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Lying just south of the equator, Tanzania is East Africa's
largest country, and an immensely
rewarding place to visit. Tanzania
has the world-famous attractions;
the plains of the Serengeti,
Ngorongoro Crater, snowcapped Mount
Kilimanjaro (Africa's highest
mountain);
bordered by three of the largest
lakes on the continent: Lake
Victoria (the world's second-largest
freshwater lake) in the north, Lake
Tanganyika (the world's second
deepest) in the west, Lake Nyasa in
the southwest
and Zanzibar, with its idyllic
palm-fringed beaches and historic
Stone Town. Yet there's a whole lot
more to
Tanzania
than these obvious highlights.
Almost
everywhere you go you'll find
interesting wildlife and inspiring
landscapes (over forty percent of
the country is protected in some
form or other) ranging from
forest-covered volcanic peaks to
dusty savanna populated by
elephants, antelopes, lions,
leopards and cheetahs.
Tanzania
is one of the four most naturally
diverse nations on earth: it
contains Africa's second-largest
number of bird species (around
1500), the continent's biggest
mammal population and three-quarters
of East Africa's
plant species (over ten thousand).
Add to this the country's rich
ethnic diversity, some superb hiking
and other activities like
snorkelling and diving, and you have
the makings of a holiday of a
lifetime.
For all its natural diversity, Tanzania's best asset is its people:
friendly, welcoming, unassumingly
proud and yet reserved - you'll be
treated with uncommon warmth and
courtesy wherever you go, and
genuine friendships are easily made
Why Tanzania needs
Volunteers/Interns.
Tanzania
has been hard hit by the HIV/AIDS
epidemic, with over 2 million adults
and 150,000 children infected;
estimates for this country
explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to
AIDS; this can result in lower life
expectancy and higher infant
mortality rates.
Access
to education is also another problem
facing the country, with over 40% of
children not able to access
education.
Tanzania
is one of the poorest countries in
the world. The economy depends
heavily on agriculture, which
accounts for more than 40% of GDP,
provides 85% of exports, and employs
80% of the work force. Topography
and climatic conditions, however,
limit cultivated crops to only 4% of
the land area. Industry
traditionally featured the
processing of agricultural products
and light consumer goods.
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