Vanuatu
Projects in Vanuatu
Education
Since 2012, the education project in Peace Corps Vanuatu has mainly focused on enhancing literacy in Primary Schools through interactive and innovative methods including ICT. We have been collaborating and working with our partners in the government sector to address the changing literacy needs in primary education. This is made possible through the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) which consists of members from the government sector and other partners who are also assisting the government address their needs in education. The PAC serves as an advisory body to the Program Manager. It provides valuable input to continually strengthen the project focus, and it collaborates with other organizations to maximize project effectiveness in meeting its goals, objectives and the evolving priorities of the host country at the local, regional, and national levels. It also contributes to the legitimacy and recognition of the project.
THE LITERACY PROJECT FRAMEWORK GOALS IN BRIEF
Peace Corps is committed to sustainability and so the framework is firmly based on capacity building and the transfer of skills, so we are always emphasizing co-teaching and co-planning or working together with the community members to implement activities.
Purpose: Students, teachers, and community members in Vanuatu will improve their literacy and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills in order to contribute to the future wellbeing of their families, communities, and nation.
Literacy Project Goals:
Goal 1: Improve Student Learning
Students will improve basic literacy and ICT skills.
Volunteers will be working with their counterparts to do various activities such as developing and designing student-centered literacy strategies and activities, implementing reading level assessments, designing and delivering phonemic awareness and phonics lessons, implementing effective computer and internet training and teaching different software programs.
Goal 2: Improve Training
Primary school teachers will implement more effective, student-centered literacy teaching techniques; secondary school teachers will implement more effective ICT teaching strategies.
Volunteers will be working directly with counterparts for the purpose of capacity building and to transfer skills. So volunteers are usually engaged in co-planning and co-teaching with their counterparts to enhance the method of teaching, encouraging student centered learning and fun activities that influence reading comprehension and literacy in general. Also demonstrating ICT lessons and doing in-service training workshops with their counterparts. We do not encourage volunteers to work in isolation, they must always be with a counterpart when they plan to do activities under this particular goal.
Goal 3: Develop Educational Resources for School Communities
School communities will increase the quantity, quality and effective use of literacy and ICT resources.
Under this goal, Volunteers will be mainly engaged with building libraries, acquiring library books, maintaining libraries, creating low cost resources, creating library tool kits, maintaining ICT resources such as computer labs, training on internet resources, training on file management and mobile resources and the list continues.
Health
Peace Corps Community Health Program is featured around the National Sustainable Development Plan or the people’s Plan 2016 to 2030.The the Community Health Project Frame Work underpinned society pillars that state to maintain a vibrant cultural identity and foster an inclusive society that is supported by responsive and capable institutions delivering quality services to all citizens. The goal is “A healthy population that enjoys a high quality of physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being”.
This is the people's plan. To achieve the national vision it must be translated into action on the ground in both villages and communities, and this is where Peace Corps is focusing working. Peace Corps works with the people at the grass roots level for the people of Vanuatu. In the village and communities, you will see Peace Corps working directly with the people addressing their immediate needs and ensuring their health needs are attained.
The US Government, through Peace Corps in country Office, has formalized an agreement to work very closely with the local health sector delivering programming to all citizens of Vanuatu to bring about sustainable projects where it is led, implemented and owned by the communities themselves.
Purpose: Community members in rural areas of Vanuatu will lead healthier lives.
Community Health Project Goals:
Goal 1: Community members and schools will adopt healthy behaviors and practices in order to reduce water and sanitation-related diseases and improve environmental health.
Each year 60 to 80% of Peace Corps Volunteers are working directly on this goal. The Volunteers’ contacted health needs assessments in all the communities in which they serve to identify community health needs and priorities. Clean and function toilets and clean water are often the leading priorities indicated by most communities after the survey.
Women and children are most affected when there is shortage of water and no safe toilets. Women and girls in the villages need much water to cook, clean and use for sanitation and hygiene purposes.