A Small Team With a Big Purpose
In 2013, Tarloch Pownall and Leonie Stoffer founded Volunteer in Tanzania with a clear belief: your time is extremely valuable, and every day of it should count. Tarloch, born in Tanga and raised in Arusha, had spent years working across Tanzania as a professional safari guide and project manager. Leonie, who first came to volunteer at a primary school in 2012, found a bigger challenge and never looked back. Together they set up the VIT Arusha House in the centre of Arusha — and opened its doors to volunteers from across the world.
What began with a handful of placements has grown into a network of over 21 active projects spanning education, childcare, sports, wildlife, and healthcare across three locations: Arusha, Stone Town, and Zanzibar's South East Coast. Yet the team has stayed small by design. Being a locally based crew — not a large Western agency — means lower costs for volunteers and more money going directly into the communities that matter.
Today, Volunteer in Tanzania partners with five established travel organisations in Europe and has welcomed over 500 volunteers. The Arusha house still feels like home. Prisca, the matron, has been there since day one. Braiton manages daily operations, Sia guides you from the moment your foot touches the ground, and a growing island team runs two houses on Zanzibar.
