Offices & Departments

Peace Corps Volunteers in Malawi

What is Peace Corps?

Peace Corps is a United States Volunteer Organization dedicated to grassroots development and economic growth in developing countries. It was officially created by the United States Congress in September 1961 under the leadership of President John F. Kennedy.

Over the past thirty-nine years, more than 165,000 Americans have served in Peace Corps as representative of the United States commitment to helping people around the world achieve economic independence and sustainable development. At the request of host governments, Peace Corps Volunteers have worked in over one hundred thirty-five countries in Africa, Asia, South America and Eastern Europe. Currently there are 6,500 serving in 89 countries around the world. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are 2,600 Volunteers and Trainees working in 22 countries.

The Goals of Peace Corps

Peace Corps provides technical assistance by sending qualified Volunteers to work on development projects requested by the host country.  Peace Corps concentrates most of its efforts on rural development and adheres to a philosophy of helping people help themselves, emphasizing the transfer of skills to host country counterparts and the use of appropriate technology. During a two year tour of service, a Volunteer is assigned to work on a specific project in agriculture, health, environment, small business development, education or community development.  Peace Corps is not a political organization. The Volunteers are placed at the grassroots level to live and work directly with the people of the countries in which they serve. They are guided by the three goals set forth by President Kennedy in 1961 to help to promote world peace and friendship:

1. Help the populations of interested countries meet their needs for qualified people:

Peace Corps relies on the host country to select projects and decide what role the Volunteers will play in the host country’s development plan.  Volunteers often work in close collaboration with other development organizations such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and donors under the direction of the relevant Government Ministries. Volunteer efforts complement the development strategy of host governments. 

1. Promote a better understanding of Americans on behalf of other people of the world:

 

Volunteers reflect the diversity of the American people and therefore enable the people of the country where the Peace Corps serve to better understand the United States and its people. For many people in the developing world, the “United States” is forever linked to the Peace Corps Volunteer who served in their village or town. The friendship formed by working and living together are lasting bonds that continue across the continents.  3. Promote a better understanding of other people in the world on behalf of Americans:

When Volunteers return to the United States, they become unofficial host country ambassadors. They share their understanding of the countries and people they have known for two years by speaking at schools, business and social organizations. Their pictures, artifacts and stories allow thousands of Americans to expand their understanding of other cultures and places.

PEACE CORPS MALAWI

Approximately, 2,300 Volunteers have served in Malawi since Peace Corps entered Malawi in 1963 shortly before independence.   Normally it has been  Peace Corps continues to enjoy a close, productive, and rewarding relationship with the Government of Malawi.  Initially an education-dominated program, Peace Corps/Malawi has evolved into a multi-sector program.  Currently, Peace Corps places Volunteers in four sectors – Community Health, Secondary Education, Teacher Training, and Community-Based Natural Resource Management.  All Volunteers are provided HIV/AIDS training in order to help address the crisis that is undermining development activities.  There are currently around 100 Peace Corps Volunteers serving in Malawi.

Current Projects            

Secondary Education                                                                                                                 

The Malawi educational system has undergone serious stresses after the initiation of free primary education in 1994. The expansion of primary education has accelerated the demand for secondary education.  The Peace Corps/Malawi Secondary Education Project places teachers in Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS).  Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS) are community-established schools which have had minimal support from the government in  terms of teachers' salaries and teaching resources.   The community uses school fees to buy equipment and textbooks and to further develop the school.  Volunteers teach Physical Science, Mathematics, Biology, and English and are encouraged to integrate Girls’ Education and Life Skills into lessons by utilizing Community Content Based Instruction (CCBI) techniques.

Teacher Training                                                                                             

Following 40 years of providing quality classroom teachers to Malawian secondary schools, Peace Corps is pleased to have started a pilot-project focused on teacher training.  Though the PCV teachers do reach out to their teacher colleagues to undertake some in-service training at their individual schools, the Teacher Training Project places PCVs within a cluster of secondary schools.  The Volunteer then organizes joint trainings for teachers from all the schools in the cluster, as well as visits the individual schools to provide more individualized support to teachers interested in expanding their skills. 

Community Health

Malawi ranks among the countries most severely affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  The Peace Corps Community Health and HIV/AIDS Project works in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM), and local NGOs/CBOs to address health issues in rural areas.  Peace Corps Malawi supports the efforts of the Government of Malawi to provide a minimum package of essential health services to all its citizens, with emphasis on poor women and children and those affected by HIV/AIDS. The Community Health and HIV/AIDS Project’s focus areas are: disease prevention, behavior change, women’s health issues, and support and care for People Living with HIV/AIDS.  Health Volunteers are posted at rural health centers and focus on community health interventions. 

Natural Resource ManagementPeace Corps initiated the Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Project in April 1999 in order to support the Malawian Government’s new approach to natural resource management.  Volunteers work with communities that border Forest Reserves, Game Reserves and Game Parks. Volunteers, communities and government staff work collaboratively to enhance the protection, conservation, and management of individual and community natural resources. This is accomplished through the promotion of counterpart and community capacity building, sustainable natural resources management techniques, and income generating activities. 

The Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Project is a new initiative resulting from successes in our Parks and Wildlife Project and recent changes in the GOM's approach to natural resource management.  In the past five years, the GOM has realized that successful management of natural resources must include rather than exclude communities that border protected areas.  Both the Department of Parks & Wildlife and the Department of Forestry are embarking on plans to promote community involvement in management of protected areas that they oversee.

Crisis Corps Volunteers

Peace Corps/Malawi has utilized Crisis Corps Volunteers (CCVs) in the fight against AIDS and food security by placing Volunteers with local NGOs in capacity building positions. To date, CCVs have worked with orphanages to develop educational material for use in primary schools; at the district level on cholera prevention and emergency response; in health clinics to develop AIDS educational material; with NGOs focused on home-based care and VCT services; and in a range of assignments aimed at addressing food security issues in the country.The first CBNRM Volunteers  arrived at their sites April 1999
        
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