Description
The Peace Corps Volunteer program is often called life-defining by the more than 235,000 Americans who have served. Get the chance to fully integrate into a host country community, where you will live and work on projects ranging from education to business development. Peace Corps Response sends experienced professionals to undertake short-term, high-impact service assignments in communities around the world. Bring valuable skills and experiences to projects in places where they are needed most.
Ethiopia is an ancient land, known for its coffee, rock-hewn churches and rugged landscape. The Peace Corps program was re-established in Ethiopia in 2007 and since then Volunteers have been working with the Ethiopian people through various initiatives. One priority is improving individual and family health through strengthened health practices and care-seeking behaviors. Volunteers support this goal by serving as Community Health Educators through the Improving Community Health in Ethiopia (ICHE) Project.
Ethiopia faces significant health challenges including illnesses related to nutritional deficiencies, water borne diseases, malaria and respiratory tract infections. As a Community Health Educator, you will be assigned to a rural health center or clinic where you will serve as an educator, community mobilizer and trainer. Your work will be divided into two parts.
The first focuses on the clinic, where you will work on programs that could include building handwashing stations, training community members on latrine use and maintenance, human and home waste disposal, water sanitation, treatment and storage, conducting weekly home visits and promoting care seeking behaviors.
The second part focuses on working in a local primary or secondary school. Along with the teachers, you will
implement health campaigns, organize school-based clubs and promote health education regarding WASH-related diseases, hand and face washing, personal hygiene, nutrition, reproductive health practices, family planning, contraception methods, HIV/AIDs prevention, girls’ empowerment and life skills. This includes working with local teachers to increase their capacity to conduct similar programs.
Along with your health education work, you are encouraged to be involved with school clubs, youth camps, sports and other activities of interest to both you and your community. This could include anything from building fuel efficient stoves to soap making classes. You are especially encouraged to implement gender-related activities that are contextually appropriate. During your service, you should look for ways to work with community members to promote gender-equitable norms and increase girls’ sense of agency.
You will learn all the skills and knowledge you need to accomplish these tasks during Pre-Service Training. This is a 12-week-long intensive training period where you will live with a local family and be trained on technical, cross-cultural, language, medical, and safety and security aspects within the rural Ethiopian context. Once you have demonstrated your proficiency in these areas, you will be sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Serving in Ethiopia as a Community Health Educator is the quintessential Peace Corps assignment and a great opportunity for someone who wants to design and implement public health interventions in a real world setting. You’ll also gain experience with community mobilization, organizing, behavior change campaigns, leadership, inter-cultural communication and international development, all while helping improve the lives of people in your community.
The Peace Corps Volunteer program is often called life-defining by the more than 235,000 Americans who have served. Get the chance to fully integrate into a host country community, where you will live and work on projects ranging from education to business development. Peace Corps Response sends experienced professionals to undertake short-term, high-impact service assignments in communities around the world. Bring valuable skills and experiences to projects in places where they are needed most.
Ethiopia is an ancient land, known for its coffee, rock-hewn churches and rugged landscape. The Peace Corps program was re-established in Ethiopia in 2007 and since then Volunteers have been working with the Ethiopian people through various initiatives. One priority is improving individual and family health through strengthened health practices and care-seeking behaviors. Volunteers support this goal by serving as Community Health Educators through the Improving Community Health in Ethiopia (ICHE) Project.
Ethiopia faces significant health challenges including illnesses related to nutritional deficiencies, water borne diseases, malaria and respiratory tract infections. As a Community Health Educator, you will be assigned to a rural health center or clinic where you will serve as an educator, community mobilizer and trainer. Your work will be divided into two parts.
The first focuses on the clinic, where you will work on programs that could include building handwashing stations, training community members on latrine use and maintenance, human and home waste disposal, water sanitation, treatment and storage, conducting weekly home visits and promoting care seeking behaviors.
The second part focuses on working in a local primary or secondary school. Along with the teachers, you will
implement health campaigns, organize school-based clubs and promote health education regarding WASH-related diseases, hand and face washing, personal hygiene, nutrition, reproductive health practices, family planning, contraception methods, HIV/AIDs prevention, girls’ empowerment and life skills. This includes working with local teachers to increase their capacity to conduct similar programs.
Along with your health education work, you are encouraged to be involved with school clubs, youth camps, sports and other activities of interest to both you and your community. This could include anything from building fuel efficient stoves to soap making classes. You are especially encouraged to implement gender-related activities that are contextually appropriate. During your service, you should look for ways to work with community members to promote gender-equitable norms and increase girls’ sense of agency.
You will learn all the skills and knowledge you need to accomplish these tasks during Pre-Service Training. This is a 12-week-long intensive training period where you will live with a local family and be trained on technical, cross-cultural, language, medical, and safety and security aspects within the rural Ethiopian context. Once you have demonstrated your proficiency in these areas, you will be sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Serving in Ethiopia as a Community Health Educator is the quintessential Peace Corps assignment and a great opportunity for someone who wants to design and implement public health interventions in a real world setting. You’ll also gain experience with community mobilization, organizing, behavior change campaigns, leadership, inter-cultural communication and international development, all while helping improve the lives of people in your community.
Read More
Benefits
Health coverage, Housing, Living allowance, Non-competitive eligibility (federal jobs), Stipend, Training
Education Benefits
College Degree
Education Requirements
College Graduate
Desired Languages
English
Other Conditions
Subject to criminal background check