By Admin1 (admin) on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 10:12 am: Edit Post |
Peace Corps Programs in Madagascar
Peace Corps Programs in Madagascar
Peace Corps Volunteers in Madagascar are teaching English and training teachers, conducting health education and child survival activities, and working on natural resource management and community development.
Education
Volunteers live in underserved rural communities and work with students, teachers, and the larger community to improve their capacity to speak English and use English in the workplace. Working in cooperation and collaboration with central and regional curriculum professionals, Volunteers also support the government's initiatives to raise the standard of teaching, develop teaching resources, and strengthen links between schools and communities. Volunteers promote the idea that teachers, by definition, are community development workers. As such, Peace Corps teachers and their counterparts use the English language as a vehicle to encourage awareness of community issues, to promote the vital role of schools as a base for community activities, and to develop the future community development workers of Madagascar: its young school-age population.
Environment
Madagascar has several national parks and protected natural areas. Volunteers provide training for managers of protected areas, community members, and other local groups to improve conservation in these areas. Volunteer projects include environmental education, income-generating activities, trail construction, eco-tourism, ecological monitoring, community development, construction of fuel conserving stoves, forestry, and gardening. The goals of the project are to reduce degradation of natural resources, develop capacity of local individuals and institutions, and enhance management capabilities of responsible government officials and non-government organizations.
Health
Volunteers help communities address health issues through promotion of behavioral change and effective dissemination of health messages. The messages promote the prevention of childhood illness, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted disease prevention, family life skills, and other reproductive health information. Volunteers work with community leaders and organizations in the dissemination of health messages that are critical to the survival of mothers and children.