Careers

Description:

As a Health Education Volunteer you will be assigned to a school (elementary, middle, or high school) to teach and co-teach life skills and sexual health education. You will work closely with teachers to develop four types of curricula: biology, physical education, science/natural science, and elementary education. You will also collaborate with teachers during primary classes, free/project classes, or community events where the school is used as a community center.

The Health Education program has two primary objectives:
1. Support youth to adopt behaviors and practices that contribute to improved sexual and reproductive health.
2. Educate youth to develop the life skills necessary to make responsible and healthy decisions and take actions that positively impact their lives and the lives of those around them.

To achieve these objectives, you will collaborate with students and teachers in several schools within a region to organize community projects, clubs, and camps addressing life skills and sexual health education topics.
Co-teaching and training teachers comprise a significant part of Peace Corps Albania’s Health Education project. You will work alongside an Albanian teacher in classrooms as well as help train teachers regarding youth sexual and reproductive health. Some Volunteers may also liaise with a health education unit or provide staff trainings at community health centers, which have a long history of being under-resourced.

In the summer, you are expected to lead camps and other youth development activities in partnership with schools or non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or facilitate youth-centered projects such as Model United Nations, Girl Scouts, Outdoor Ambassadors (an environmental-themed afterschool program begun by Volunteers), and Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) camps, etc.

Throughout the year, you can teach life-skills and co-facilitate sessions with local counterparts using manuals that are in both English and Albanian. You may also tutor students in various school subjects (including English language), help develop student government in the school, and/or liaise with community members and students to foster youth employability skills. Many Volunteers have found success in collaborating across sectors throughout the summer with Volunteers who live in nearby communities; however, this may not be possible for all Volunteers depending on the geographic location.

Outside the classroom, you may have the opportunity to work closely with health education professionals at health centers or NGOs, or with other health professionals. You may introduce new teaching methods and techniques regarding preventive health education in schools and kindergartens. You may also partner with NGOs and other community-based organizations to provide basic health education, and raise awareness of safe and healthy sexual and reproductive health practices, HIV/AIDS prevention, and other emerging health issues.

You will likely have more than one primary colleague or counterpart, depending on the projects or activities you are involved in. Locating motivated community members to help with these diverse projects will demand a concerted effort on your part. For this reason, it is important that you develop strong relationships in your community and commit yourself to improving your language skills, as well as bring a high level of self-initiative, determination, and a positive attitude.

Volunteers are placed in communities throughout Albania, excluding the capital city of Tirana. The vast majority of Volunteers will live in rural areas, however, in some rare cases Volunteers may be placed in a few of the larger towns where foreign language schools are located.