Laying a Foundation, Starting to Build

What exactly have I been doing the last six months? It’s a good question but not one I’ve been very good about answering. I’ve realized lately that I’ve been pretty negligent in keeping people up to date on what I’ve been doing at my site since I arrived. Here is an explanation of the work I’m doing and what’s been going on in my home in the Mid-Atlas Mountains of Morocco. If you are looking for an exciting blog entry, this isn’t it! If you’re interested in better understanding where I am in the Peace Corps process, and exactly what I’ve been doing for the past six months, read on.

The first three months in my site, May through July, were really about laying a solid foundation for my service. Forming relationships, establishing myself in my community, gathering information, and developing my language skills were the primary goals. Peace Corps defines this time as the “Community Assessment” period. The idea is that in order to be involved in successful projects, volunteers must have a deep understanding of the community they are living in and be well-respected by community members. The first part of my community assessment focused on understanding my site as a whole. I needed to gather information on things like population, demographics, water and sanitation, transportation, local authorities, health services, schools, and local businesses.

The second part of my community assessment looked at health issues as they relate to the community as a whole. My technical job title here is Community Health Educator so in my community assessment I set out to understand what health issues exist in my site, how those health issues relate to the community as a whole, what factors contribute to these issues, and what resources exist in the community to promote good health. A large portion of my time was spent at the community health clinic, visiting local schools and talking to community members. I made visual assessments of the physical environment, made observations of patients and procedures at the local health clinic, and asked a lot of questions to the doctor, nurses, teachers and community members about health in the community. I officially work for the Moroccan Ministry of Health, so time was also spent developing relationships with staff at the provincial Ministry of Health and learning about local and national health priorities and initiatives.

Throughout the process I took note of resources that could potentially be utilized. For example a well-staffed local health clinic; the existence of functioning Associations, both men and women’s; schools; as well as a successful weaving cooperative are all assets to the community. Beyond that, great potential lies in the educated individuals and spirit of community activism that already exists in my site. Peace Corps projects are oriented towards facilitation and capacity building within a community and should be sustainable after the volunteer leaves. No project can or should be carried out in isolation by the volunteer, so having good local counterparts to work with within the community is essential.

In the past three months I have started to build on the foundation I laid during the first three months and have begun to utilize the many existing resources in my community. Health issues such as diarrhea, skin and eye infections, poor dental health, and illness related to poor nutrition were identified within the community. To address these issues, I built on the work of past Peace Corps volunteers to develop a health curriculum for the local schools with lessons on hygiene and sanitation, nutrition, and dental hygiene. With the help of the local principal and teachers I will begin teaching formalized health lessons this month.

Maternal and Child Health was also identified as a serious concern within my community and is considered a top national priority by the Moroccan Ministry of Health. I’ve used connections at the local health clinic and associations to start a Maternal and Child Health peer-education group. So far four training classes have been completed, addressing issues such as nutrition and hygiene during pregnancy and the importance of pre-natal exams. Over the next two months, in partnership with the head of the local women’s association, the training of the first group peer-educators will be completed and the program will expand to surrounding villages (inchallah).

The next step in the process will be monitoring and evaluating current projects, expanding existing programs, and potentially planning and implementing new community health projects. While the community assessment period was officially the first three months in site, it will be an on-going process. Throughout the remainder of my service I will continue to learn about my community, develop new relationships and partnerships, and improve on my language skills. I have learned so much over the past six months and have formed really wonderful relationships with people in my community. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next 18 months of my service brings.