An official website of the United States government
The resources and curricula presented here were developed to enable Peace Corps Volunteers and community counterparts to build a greater network of support for children affected by the AIDS crisis. Those who use this manual will arm themselves and others with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to bring families and communities together to care for orphans and vulnerable children.
One of the most critical considerations for engaging communities around sensitive topics such as gender-based violence or harmful norms is creating a safe space for these discussions. This brief focuses mainly on emotional safe spaces, but also recognizes that the physical environment-- including the setup of the room or venue-- can greatly affect someone's comfort. This brief discusses what a safe space is really like and how to create one.
Peace Corps published Culture Matters in 1997. As a self-study workbook, it was intended for use by trainees and Volunteers to teach themselves some of the keyc oncepts in intercultural communication. It was meant to complement and add to country-specific cross-cultural training usually done as part of the Peace Corps pre-service training.
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and the Peace Corps have compiled this resource guide that outlines international exchange and scholarship opportunities for a variety of audiences, including Peace Corps Volunteers and community members, students, and counterparts in the communities they serve, Peace Corps post staff, and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs).
This manual is built on the experience of women like these and the staff of local organizations that assist them. We are proud to make it available to those who are working at the "frontline" of small business development, trainers and programmers who work with Third World women and understand their needs, as well as their hopes.
Volunteers have a wide range of opportunities to engage with host families, counterparts, colleagues, and other community members around the role and impact of gender norms and expectations in their lives. One unique and important opportunity is engaging men and boys in discussions around positive masculine norms.
This manual is intended to serve as a sourcebook for Volunteers and others to draw upon when implementing educational programs. The activities here are primarily organized according to subject matter, such as soil, water, trees, nature awareness, and ecology, with additional activities included under Service Learning Activities and Games.
For years, Peace Corps Volunteers have assisted communities to create and engage in a broad range of environmental education activities. Although the content and setting of each of these activities is different, the educational goal is the same: to help communities appreciate, protect, and sustain their natural surroundings.
