Today was my first day a the dispensary (a smaller version of a health clinic minus a trained professional and advanced equipment – imagine a first aid stand with antibiotics). I’ll now be working every morning with Shelley, the nurse aid, helping her with organization, record keeping and other tasks.
So many people ask “what does a Peace Corps – health volunteer do in Vanuatu???” And I’m not sure if I even know the answer to that because this is unlike any job I”ve ever had – there are no specific tasks or deadlines just a basic outline and you can color the piture however you would like.
The outline says we are not here to provide medical care but to work to educate and create awareness of health issues. And to work with the health committee & health facility at site with their organization, projects and help keep them motivated. Some examples of community health volunteer projects:
- teach health classes at the school
- community health survey
- health workshops (on topics like reproduction, hygiene, malaria, etc)
- work with the village water committee to develop water projects
- toilet projects
- health food and how to cook workshop
- assist with health facility fundraising
- help community to organize a village cleanup
- help nurses in record keeping
These are just some examples and it all depends on the community what their needs are and what projects or activities they are interested in because it must start with them. I’m here to help and what I think are problems may not be the same as what they view as problems and sustainability will not occur if I’m the only driving force.
So right now I’m excited and flexible and ready for whatever – who knows how or what my service will be like – I just hope I can do some good for my peeps on Tongariki :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment