Youth Health Promoter

Job Description
Youth Health Promoters in Paraguay will work with a Community Health Worker (CHW) from the local health post to support health promotion activities related to youth health and well-being within the health post, the school(s), and the community at-large through:

• Promoting healthy lifestyles, including physical activity and a healthy diet to reduce and prevent negative health outcomes, including non-communicable diseases and other health-risk factors like obesity;

• Reducing youth's use of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances by providing them with healthy alternatives;

• Improving youth's ability to cope with their emotions and stressful situations;

• Increasing the knowledge and skills of youth to improve their sexual and reproductive health services and programs

After the integration period, the Volunteer will work with the CHW to better understand the main challenges to youth health and well-being within the community. This will be done through activities such as community meetings, house visits, community mapping, youth census, informal interviews, and outcome surveys, etc.

Together, Youth Health Promoters and CHW counterparts work with middle and high school students, and are expected to participate in community integration activities to get to know the students and build relationships within the schools and the health post. Later on, the Volunteer will co-facilitate classes and/or sessions with teachers and the CHW. Additionally, the Volunteer and CHW will form a youth health club outside of the school and are expected to support the training of the youth club leaders.

If the community process allows it, it is also expected that the Volunteer, alongside the CHW, offer training and discussion groups to parents, caregivers, and/or service providers to increase their capacities to support youth health and wellbeing in the community.

In addition to the primary activities described above, secondary activities outside of the sector framework may be started/proposed by the community and carried out with the Volunteer's help depending on the community's interest. For example, Volunteers could be asked to teach English, which can be a great way to spend time with community members to build relationships and trust, and learn more about the community. (Note: Volunteers are not required to be a trained or certified English teacher.) Nevertheless, English classes could be considered a primary activity if volunteers can integrate health-related content into English-language classes or conversation clubs.

Volunteers facilitate a wide range of activities, and their success depends on their willingness and ability to integrate into the community, speak the local language, build trust and adapt to the varying needs, ideas and work styles of community members.

Volunteers will receive specific technical training to learn how to design, implement, and evaluate primary and secondary project activities. Trainees receive 10 weeks of Pre-Service Training before moving to their communities and then attend additional training events during their two years of Volunteer service with their community counterparts.

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

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

OR

• 5 years' professional work experience

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

• Interest in working with youth, especially within the topics of leadership development, mental health, healthy lifestyles, sexual and reproductive health, and/or life skills education.

• Interest in health promotion and health education.

• Demonstrated flexibility in working with community members/groups to assess community health needs and resources.

• Abilities to organize and work with a people of various backgrounds.

• Interest in working in a school setting.

• Previous community service or volunteer experience.

Living Conditions
Health Volunteers serve in rural/semi-rural communities or small towns with populations from just 200 to around 5,000. Each Volunteer is assigned to serve in a community that will be located approximately 1 to 6 hours from the capital city of Asunción by public buses.

Public buses to Asunción from most communities are available, although depending on the size of the community may have infrequent service or require the Volunteer to connect multiple bus routes. Volunteers may need to bike or walk up to 6 miles in heat and humidity, often in the 90s (Fahrenheit) with 80% humidity during the summer. The temperature can drop during the winter months to be in the 40s (Fahrenheit). Most homes where Volunteers live do not have air-conditioning or heating.

Volunteers typically have access to electricity, running water and local cell service in the community. However, temporary electricity and water outages are common in many communities. Reliable Internet and Wi-Fi will be limited or not available in the community. However, most Volunteers are within an hour's traveling distance to another location with more reliable Internet. People in Paraguay use messaging apps, like WhatsApp that are capable of many functions without requiring access to strong Wi-Fi.

All Trainees are required to live with a host family for the 10 weeks of Pre-Service Training and the first two months of Volunteer service in their assigned communities. Some homes may be very basic but they have all met or exceeded Peace Corps' safety and security criteria. During Pre-Service Training Trainees will receive specific training sessions on cultural differences and community integration that promote a healthy and safe lifestyle. Trainees and Volunteers will also partake in training sessions and discussions on specific strategies for integration into Paraguayan culture.

The Paraguayan diet is heavily based on meat; therefore, it can be challenging for vegetarians. The diet is also very high in carbohydrates and many meals involve more than one starch at a time (e.g. yuca and pasta or yuca and rice). In many Paraguayan families, manioc and meat are eaten almost every day. Fruits are available seasonally. Most communities have access to tomatoes, onions and green peppers, but limited access to other vegetables. Some Volunteers plant gardens to increase access to vegetables.

Working situations range from outdoor manual labor in a field to facilitating lessons in a classroom to official meetings in a local government office. Paraguayans place high importance on personal appearance, including cleanliness. Paraguayans may get offended by visitors to their homes or offices who have body odor or an unkempt appearance. Therefore, cleanliness and neat personal appearance are very important for Volunteers who represent the Peace Corps and host partner organizations. This is a valuable concept to remember as it will help Volunteers integrate into their community, because it shows respect for Paraguayan values. It is expected that Volunteers wear business casual clothing as a working professional would in the U.S. Most Paraguayans dress up for special occasions. In schools and offices - including the Peace Corps facilities, "office casual" is appropriate (nice jeans, khakis, and knee-length skirts; button-down shirts or nice pullover blouses; closed-toed shoes or dressy sandals). Shorts, flip-flops, and tank tops are inappropriate except around the house or for recreational activities.

Language Skills Additional Information
Trainees will learn basic Spanish and Guarani as Paraguay is a bilingual nation where both are official national languages.

While there are no prerequisite language requirements, applicants who come with some prior Spanish language skills may be able to start learning Guarani sooner during pre-service training. To communicate in the capital city of Asunción (and other large urban areas), Spanish is most commonly spoken. However, in most semi-urban to rural areas where Volunteers are placed, Guaraní or "Jopara" (a mixture of Guaraní and Spanish) is the most common way to communicate. Trainees will have daily language classes in small groups during their Pre-Service Training. Once
Volunteers move to their communities, they receive tutoring and additional language classes during In-Service Training events.

Successful Volunteers have a strong interest and positive attitude about language learning and dedicate a substantial amount of time outside of class to studying and practicing both languages, especially with their host family. Trainees are required to successfully pass language benchmarks in Spanish and Guaraní during training. Learning an indigenous language like Guaraní is something unique that will enrich your Peace Corps experience, impress Paraguayans, and make you stand out after your Peace Corps service to future employers. If perfecting or becoming fluent in Spanish is a main goal of your Peace Corps service, Paraguay may not be the best fit.

Couples Comments
Paraguay is happy to accept couples within this same programmatic sector. Therefore, your partner must apply and qualify for: Youth Health Promoter

Couples will live together with the same host family during Pre-Service Training (PST) and for the first two months of service; but may be separated for certain field-based activities during PST. Volunteers who serve with their partners will have the opportunity to work on projects together and individually in their community. As a couple they will enjoy the added benefit of having each other as a built-in support system to process and learn throughout their Volunteer service.

Peace Corps works to foster safe and productive assignments for same-sex couples and same-sex couples are not placed in countries where homosexual acts are criminalized. Because of this, same-sex couples' placements are more limited than heterosexual couple placements. During the application process, Recruiters and Placement Officers work closely with same-sex couple applicants to understand current placement opportunities.

Language Requirements Information
There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position.

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