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Onsite Volunteer

Project Description

 

Volunteers participating in the Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Project make it a priority to teach smallholder farmers new and improved techniques in home gardening, poultry, beekeeping, and nutrition. As Agriculture and Nutrition Development Workers serving in rural villages, Volunteers help improve farmers’ food security.

 

Volunteers work directly with smallholder farming families to increase the availability of diverse and nutritious foods; resulting in farming families improving their nutrition and food security. To do this, Volunteers undertake many tasks, including:

 

• Building demonstration gardens using bio-intensive gardening techniques, including composting, fencing, water management, plant nursery, bed construction, and organic soil amendments

• Teaching local farmers bio-intensive gardening practices at their homes

• Constructing poultry demonstrations promoting improvements in nutrition, sanitation, and management of stock

• Establishing beehive demonstrations promoting best practices for maintaining sustainable bee colonies

• Teaching smallholder farmers improved poultry management and beekeeping at their homes

• Organizing and delivering nutrition lessons paired with cooking demonstrations, using locally available and affordable foods; including the home, garden produce poultry and honey

 

 

 

Required Skills

 

Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in agriculture and one or more of the following criteria:

• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field

OR basic professional work experience

 

Desired Skills

 

Competitive candidates will also have some degree of professional and/or volunteer experience with at least one of the following qualifications:

• A high level of comfort working outdoors; AND,

• Experience in small income generation activities; OR,

• Experience in large scale or family-run organic vegetable gardening; OR,

• Experience in poultry rearing or beekeeping; OR,

• Comfort working with bees and chickens; OR,

• Knowledge of basic family nutrition; OR,

• Experience in facilitating training.

 

Our most competitive candidates will have one or more of the following criteria:

• Bachelor of Science degree or Associate degree in Agronomy, Horticulture, Animal husbandry or other related fields and farm experience

Project Description

 

Our Community Economic Development project is uniquely positioned to improve the economic security and upward economic mobility of some of the country’s most economically marginalized households, with a specific focus on contributing to the economic prosperity of women and youth. CED Volunteers serve as facilitators, trainers, and mentors to develop the capacity of individuals to secure employment; create their own self-employment opportunities, and successfully manage job income and enterprise profits for the benefit of their households. Furthermore, the project aims to facilitate linkages between national economic development initiatives and the daily reality of individuals in the communities where Volunteers live and serve, thereby improving economic opportunities at both the person-to-person and community levels.

 

The CED project seeks to empower existing and aspiring community-based business groups and entrepreneurs with the tools to determine and manage their economic destiny at the grassroots level in rural and semi-urban communities. Broadly speaking, CED Volunteers work with individuals to improve their business skills.

 

The CED project targets four areas of Community Economic Development:

• Increase youth’s capacity to pursue and achieve economically productive livelihoods.

• Increase individuals’—especially women’s—capacity to implement small-scale economic activities and manage profits.

• Strengthen the organizational capacity of community-formed groups (associations, cooperatives, women’s groups, etc.).

• Increase individuals’ capacity for personal money management.

 

The goal of the program is to help Cameroonian households achieve economic security and upward economic mobility. Volunteers are generally placed in communities with an entrepreneurship youth group (this can be either in or out of the schools) and a community-based business group. Volunteers’ assignments are to:

• Work with youth to develop their entrepreneurship behaviors and employability skills,

• Work with community members to improve their income generation capacity,

• Work with interested small business owners as a business consultant one on one basis,

• Help local business group members to increase organizational capacity,

• Help individuals to improve their money management capacity.

 

Required Skills

 

Competitive candidates will have one or more of the following criteria:

• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any business discipline and or professional experience in business management

 

Desired Skills

 

• Master of Business Administration degree or a Master of Arts/Master of Science degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Management, Accounting, Banking, or Finance

• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture Economics or a degree combining agriculture and management, including agribusiness, agricultural management, farm management

• At least basic experience in farm management and/or agribusiness

• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any business or economics discipline with basic experience in farming or agribusiness

• Experience working with entrepreneurship

• Experience in one or more of the following areas: sales and marketing, bookkeeping, management or administration

• Experience working with youth

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

As a Health Education Volunteer, you will be assigned to a school as a teacher in a community to teach and co-teach life skills and sexual health education at a middle school or combined elementary and high school. You will work closely with teachers to develop four types of curricula: biology, physical education, science/natural science, and elementary education. You will also collaborate with teachers during primary classes, free/project classes, or schools as community centers.

 

You will collaborate with students and teachers in several schools within a region to organize community projects, clubs, and camps addressing life skills and sexual health education topics.

You will work alongside a Cameroonian teacher in classrooms as well as help train teachers regarding youth sexual and reproductive health. Some Volunteers may also liaise with a health education unit or provide staff training at community health centers, which have a long history of being under-resourced. Volunteer placement is typically in smaller towns and rural areas.

 

Required Skills

 

Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in the health sector and meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any discipline and a strong desire to work as a health education teacher

OR

Basic professional work experience

AND

• Strong desire to work with, develop, coach youth, and work in the classroom

 

DESIRED SKILLS

Experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Bachelor of Arts/Science Degree in Education, Nutrition, Health, Public Health, or Nursing

• Teaching, co-teaching or tutoring primary, middle, high school students, or adults

• Developing and implementing clubs and camps for children, students, or young adults

• Ability to network and develop partnerships in small communities

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Community Environmental Conservation (CEC) project is focused on supporting environmental education in schools, promoting environmental conservation practices at the community level, as well as life skills, gender and youth empowerment for community members and schools. Volunteers will be seen as role models for youth and adults alike. They will work in schools with teachers and students on specific environmental themes based on their educational background and experience as well as addressing the needs identified by community members.

 

Communities are located in areas of the country with high environmental priorities such as protected areas, buffer zones, and important river watersheds. Volunteers will work at the community level creating or strengthening groups (youth and adults) with a focus on their environmental needs.

 

Through their work with youth groups, Volunteers will develop opportunities to train and/or mentor students and youth in leadership and life skills, promote positive environmental stewardship and encourage civic participation as well as the importance of accomplishing personal goals. Additionally, Volunteers will actively work to create after-school programs and support youth in various activities.

Through their work with adult groups, Volunteers will develop environmental activities such as organic gardening, nursery/reforestation, waste management and promoting appropriate technologies like eco- stoves, and the use of renewable energy (solar panel). They will also work with different stakeholders to develop sustainable living strategies and techniques that allow community members to live in their communities while conserving their ecosystems and natural resources.

 

REQUIRED SKILLS

Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in promoting environmental awareness in schools and communities and one or more of the following criteria:

 

•Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field

OR basic professional work experience

 

DESIRED SKILLS

Competitive candidates will demonstrate the following skills:

 

• experience working in environmental science, environmental education or related field

•Experience leading formal (in schools) and non-formal environmental education activities, training teachers, working with youth groups, organizing or initiating environmental awareness activities (e.g. recycling campaigns)

• Environmental education teacher backgrounds or degrees

• Working experience in one or more of the following: climate change/renewable energy, biology, marine biology, natural resources management, reforestation, organic gardening, waste management, agro-ecology

• Basic teaching experience preferred

• Conversational Spanish Language Skills

• Public speaking and presentation skills

• High level of self-initiative and self-direction, mixed with a good sense of humor.

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

In northwest Cameroon, community dwellers face water issues that negatively affect them especially with regards to their health. The communities rely on wells that dry up in the middle of the dry season, Otherwise, they procure water from limited streams or holes dug in palm/raffia bushes. In the rainy season, flow is abundant and 200l containers are used to harvest water from roofs.

 

At present, rainwater/holding tanks (filled either by rainwater and/or streams/ponds) do not protect the water from contamination by leaves, dirt, dust, insects, vermin, or other industrial/agricultural pollutants. Tanks are sited near trees, with badly-fitting lids and are poorly maintained. Algae growth and insect breeding are present within tanks and water are warm. Livestock gathers within close proximity to tanks, causing impurities in the water which is predominantly untreated. This creates an opportunity for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Facilitators to support CAEPA WASH priorities at the rural community level, which traditionally has the most need and lowest access to government programs. They focus on building the capacity of local government authorities and local water committees to develop Water and Sanitation Safety Plans and stronger management practices of the water and sanitation services. WASH facilitators work with the local council and local Health Centers/Posts. In collaboration with the local council, WASH Facilitators build strong working relationships with the local water committees and train them to increase their capacity in administration, operation, and maintenance of the water and sanitation services. At local health centers/posts, WASH Facilitators work with the environmental health personnel or the health promotion area to strengthen sanitation education training in households and schools. This work could include maintaining water treatment systems, building latrines, and teaching proper handwashing techniques.

 

There will also be numerous opportunities to participate in secondary activities. These might include, but are not limited to, teaching computer classes, organizing environmental awareness workshops, developing a school gardening project, coaching sports, teaching English classes, or even organizing community-wide recycling projects.

 

REQUIRED SKILLS

Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in hygiene education/sanitation and one or more of the following criteria:

• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field

• Basic professional work experience

 

DESIRED SKILLS

• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science in Civil, Environmental or Sanitary Engineering, or another relevant field

• Certification in water/wastewater treatment plant operation or hazardous materials management

• Experience in teaching/facilitation with adults

• Experience in coaching adults in adopting new behaviors

• Experience in potable water/sanitation systems and health education

• Experience in construction, masonry, carpentry or plumbing or similar; home repair and remodeling, etc.

• Experience working with Habitat for Humanity

• Experience working with community groups and leaders

• Experience working in gender programming