Projects in Zambia

Agriculture

The Rural Aquaculture Promotion (RAP) project supports Zambia's Department of Fisheries' strategy of improving livelihoods in rural communities through promoting aquaculture to generate income for farmers, supplement nutrition, and improve food security. The purpose of the RAP project is to assist smallholder rural farmers to apply new and improved aquaculture practices that sustainably increase fish production, consumption, and incomes. RAP Volunteers work with Zambian fish farmers. Their primary duties are to help the communities initiate and improve their fish ponds, improve management, increase fish production, integrate aquaculture with agriculture, increase incomes from ponds, and strengthen fish farming groups.

Education

The Rural Education Development (RED) project focuses on teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). The project improves English proficiency, teaching skills, and participation in professional development of counterparts, leading to improved English language instruction and increased English proficiency for students. RED Volunteers teach English to sixth- through eighth-grade students. RED Volunteers may also participate in various informal English instruction activities, such as English camps and clubs, as well as general education activities such as library development and community support groups for schools. Volunteers receive extensive training to learn how they can use their English skills to support counterpart teachers and students.

RED Volunteers in Zambia have the opportunity to participate in the Peace Corps TEFL Certificate program, an externally validated credential based on 120 hours of training and two years of supervised teaching experience. 

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Environment

In 2004, Zambia's Forestry Department invited the Peace Corps to partner with it to provide extension services at the community level. The Zambian Forestry Department has no frontline extension officers at the community level. Through the Linking Income Food and Environment (LIFE) project, Peace Corps Zambia is collaborating with the Department of Forestry to help conserve natural resources through promotion of agroforestry, soil conservation and management, improved gardening techniques, and teaching of basic business skills. Volunteers work together with Department of Forestry staff, lead farmers, and individual households. Volunteer activities address food insecurity by diversifying livelihood opportunities in these communities, thus reducing pressure on forest habitat and natural resources.

Health

Through the Community Health Empowerment Project (CHEP), Volunteers work at the community levels to improve rural health in the areas of maternal and child health and nutrition, and HIV/AIDS. Volunteers help facilitate the formation and training of community-based organizations that spearhead the planning, implementation, and sustainable management of community-led intervention contributing to the larger goal of ending preventable maternal and child deaths while achieving an HIV/AIDS-free generation by 2030.

Volunteers also address other community-identified cross-cutting priorities such as malaria and water sanitation. The project is implemented under the Ministry of Health, and the Volunteer's primary partner is with a rural health center. Volunteers also work with other organizations to mobilize resources and carry out sustainable health interventions.

President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)

All Peace Corps Zambia Volunteers are trained to serve as resources for HIV/AIDS through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. Volunteers who are entirely supported by the PEPFAR program work closely with the Ministry of Health and other implementing partners to support life-saving HIV care and treatment services, including HIV testing and counseling; prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections including TB; supply chain for commodities/medicines in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission services, inclusive of commodities; STI treatment medicines and PrEP for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

In addition to two-year Peace Corps Volunteers, Peace Corps Zambia's hosts Peace Corps Response Volunteers (PCRV) who work in one-year projects. PCRVs are experienced professionals who undertake short-term, high-impact service assignments in communities around the world. They are expected to possess the technical skills needed to fulfill their assigned role with minimal training.

Peace Corps Response Volunteers are placed in urban settings and affiliated with more than one urban health centers in a high-disease burden area where people access antiretroviral (ART) services. PCRV HIV programs focus on care and treatment services, HIV testing and counseling, prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections including TB, supply chain management, and the e-data management system for People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) SMARTCARE.

President's Malaria Initiative

Peace Corps Zambia supports the President's Stomp Out Malaria Initiative to eradicate malaria by promoting evidence-based malaria-prevention strategies, including the use of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets and raising awareness about the importance of seeking early diagnosis and treatment. Volunteers also debunk myths about malaria and encourage pregnant women to take intermittent preventive treatment. Volunteer activities include bed net care and repair demonstrations, creating murals to promote awareness of effective malaria-prevention strategies, and participating in large-scale bed net distribution and awareness campaigns. At the national level, Peace Corps Zambia also works in close collaboration with National Malaria Elimination Centre.