Projects in Sierra Leone

Education

Volunteers currently are posted at schools in 12 districts throughout Sierra Leone, primarily located in small towns and villages in the interior of the country. As teachers of English, science, and mathematics in junior and senior secondary schools, they work to promote the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s (MEST) goal of improving the quality of education. They also coach and mentor teachers, facilitate extra-curricular activities, promote girls’ enrollment in school, and oversee programs involving reproductive health and youth development. In 2012, a Peace Corps Response program was added to provide support to teacher training institutions throughout the country. These are returned Peace Corps Volunteers who undertake more narrowly focused and shorter-term assignments.

Health

The Health Volunteer role is to strengthen basic primary health care knowledge, practices, and services in rural and marginal areas in order to reduce the impact of malnutrition, communicable, and preventable diseases.  Volunteers facilitate community outreach and health education, prevention, and training programs through information dissemination; sensitization can be in one-on-one discussions, door-to-door household visits, or at local health facilities. Main activities may include:

• Working with mothers to improve infant and young child health through training in the essential nutritional actions and preparation of hygienic and nutritious foods.
  
• Modeling improved nutritional practices and sustaining a healthy diet through small household gardening.
  
• Collaborating with community members and school partnerships to reduce water-borne illnesses through community-based WASH programs.  Preventable diarrheal diseases and water borne illnesses are too common in the local communities. Education on essential hygiene actions, training on correct hand-washing and building hand-washing stations, latrine use and maintenance, and water treatment and storage are a few examples.
  
• Helping health centers and community-based organizations ameliorate the spread of malaria through education, distribution and proper use of bed nets, and environmental sanitation.
  
• Focusing on behavior change through the use of evidence-based methodologies.