One Heart Source: Making Your Summer Count

The Stand met with Alyssa Remtulla, volunteer and ambassador for One Heart Source. Alyssa informs us all about the charity, and how you can get involved… Tell us a little […]


The Stand met with Alyssa Remtulla, volunteer and ambassador for One Heart Source. Alyssa informs us all about the charity, and how you can get involved…

Tell us a little about the charity and its aims.

OHS was founded in 2009 by a student from California. At the start the charity was mainly focused on stopping the cycle of poverty created by HIV/AIDS through education of the disease. Now we’ve realized that basic literacy and maths are critical to being able to learn about health issues, so we’ve shifted our focus to teaching and providing one on one tuition for kids who have fallen behind. The best thing about OHS is that we’re always willing to switch gears if we feel we can be more effective. We’ll never stick with a plan if it’s not the most efficient. 

What about your experiences?

I started volunteering with OHS in 2011. That summer our focus was on health education: I was mainly going door to door talking to mothers, asking them if they had health concerns and if they were interested in learning about issues such as malaria, typhoid, HIV/AIDS and family planning. 

I went back to work for OHS as staff the next summer and stayed for almost 2 months. This past summer our focus has shifted to education so we were mostly teaching in schools and doing a one on one tuition program. I taught a Swahili reading class for kids aged between ten and fifteen, who had passed through up to seven years of primary school without learning to read. 

Do you need any particular skills or qualifications to volunteer?

Nope not at all! You need to like working with children, be passionate about education and be willing to learn about teaching techniques. But there aren’t any specific experiences or qualifications we look for in applicants. 

What would you say to those wondering about volunteering with OHS?

That it is the most worthwhile thing I’ve been involved in during my time at university. My experiences working with OHS have been some of the best times of my life and I’ve always felt like I was making a concrete difference. You will be amazed by how quickly a small village in the middle of Northern Tanzania starts to feel like home. The people you meet and get the chance to talk with will change the way you think about your own life and the opportunities you have been given. 

How do we get involved?

Check out our website to see more about the application process. Basically you fill out an application, have a Skype interview and that’s about it! If you have any questions, drop us an email and we can help you out. 

image ©  one heart source