T Travels: Yep, we do actually ‘work’ in Peace Corps

In Peace Corps there is a very loose definition of ‘work’. We Volunteers are responsible for ‘building capacity’. Ahh, capacity building, that well loved, and well hated term used amongst development workers around the world…Basically, it means teaching people anything that will help them tackle their own social problems and address their own needs. As PCVs, in order to do capacity building, we first have to integrate into our communities. I mean, would you listen to a stranger coming into your home bossing you around? Probably not. But you might listen to advice a neighbor has to give you, especially if you have seen that neighbor volunteering at a local school, or helping whitewash a fence or something like that. We have spent the last 6 months in our community getting to know people, asking questions, developing a rapport and gaining the trust and respect of our colleagues and friends. Integrating is an ongoing project, of course, and is one huge part of our Peace Corps service. This being true, it does make hard at times to define ‘work’ because ‘work’ can be sitting and talking to the shop owner about his kids, being seen strolling through the market or at a cricket game, visiting friends at home or in their churches or even working in our garden. These things say to our community, “Hi I am here to stay for a while, I am one of you (even though I may not look like it) and I care about you, want to get to know you and work with you.”

Any PCV can tell you that during their service they sometimes felt like they were not “doing” anything, because this ‘integration’ part of capacity building often doesn’t feel like work. Tim and I constantly have to remind our selves that it is indeed a crucial part of our job. However, at the end of last month, Peace Corps Guyana HQ held a conference for all of Guy 22 to discuss the details of the work that actually feels like work, the nitty-gritty Project Design and Management (hence the name of the workshop: PDM).

We attended PDM, held at a swanky hotel for Guyana standards (hot running water, air conditioning and cable TV which we appreciated very, very much!), with our Guyanese counterparts. We each got to select a person with whom we work who will help us champion our projects and causes. I went with the Medex of my health centre and Tim took the Literacy Advisor from the department of Education in Region 10. Both these ladies have been essential in welcoming us into our workplaces and working with us to determine what sort of projects we should be working on. We all went into PDM with some ideas of where to take the next 18 months of our Peace Corps service and came out of PDM with some concrete plans of action. So, without further ado, I present to you my project plans:

Start a Health Club at the secondary school down the road from my health centre. Work with the teacher in charge who ran the club last year, to educate youth on many health aspects; sex education (I say Self education here in Guyana so I don’t turn people off), diet and nutrition, self esteem, decision making and more. I am excited to kick this off this week and get back in the classroom working with young people!
Work with the many already existing youth groups in the area to improve collaboration and coordination of services so that we can ultimately increase the number of youth who are accessing the health services that are available. There is an awesome NGO and also a group funded by the UNFPA and the Guyana Ministry of Health Youth Friendly Clinics (that I have been working with for a while now) all sort of doing their own things. My goal is to be a bridge between then groups so we can work together towards our shared goal. We held a meeting last week and already made good progress. The groups worked together to start planning an outreach booth at the upcoming Fair and a youth forum funded and organized by all three organizations.
Promote Youth Friendly Services by way of mass media. There is a television program funded by the regional government that is not being used to reach out to a large portion of the community so Sara and I, on request of the Regional Health Officer, have written some episodes to promote health among the youth and also that are accessible to the general populace. We are aiming to air our first episode in November.
Bring the Guyana Red Cross “Be Safe” Program into Region 10. This is an awesome program that teaches young children (under 9 years of age) about how to protect and respect their bodies and prevent domestic violence and sexual abuse in their lives. I have been working with the coordinator of the Guyana Red Cross and she and I hope to train 22 teachers and nurses to go into the schools in my community and carry out this program. We are planning to host the training in early December.
Continue promoting relevant health issues to the patients of the health centre. I am planning to continue giving health talks to the Elderly Club that meets at the clinic monthly and work with them to build their knowledge about chronic disease prevention and care. I also plan on bringing some of the information on healthy dietary practices that I have organized into a Guyanese context, to the mothers who come in to the Infant/Child clinic.

By doing all five of these things, I will be building capacity at all levels of the community; among the youth, adults and elderly both in and out of the clinic. I know I have a lot on my plate. It is actually a little scary just thinking about all I want to do and how little time I have to not only implement these projects but also find a way to make them sustainable before my service is over. Yeesh…

I think I will let Tim post his own blog about the projects he has in the works. Stay tuned!

"WORK" that feels like work: