Free Swahili Lessons for Summer 2026 Research Preparation

Alliance is offering free Swahili and research preparation online courses. There will be five sessions of three weeks, one for each month of January, February, March, April and May 2026. The course will be for 40 minutes each week and conducted in English. Alliance will cover some basic language, culture and government regulations for research in Tanzania mainland during the course.

Who will benefit the most from the course

• Comfortable speaking in English to a small group

• Can commit to attending all three sessions

• Has a strong interest in conducting research in Tanzania summer 2026

• Enrolled in a university as undergraduate or master’s student

• Has minimum exposure to Swahili, Tanzania and doing research in the field

• Can use Zoom in a quiet area - preferable with headphones, microphone and camera

• Flexible: Sometimes Tanzania experiences power outages and internet bandwidth drops. We will have alternate means to engage if this occurs.

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Please see below for the basic course structure to see if it is a good fit for you. If it is, please follow this link to a Google form to register for our limited spaces.

Open webinar in April (for students of all sessions and even those that didn’t participate in the sessions): Positionality, Power and Culture Dynamics - one hour by Prof. Yunus Rafiq notes

Course Structure

Introductions

Not only would Alliance like to share useful knowledge about preparing for research in Tanzania, but we want to start to build a community that can help support each other. For this reason, we will spend at least ten minutes each session getting to know each other. This is also the reason we ask that you commit to attending all three sessions. If you have to miss a session, then we ask you to review the online recording and respond to the group two days before the next online session.

History

All language and research occurs within histories of the people, place, and institutions. We believe that balancing your orientation to language and research with historical knowledge better present a holistic understanding preparation.

Greetings

Greetings are of the utmost importance in Tanzania. It is not uncommon to have two to three greetings for each interaction. They also differ in age of the individuals, time of the day and location. We will give you a brief introduction to these three categories to get you started.

Culture

Tanzania is considered one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world with over 120 distinct tribes. It has a two thousand years of interaction with the Indian Ocean trade routes. It has urban skyscrapers and nightlife in Dar es Salaam, subsistence hunter and gathers, farmers, herders and fishermen, and everything in between. However, we will introduce you to some typical aspects of Tanzanian life to help you prepare and understand what you are likely to experience.

Vocabulary

You might not be fluent in Swahili, but learning even some of the basics will help you feel more comfortable, engage with the community and have a better experience overall. We have selected three topics to get you started that everyone will engage with during their stay in Tanzania.

Research

Doing research in a country can at times feel overwhelming. There is lots of information out there on websites, but sometimes it is hard to put it altogether and in perspective. So, we will provide brief overviews of three of the most important issues to doing research in Tanzania to get you started.

Questions and Comments

Please share any pressing questions or comments that can help us better prepare you for research in Tanzania or just how did you find this session?

Location

The Alliance office is located in the historic downtown heart of Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Students will spend their time in the office and at local schools in and around Bagamoyo.

Details of the Menstrual Health Program Internship

Students will engage in a literature review of best practices in incorporating partcipatory action research (PAR) for menstrual health in the Global South and, in particular, in Tanzania. They will review the Alliance Hedhi Agenda curriculum and work with the program officer to adapt it to a more PAR approach. The student will also do a literature review of best practices in community-based monitoring, evaluation, and learning. Then, the students will take the current Alliance monitoring, evaluation, and learning approaches and suggest ways to better align them to current best practices. The student will work closely with the program officer and the MEL director in adapting the current curriculum and MEL tools approaches.

The students will observe and assist in producing an evaluation of the current Hedhi Agenda. Then, the students will work with the program officer to transition to the new PAR-focused approach and do another evaluation. The student will be expected to complete a final report comparing and contrasting the two approaches, noting challenges in the transition and assuring that all work is done with and in a supportative and learning-focused journey. In Tanzania, we say, if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. The students’ work will focus on the Hedhi Agenda as a journey together with the Alliance staff, the schools, and the community. We believe the best results will come by respecting where every individual is on their journey and supporting them to take the next step – not imposing what is seen as “best” in another context.

Students can expect to spend approximately 10% of their time studying Swahli, 15% at schools for fieldwork, 20% researching best practices, 20% adapting curriculm and MEL tools to best practices, 20% translating and analysising field data, 10% writing reports and 5% with the MEL Director.

Learning Outcomes

• Gain hands-on experience with participatory action research methodologies

• Develop skills in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis

• Enhance cross-cultural communication and community engagement abilities

• Build knowledge on menstrual health issues and their impact on youth in Tanzania

• Contribute to meaningful, community-centered research and advocacy

Students should expect to go to a local school to observe and/or conduct MEL about the Hedhi Agenda approximately twice a week for the duration of the internship. The students will work approximately forty hours a week with the Hedhi Agenda programme officer. The students should expect to demonstrate daily adherence to assigned tasks to the MEL Director.

Working environment

Students will have access to the Alliance office, which is fully furnished with desks, electricity, and internet. Students must bring their own computer.

What are important personal attributes, interests or skills for this internship?

Alliance would prefer to have at least one female student; one male and one female would be ideal for this work. Students should have an interest in community-based research and gender equity. Experience doing desk and field research, such as interviews and surveys, is a plus. English language skills are necessary, and Swahili language skills will be very beneficial. We will provide regular Swahili language training and access to a translator as needed. We need students who can adapt to the unexpected opportunities and challenges throughout the day and research period. We are looking for students who will respect the local culture. This includes but is not limited to wearing of clothing beneath the knee and covering the shoulders for both men and women while participating in Alliance activities and/or around the Alliance office. In addition, students will be seen as representatives of Alliance. They should maintain good relationships with neighbors and the community by using traditional greetings, no public intoxication, and absolutely no illegal drugs.

Possible Risks

Bagamoyo is generally a safe place to live and do research. However, students should respect the local culture in terms of greetings, dress, and neighborly behavior. An Alliance representative will accompany students in the field at all times to address any unexpected risks and concerns. Students should carry with them their Alliance-issued ID and government paperwork during fieldwork. Students should not ride or drive motorcycles. Students should not conduct any work or research without the proper permits and permission from the local and national government.

Students should not bring expensive or delicate items that are not directly needed for the work. Keep your phone and valuables secure when not in use. Keep your room locked, and do not leave valuables unattended in the office or any public places. Petty theft is common for both locals and foreigners.

Students should not be out alone at night, nor should students go to the beach at night. Students should not engage in risky behaviors such as excessive alcohol consumption or any illegal activities. Tanzania has a high HIV prevalence rate, and it is estimated that 67% do not know their infection status. Despite only being 15% of the population, young adults account for 28% of the new HIV infections in Tanzania. For this reason, we encourage all reasonable precautions to prevent exposure to HIV and, if exposed, to begin post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) immediately, as every hour counts and definitely within the 72 hours after possible exposure.

Students should take precautions against mosquito bites during the day and at night. Due to climate change, dengue is a growing threat worldwide, and Tanzania has seen an increase in cases. Students should stay hydrated and well-rested to help fight off any illnesses. If they have a fever, they should test for malaria within 24 hours of the onset.

For students working with Prof. Rafiq under his research permit, they should be ready to use the data for a peer-reviewed academic publication after the field work ends.

Examples of previous publications:

Krugman, Daniel, Litu, A, Mbeya,S and Rafiq, M.Y. “Cancer Linguistics and the Politics of Decolonizing Health Communication in Coastal Tanzania: Reflections from an Anthropological Investigation.” Social Science & Medicine (1982), vol. 354, 2024, pp. 117082-, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117082.

Rafiq MY, Krugman DW, Bapumia F, Enumah Z, Wheatley H, Tungaraza K, Gerrets R, Mfuko S, Hall BJ, Kasogela O, Litunu A, Winch PJ. Kansa talk: mapping cancer terminologies in Bagamoyo, Tanzania towards dignity-based practice. BMJ Global Health. 2023 Aug;8(8):e012349. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-012349

Zhang L, Rafiq MY. “Governing through big data: An ethnographic exploration of invisible lives in China's digital surveillance of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Digital Health.” 2023 April 25;9:20552076231170689. doi: 10.1177/20552076231170689.

Rafiq et al. 2022. “Key Drivers of Low COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in Tanzania.” La Revue Médecine Tropicale et Santé Internationale (MTSI). https://doi.org/10.48327/mtsi.v3i1.2023.307

Sissoko, B., Rafiq, M.Y., Wang, J.R. et al. “Social representations of malaria in a southern Malian community: an ethnographic qualitative study.” Malaria Journal 21, 276 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-022-04298-0