Assignment

Country: Republic of South Africa

Program: Community HIV/AIDS Outreach

Job Title: HIV Outreach Worker

Staging Dates: January 23 2013

Pre-Service Training (in SA): January 25 2013 - March 22, 2013

Dates of Service: March 23, 2013 - March 24, 2015

History of the program:

Preventing the transmission of HIV to people, including the most vulnerable, such as young women (child-bearing age) and pregnant women, is critical to stemming the spread of the pandemic. Ensuring that orphans and vulnerable children continue their schooling and helping their (often) elderly caregivers is a natural humanitarian response to assisting those affected by the pandemic. Mentoring youth about their role as leaders and agents of change in preventing HIV/AIDS.  

In 2001 the Community HIV/AIDS Outreach Project (CHOP) began in partnership primarily with Non-governmental Organizations and Community Based Organizations (NGOs/CBOs) to which Volunteers were assigned to strengthen management systems. Over the years  CHOP has focused on both NGO/CBO development and  strengthening; as well as mobilizing local community networks and addressing issues pertaining to those both infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.  In 2012 the CHOP team in conjunction with staff from Peace Corps Headquarters assessed current programming and revised the project framework to better align it to national priorities and to ensure a more focused project in which Volunteers can be trained and supported to achieve success.  The most current version of CHOP is based upon the South African Government’s National Strategic Plan on HIV, STIs, and TB for 2012-2016.  It is focused upon one goal: to reduce HIV infection, stigma and discrimination, and to mitigate the impacts of the epidemic.  The objectives and activities of CHOP are now centered around addressing the social, economic and structural drivers of the HIV pandemic in South Africa.    

Possible program areas may include working: to reduce the vulnerability of youth (age 11-24) to HIV infection; to reduce the vulnerability to re-infection among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA); and/or to mitigate the impact of the epidemic on orphans and vulnerable children (age 0-24).

My primary duties:

You may be assigned to variety of organizations: government partner, local NGO, small CBO, a Faith-Based organization, or a community based health facility, such as clinic. Some of you may not be assigned to a specific organization but may be attached to a community through the chief of a village.  Regardless of how a volunteer is assigned to a community or organization their work will center around mobilizing the community at large to address HIV prevention and mitigation of the impacts of the epidemic.  Each year, new organizations request for Volunteers to help them target and meet the needs of the most vulnerable in their communities. NGOs/CBOs are at various levels in terms of organizational development, ranging from the nascent to the well established. NGOs/CBOs have developed different niches--some focus on orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), others specialize in training local volunteers to visit the chronically ill (one of the most vulnerable populations) in their homes through a service called HomeBased Care (HBC); and others prefer to work with in-school or out of-school youth. Some organizations focus on broad community development initiatives that mitigate the effects of the pandemic.

Activities that you may focus on with youth include implementing behavioral change communication programs promoting risk reduction and increased life skills and knowledge, implementing alcohol and substance abuse prevention programs, implementing interventions to address gender inequalities and gender-based violence, providing educational programs to parents, guardians and care-givers of youth, and introducing savings and loan and income generating activities including perma-gardens.  If you work with PLHA you may implement behavior change communication programs emphasizing prevention with positives, promoting enrollment in treatment and care programs, implementing income generating activities and savings and loans programs, and supporting PLHA support groups.  And working with OVCs you may implement life skills programs, strengthen programs for in/out of school OVCs, promote proper nutrition through perma-gardens, develop income generating activities and savings and load projects, mentor OVCs and support caregivers of OVCs.