the Hospital

The Hospital I worked at was a Regional State Hospital and the central point of contact for sick people or emergency patients that can not be treated at the small rural dispensaries and clinics, or for patients who cannot afford a private hospital. There are many different departments and I was allowed to do weekly rotations. During my 30-day placement I was able to work in four wards: The pediatric ward, the maternity ward, the department of internal medicine and the HIV clinic.

How much you will learn and how much you will be allowed to do as a volunteer or intern, largely depends on your level of activitiy and how much initiative you show, just like in Germany. On the other hand, I recommend you to ask for help or to say “no” if you are expected to perform tasks that exceed your competencies as a student and could harm the patient. For example, I was once present when a woman was giving birth to her first baby and the doctor asked me whether I wanted to assist him. I knew that the doctor might trust too much in my abilities that I did not have yet, rejected the offer and prefered to shadow only.

Looking back, I was very happy about my decision because this birth turned out to be one of the most difficult I have ever seen and it was a mental and physical challenge for everyone involved – the mother, the doctors and the child.

It might happen that you, as a Western student, are very much trusted by the medical staff. Just make sure that you only perform activities that you already know how to master and that you would also be able to do in your own country.

Communication with the doctors and nurses at the hospital was easily possible in English, but very few of the patients had English language skills. That’s why it is very helpful to learn some Swahili before you arrive or to take a Swahili course on-site, so that you can also exchange a few words with the patients or at least ask some simple questions, such as “How are you?”, “How is your child?”, “Where does it hurt?”.

Getting Around in Moshi and Tanzania

Moshi is quite small and the best way to get around the city is on foot. If the distance is longer, you can also take a Daladala. Even the connections to rural areas and the villages outside Moshi are quite good. Moreover, there that run from the central bus station in all directions.

In Moshi there are several small and one large supermarket, as well as many cafes and restaurants, offering local and internationl food. It is highly recommended to buy fresh food such as fruits and vegetables on the street market, the taste is incredible!

Moshi also has an old-fashioned and shut down train station that which is nice and quiet place where you can have drink or just hang out.

Moshi is also a starting point for many Safaris: I spent a day in Ngorongoro Crater and it was well worth it! Don’t miss out on Zanzibar – it’s just a short flight away! I spent the last ten days of my trip there, exploring the markets and narrow streets in Stone Town and the white beaches of Nungwi in the north.

What the staff members of World Unite! offered to me was more than just a regular service. Miriam, Adelina, Katharina and George were there around the clock, if I needed help or had any questions.

When my roommate once did not feel well, Miriam and Adelina did not only take her to the doctor several times and looked after her on a daily basis, but also bought plenty of fruits and vegetables on the market for a quicker recovery. In addition, there were weekly non-binding meetings with all World Unite! volunteers and staff to share experience, to ask questions or to simply chat and have coffee.

I had a great time in Moshi and in Tanzania and would totally do this trip again. The placement also went well and was very interesting for me both in medical as well as in personal and cultural terms. World Unite! was very supportive and my secure base, that I could always rely on.

Wishing you all the best for your time in Tanzania!

Rosemarie from Germany

Rosemarie completed her elective abroad with World Unite!, a specialist provider for electives, internships and volunteering in medicine, nursing, therapies and midwifery. Click here to read more about their hospital options in Moshi, Tanzania and learn how to apply for your own elective abroad!

Pia from Germany, pre-medical student:

I did my internship at the Hosiana Prinmat Clinic, a small clinic for general medicine and births on the outskirts of the city of Moshi in Tanzania. I completed my internship during the (German) summer months and had applied for a medical degree program in Germany for the following autumn. At the time of my internship I did not have a lot of previous medical knowledge, but I was keen to learn and to get more exposure to prepare for my studies. Even if I interned for only about two weeks, I had a vast learning experience at the Hosiana Prinmant Clinic.

During which semester did you do your medical internship abroad?

I did my internship before I started my medical studies. After graduating from high school, I spent an entire year doing voluntary social services, to train as a paramedic and completed various medical internships. One of them was at the Hosianna Clinic in Moshi.

Please describe why you decided to do a medical internship abroad.

I chose this internship because I wanted to combine medical experience with a stay abroad. Before traveling to Tanzania, I had already completed a part of my mandatory pre-medical nursing internship in a German hospital. After that I wanted to get to know another medical system and find out in how far the medical care and treatment methods in Tanzania differ from what I knew from Germany. One of the main reasons to study medicine for me is for me to work as a doctor with the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) one day. Therefore, I thought it made sense to get an insight into different medical systems on the African continent as soon as possible.

How did you come across World Unite!?

I contacted World Unite! quite spontaneously. I had actually arranged an internship in Sri Lanka through a private contact for the same period, but due to the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka which took place in early 2019, I was unfortunately not able to carry out this internship. I ended up looking for a medical internship abroad at very short notice and came across World Unite! on the internet just a few weeks before my set internship period.

Which departments of the hospital did you work in? Did you stay in one department the whole time or rotate through multiple departments and why?

The Hosiana Primat Clinic is a small clinic and the tasks for the medical staff are not divided between different departments. Instead, the head nurse would take me wherever something was going on. There is one main treatment room that every patient is brought too. I would spend most of my time in this room to observe and to assist the local team. Depending on what type of treatment was required, a patient would be taken to other treatment rooms from there. I accompanied the patients and nurses from room to room. Once a week, the head nurse carries out house visits in the surrounding villages. She was happy to take me along and to give me an insight into the everyday life of her patients.

Describe a typical day at the clinic, including your work days, working hours and your tasks.

During my time at the Hosiana Prinmat Clinic I wrote a diary in order to better reflect and process all my experiences. I would like to share extracts from this diary here:

• Day 1: On arrival to the clinic, I was warmly welcomed by nurse Happy. I was impressed by her warmth, friendliness and hospitality. She tried very hard to make me feel comfortable and I felt part of the team straight from the beginning. At the clinic, I have my own room where I can change my clothes and rest during my breaks and where I’m always invited to try local dishes for breakfast and lunch. “Karibu” (= “welcome” in Tanzania) is not only a word that you will hear people say here very often, they actually live it. My first day at work begins. Happy receives the patients one by one in the main treatment room. Patients rarely make appointments here. When people feel sick and can make time, they will simply come to the clinic. I sit in the treatment room with Happy and try to understand what the consultation is about by re-activating the few words I know in Kiswahili. After a bit of small talk about the medical part, Happy always tries to involve me and briefly explains what the patient has told her. Many of the patients come here because they have a diffuse, general feeling of illness. Happy will then measure the patient’s temperature, check the throat and lymph nodes and do a Malaria test. After I had observed how the Malaria test is done, I was always allowed to test the other patients, when necessary. I also took over other small tasks step by step under Happy’s supervision. I loved how much practical experience I was able to gain and to be allowed such a hands-on approach.
• Day 2: Today, Happy taught me how to give intramuscular injections. These are injected into the buttocks and under Happy’s supervision I gave many, many their injections today. After the injection, you always apologize with “Pole” to your patient for the pain caused and the patient thanks you by saying “Asante”. In addition to getting a Malaria test or an IM, many patients come to have their blood pressure and blood sugar measured. Many mothers bring their children to have them weighed. The scale we use here is actually a meat scale and the children are put in some kind of pants and hung on the hook to weigh them. Most cry. And I’m not just getting a lot of practical exposure here! The head of the clinic is also very keen to help me improve my theoretical knowledge. Although she always emphasizes that she is not a doctor, she knows a great deal and takes a lot of time to share her knowledge and experience with me. At the end of my second day we exchanged numbers so that she can notify me in case of a childbirth at night. I would very much like to witness a birth!
• Day 3: Today I was introduced to the topic of “family planning”. This is a very important topic for the Hosiana Prinmat Clinic and a difficult topic for many Tanzanians in general. Often, men do not want to use contraception at all and omit using condoms. This is why women often try to use contraception secretly and have a birth control implant. At the Hosiana Clinic, a lot of educational work is done about family planning and contraception. I was already quite familiar with the information provided to the patients, but it was very interesting to get insights into how family planning, sexuality, contraception, pregnancy and so on are seen in the Tanzanian society. In Tanzania, HIV plays a very important role during pregnancy. Women are encouraged to test their HIV status in the early stages of their pregnancy. If she tests positive, she will be given medication during pregnancy and while she’s breastfeeding to prevent the infection of the child.
• Day 4: Now I have already seen some standard treatments and know roughly which therapies and medications are used for the various clinical pictures. Compared to Germany, one can say that painkillers are clearly used less frequently here. Antibiotics are therefore given to patients all the more frequently. However, it must be considered that the patients come to the Hosiana Prinmat Clinic comparatively later and with more serious illnesses compared to what I’m used to from Germany.
• Day 5: I’ve noticed that the attitude towards work is really different here. There are always longer breaks when no patient is coming. But nobody gets impatient or bored here. When a patient comes, they are greeted joyfully and immediately have the staff’s full attention. Even if there is a small queue, neither the nurses nor the patients get impatient or stressed out. During my first days at the clinic I assisted with carrying out two pregnancy tests. The head nurse ordered the tests to be made to rule out pregnancy as the reason for the visit was stomach ache. Both tests were negative. I was shocked by the fact that a pregnancy test was suggested by the head nurse as one of the patients was a maybe ten-year-old girl who came to the clinic with her mother. Did the head nurse suspect that the girl might have had sexual intercourse at such an early age or worse – was she worried that the girl might’ve been raped?
• Day 6: Today, even if it is Saturday, is a normal work day at the clinic and the patients come as usual. So far, the patients at the clinic have mainly been babies, toddlers, women and elderly people and I was beginning to think that young men just don’t get sick here. Today I started to understand that especially young men don’t have time to get sick during the week and go to work no matter how sick they feel. On Saturday, some will make time to come to the clinic to get their advanced infections and diseases treated. I could tell that all of them felt very uncomfortable to be in need of medical treatment. During the treatments, however, they tried to maintain their tough facade and did not even bat an eyelid when we disinfected and infected wound with very sharp disinfectant.
• Day 7: I’m learning so much from the way the staff at the Hosiana Clinic treat their patients and definitely want to adapt my own ways of dealing with patients to this once I am a doctor. Every patient is taken seriously and treated in a respectful way and with enough time. In addition, patients will also speak to their doctors about private matters which creates a warm and trustful relationship here in the clinic. I cannot discover a single sign of impatience here, no matter how stressful a work day at the clinic is. Neither on the nurse’s side nor on the patient’s side.
• Day 8: Today we had the very first emergency case since I started my internship! All of a sudden, a young man stood in the doorway, his arm covered in blood and a slightly shocked expression on his face. He had a very deep, about 10 cm long cut on the arm that had to be sewn. While sewing I was allowed to assist and hand over the necessary things to Happy and cut the threads. Since the needle was very blunt, the sewing looked very painful despite local anesthesia. In total, she sewed the wound with seven stitches and then treated it with antibiotic powder and bromide swabs as usual. Happy actually wanted to prescribe the man antibiotics, but he refused. Maybe he wanted / had to save the money?
• Day 9: Today, a little body was admitted who had to stay for the morning. When admitted, he was feverish with his temperature being at around 38,8°C. He was treated with acetaminophen to lower it. When the boy’s temperature even rose sometime later, instead of falling as we had hoped, he was quickly put into a cold batch. Sometime later we measured his temperature again and luckily the fever had already dropped. I rather believe that the acetaminophen just took a little longer to show its effects and the cold-water bath didn’t help much. Moreover, we took the contraceptive implant out of a woman’s upper arm today which I found quite exciting. Maybe she decided that now is the right time to have children. The woman looked at the implant with astonishment.
• Day 10: Today we had a patient whose HIV test was positive. I was wondering how the staff at the clinic would handle the test result and what they would say to comfort the patient. But the team couldn’t do anything more than say “Pole” (“sorry”) to the patient. Did they assume that there wasn’t enough money for therapy anyway?
• Day 11: Today was my last day at the Hosiana Prinmat Clinic! I was pretty excited to see what my last day here would bring, because I still had a few pending tasks on my list: I wanted to visit a former patient, hand out a few farewell gifts to the clinic staff and children in the neighborhood, and last but not least talk to the head nurse about my idea of collecting funds for patients who cannot afford treatment. Later that day I would begin to understand even more how much money for medical treatments is needed here: To get an idea of what families in the neighborhood lack health-wise, the head nurse of the clinic accompanied me to the village and introduced me to some families. I got to know some dramatic fates today. In the first family we visited, the mother had died of AIDS. Two of the four children were tested HIV positive. Together with their stepfather, they lived in a small hut and were so happy about my visit! The little boy hugged me straight away, jumped onto me and wanted to be carried. It was hard for me to see the little boy being so happy and full of joy, knowing that he was seriously ill. The next family we visited was a grandmother who raises her grandson. The grandson’s father has been in prison for a long time and the boy’s mother had disappeared. The boy and his grandmother live in great poverty as there is no real pension system in Tanzania. The next family were a father and his little daughter. The child’s mother died when the girl was only five months old and is now raised by the single father. The father invited us to take a seat in front of his house where we waited for his son to arrive who was still outside playing. While we waited, a young boy approached. He had two disabled legs and to move forward, had to crawl on the floor and pulled forward with his hands. He must’ve seen me somewhere from a distance and even crossed a dirty little creek to come over. I later learned that his legs had to be amputated below his knees after a fall. He also had a disabled arm, breathing problems and a mental disability. But he was very happy to sit on the floor next to me and smiled widely the whole time. The encounters described here were the most touching ones from my village visit. But I was shown a lot more and was introduced to an infinite number of people who all greeted me very warmly and were excited to hear what I was here for. Back at the Hosiana Prinmat Clinic, I spent a while in the treatment room and prepared myself to say goodbye! I really hope that I will see the team at the Hosiana Clinic again someday. I would very much like to come back during my studies and after I have learned a little Swahili!

What did you learn during your elective abroad?

I learned a lot of practical things during my internship, i.e. how to do malaria rapid tests, HIV rapid tests and pregnancy tests, to give intramuscular injections and listen to breathing sounds. I can now weigh children according to Tanzanian habits and enter the examination results accordingly into the child’s mother-child-pass. I had already learned how to measure blood pressure and blood sugar and how to treat small wounds during my training as a paramedic, but thanks to my time at the Hosiana Prinmat Clinic, I got a lot of practice doing these things and became more confident in dealing with patients.

I also gained a lot of theoretical knowledge as the director of the clinic tried very hard to give me the greatest possible insight into health care in Tanzania. For instance she explained the most common diseases in Tanzania to me. These include diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract, various infections, worms, skin diseases such as fungus, bronchitis, asthma, cholera and a few more. Most of the diseases can be traced back to poor hygiene conditions and are very different from the most common diseases of Europeans. For example, back pain in Europe is one of the most common reasons to see a doctor. I was explained in detail how the diseases arise and how you can recognize them. Antibiotics are the most common treatment.

What cultural differences have you observed between the medical systems / treatments / doctor-patient relationships etc. in your host country and your home country?

In Tanzania, patients are treated very differently than I am used to from Germany. And I definitely want to use the Tanzanian way of patient contact as a role model for my own future way of doctor-patient communication. Every patient is taken seriously and treated respectfully, warmly and with enough time. I was given the impression that the health of the patients really matters to the doctors. I would also like to convey this feeling to my future patients. I also think it’s nice that Tanzanians also talks about private matters with their doctor. This creates a completely different relationship of trust than I am used to from Germany. I also think it’s very important that there is simply no impatience here. Neither on the patient’s side when waiting for treatment, nor on the nurse’s side when they are waiting for patients. Without this subliminal feeling of impatience, the working atmosphere can be improved immensely! Furthermore, I would like to take with me that in Tanzania a newly incoming patient is perceived as a burden – whether shortly before work ends or during breakfast break, which I have observed differently in Germany.

How did you spend your free time in Tanzania?

During my time in Tanzania I also experienced a lot outside of the Hosiana Prinmat Clinic! I visited the Hot Springs with a group of young Tanzanian people and other foreign volunteers. We bathed, swung across the water with a trapeze and played football together. It was an amazing day and the whole trip turned into a real party!

Then I did a sunset tour. A little bus drove us onto the top of a small hill surrounded by fields just outside of Moshi. I have rarely seen such a beautiful sunset!

One evening I went to a Karaoke Bar with fellow volunteers and to a club afterwards. I am not the best singer at all, but I also like to laugh about myself a lot, so we were really having a blast.

One weekend, I did a trip to the Usambara Mountains which was by far my favorite leisure experience in Tanzania. We took a bus to the village of Korogwe which is located at the foot of the mountains. From there we continued by Boda-Boda, a motorbike taxi, which took us a dirt road up the mountains for about half an hour. Our final destination was the Lutindi Mental Hospital. The hospital is also a partner of World Unite! and volunteers can rent a guest room at this beautifully located hospital and enjoy the quiet mountain area and nature for a weekend. I got to see one of the most magical sunrises ever here for which getting up very early was more than worth it! We did a 23 km hike through Tanzania’s stunning nature and impressive landscapes. Along our way we had many nice encounters with locals and communicating with our rudimentary Kiswahili skills worked surprisingly well.

Pia completed her elective abroad with World Unite!, a specialist provider for electives, internships and volunteering in medicine, nursing, therapies and midwifery. Click here to read more about their hospital options in Moshi, Tanzania and learn how to apply for your own elective abroad!