Projects in Rwanda
Maternal and Child Health Volunteers with Peace Corps Rwanda’s First 1,000 Days Health project work on the Government of Rwanda's (GOR) priorities and approaches to maternal and child health. Volunteers live at the village level, working alongside community partners to apply nutrition, sanitation, food security and general public health principals. They work primarily with the Community Health Center. They also conduct public health education work in cooperating schools. The primary goal of the Volunteers is to identify and provide support to pregnant women and mothers/young children. With their Rwandan colleagues, they follow them over time to make sure that they are supported in their efforts to stay healthy, have healthy/safe births, and to promote the optimal physical development of their children in accordance with the Government of Rwanda’s First 1000 Days priorities.
In late 2009, Peace Corps in Rwanda added an education program. Volunteers work with secondary schools (the American equivalent of middle and high schools) to teach English, math, science, and information technology. In addition to teaching in the classroom, Education Volunteers help mentor other teachers on education methodology and learner-centered education techniques. They also work outside of the schools on secondary projects that include sports clubs, study skills mentoring, library development, youth life skills training, HIV/AIDS prevention, and small income-generating projects. Education Volunteers have been a valuable resource during the Rwandan government’s shift from French to English as the language of instruction in schools and in their efforts to provide the first nine years of education for all students.