What is the Peace Corps?
Life is calling, how far will you go....
..."to promote world peace and friendship through a Peace Corps, which shall make available to interested countries and areas men and women of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, under conditions of hardship if necessary, to help the people of such countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained manpower."
The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. From that inspiration grew an agency of the federal government devoted to world peace and friendship.
Since its founding in 1961, over 200,000 volunteers have served in over 139 countries worldwide. The Peace Corps mission has three simple goals:
1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
Peace Corps volunteers serve for 27 months, getting the opportunity to live, learn, and work in a community overseas. Most volunteers serve in one of six sectors: Education, Health & HIV/AIDS, Business Development, Environment, Agriculture and Youth Development.
Peace Corps in Tanzania
In Short: Over 2,282 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in Tanzania since the program was established in 1961. Currently, 171 Volunteers are serving in Tanzania. Volunteers in this East African nation work in the areas of secondary education, environmental preservation, agricultural development, and HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. Many Volunteers working on HIV/AIDS prevention and care receive support from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. In response to Tanzania's poverty reduction agenda, Volunteers are also exploring opportunities to expand into the agri-business sector. Volunteers are trained and work in Kiswahili.
In Detail: A major focus for the Peace Corps program in Tanzania is secondary education. The country has a critical shortage of math and science teachers at the secondary school level. Due to lack of financial and human resources, the government is not able to attract the number of teachers it requires. Current Volunteers teach mathematics and science subjects in both private and public schools, as well as information and communication technology (ICT) at teacher colleges. All Volunteer teachers in secondary schools help with computer skills training.
Education Volunteers also work in resource identification and development, curriculum improvement, and extracurricular and community projects. Volunteers incorporate issues important to the surrounding community into their lesson plans, including HIV/AIDS, environmental education, and girls' empowerment.
The health education project (what I will primarily be working with) increases basic health knowledge and improves health attitudes and behaviors of Tanzanian youth, particularly in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention. Volunteers are assigned in communities with functioning schools, primary and secondary schools, a health center/dispensary, and a functioning village government.
An environment project addresses basic village-level needs for the conservation and development of natural resources. The project has expanded to address community needs and national strategies, including the National Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan and a local government reform program that decentralized economic planning down to the district and village levels.
The project empowers Volunteers and their counterparts to make use of existing indigenous knowledge in agriculture, soil conservation, small-scale agribusiness, environmental education, home gardens, and HIV/AIDS awareness while mitigating its impact to agriculture and food security in the rural areas.
All Volunteers are involved with HIV/AIDS prevention activities. They may also help care for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) or orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) by providing nutrition education through permaculture and sustainable agriculture activities so these groups can live longer more productive lives by boosting their immune systems.
Information from the Peace Corps Website: www.peacecorps.gov
To learn more see the LINKS on the right hand side of this blog
To learn more see the LINKS on the right hand side of this blog
