Apply by
January 1, 2025
Know by
March 1, 2025
Depart on
September 21, 2025
Duration
2 years, plus 3 months training
Project description
Can you imagine stepping out the front door of your mokhoro (rondavel) taking in the view of valleys falling below you and the mountain peaks disappearing into the distance as your village wakes up in the morning? Do you see yourself facilitating comprehensive sexuality education sessions to adolescents or helping strengthen youth-friendly health services at your local health center? Can you see the light of opportunity and empowerment take hold in an adolescent girl who attends the Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) club you help lead? ‘Bo-‘M’e le Bo-Ntate’ (Ladies and Gentlemen), take a closer look at the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho and consider working hand in hand with the Basotho people to deliver on the promise of an AIDS-free generation.
According to the HIV/TB Strategic Plan (2023-28) HIV prevalence was 21.7% According to the Joined HIV/TB Strategic plan (2023-28) Lesotho has had a drastic decline in HIV incidence among adults aged 15+ years over the last two decades. This demonstrates the significant gains made in the HIV response in the country over the years; due in part to the scale-up of prevention and treatment programs. Adolescents and young people represent the key to ending the HIV epidemic in Lesotho. However, they face many challenges accessing prevention, care, and treatment services, resulting in new infections and lower rates of viral suppression.
As an Adolescent Health Advocate you will work in the prevention of new HIV infections among adolescents, increase access to gender-equitable care, support and treatment services for adolescents, and support the strengthening of health systems in Lesotho. Volunteers work within governmental and Christian Health Association of Lesotho (CHAL) health clinics, international and national non-governmental organizations. Working in collaboration with their counterpart, organization staff and community members, Volunteers are involved in facilitating, mentoring, training, linking to services, and drawing services to their communities by networking with organizations working across the spectrum of health services and support.
Volunteer Activities May Include Co-facilitating The Following Activities
- Clubs and camps that provide age and culturally appropriate messaging on HIV prevention.
- Gender-equitable sessions on HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment.
- Sessions on positive living for adolescents living with HIV.
- Sessions on economic strengthening for groups of orphans and vulnerable children and their caregivers.
- Evidence-based trainings to improve the knowledge and skills of health care workers to provide gender-equitable and age-appropriate youth-friendly services.
Other Activities May Include
- Collaborating with health workers to implement the national standard operating procedures for creation of youth-friendly services at health facilities.
- Building the capacity of clinic staff to manage pharmaceuticals and commodities in their health facilities.
- Working with community organizations and health facilities to ensure quality data is being collected and reported.
Peace Corps Lesotho promotes gender awareness and girls’ education and empowerment. You will receive training on gender challenges in the country and you will have the opportunity to implement gender-related activities that are contextually appropriate. During your service, you will look for ways to work with community members to promote gender-equitable norms and increase girls’ sense of agency. As part of your work, you will also report on these efforts and their impact.
Every Peace Corps Volunteer’s experience and daily work differs depending on the resources, needs, and capacity of the community where he/she serves. During the first three months within the host community, Volunteers conduct community assessments, build relationships, and work together with community members to identify community needs and priorities that fit with the Peace Corps Lesotho Health Sector framework and plan the projects that will be implemented throughout the Volunteers’ two years of service.
Should you choose this as your assignment, you will undoubtedly have an incredibly rewarding service ahead of you!
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 also have one or more of the following:
- Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health
- Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work or Licensed Social Worker with youth experience
- Knowledge and experience working on HIV/AIDS prevention and/or with people living with HIV/AIDS
- Demonstrated leadership and community organization skills, including public speaking and presentation skills
- Interest in and ability to model, coach, and mentor adolescents
- Experience with vulnerable youth and/or comprehensive sexuality education
- Monitoring and evaluation experience
- Experience with social behavior change programs
Required Language Skills
There is a strong emphasis and high priority on learning and speaking the local language (Sesotho) spoken throughout the country. Volunteers will be more successful in community integration the more frequently they use local language skills.
Trainees must demonstrate at least an Intermediate-Low level oral proficiency in Sesotho language after 11 weeks of language training.
There are a few communities primarily in the south of the country where two other languages are commonly used (isiXhosa and Sephuthi). For Volunteers who are placed in these areas, basic communicative language skills on the local languages will be provided during PST as well.
Living conditions
Volunteer Communities vary from rural areas to remote areas to small towns. Volunteers live and work in either district capitals, referred to as camp towns, or rural villages. Camp towns house government offices and serve as the main business hub for the district. During the 11 weeks of Pre-Service Training, Volunteers stay with host families.
Volunteers often walk approximately 0.5-2 miles before reaching their work site or where they can access public transportation. Volunteers use public transport when shopping in camp towns to purchase food supplies and when traveling to activities in different parts of the district.
Most Volunteers live in a family compound; on rare occasions some live in health facility housing on or near the health facility. The houses may be one- or two- roomed, thatched, or corrugated iron (tin) roofed buildings made of stone, brick, or cement blocks. Volunteers should expect to use an outdoor pit latrine and fetch water from a standpipe in their home compound or from a village pump, and use candles, lanterns, and solar lights for light. Volunteer houses with electricity and running water are extremely rare.
Cell coverage varies throughout the country, with some Volunteer sites having excellent coverage and others requiring a walk of up to half a mile to make or receive calls. Volunteers are strongly encouraged to bring a laptop which not only increases options for internet access, but also enables Volunteers to complete required assignments off-line and upload them later.
Most entertainment and recreation will be that which you create yourself; hanging out with friends, playing sports, exercising, hiking, etc. Lesotho does not have a bustling nightlife or many organized recreational activities. Most Volunteers shop in their village or closest camp town, which has larger shops that carry basic supplies. Some camp towns have supermarkets that offer a variety of produce, meats, and other goods.
You will soon become familiar with traditional Basotho food that consists of a stiff maize meal (corn meal) porridge called “papa”, well-cooked greens (spinach, Swiss chard, or cabbage) called “moroho”, and a meat dish (mutton, beef, or chicken) called “nama”. Fruits and vegetables are available in many parts of the country but can be expensive and are limited dependent upon the season. Patience, flexibility, and tolerance on your part will be very important.
Lesotho has distinct seasons, with hot summers and cold winters. It is below freezing in winter and often snows heavily in the highlands. Volunteer sites vary from rural areas to remote areas to small towns which are referred to as camp towns. It is essential to bring warm clothing (which can be layered). Volunteers are provided with a propane heater for use and heating allowance during the winter (April-September) by the Peace Corps. Camp towns house government offices and serve as the main business hub for the district.
Due to the high HIV prevalence rates the Volunteers’ fellow colleagues, neighbors, and community could be affected by HIV. Some are HIV-positive, while others may be orphaned and/or caring for family members living with HIV. To help manage a social and work environment where support is needed by those affected by HIV, Peace Corps trains Volunteers on healthy and appropriate coping mechanisms and expects Volunteers to be positive role models for those with whom they work and live.
While people in Lesotho may be generally tolerant, values and mores concerning sexual orientation and gender identity may be different from those in some parts of the U.S. Volunteers will need to be mindful of cultural norms and use their judgment to determine the best way to approach sexual orientation and gender identity in their communities and host countries. Staff and currently serving Volunteers will address this topic during Pre-Service Training (PST) and identify support mechanisms for incoming Trainees.
Learn more about the Volunteer experience in Lesotho: Get detailed information on culture, communications, housing, and health/crime statistics in order to make a well-informed decision about serving.
Medical considerations
Before you apply, please review medical clearance and legal clearance to learn about the process.
Couples information
Throughout PST, the couple will share housing. They will often, however, be separated during some training sessions, particularly language sessions. The couple will enjoy the privilege of being addressed as 'ntate' and 'm'e’, which is loosely translated 'father' and 'mother' and a sign of respect by both young and old. The couple should be prepared to share one room throughout training and in some instances even in communities. This could be a challenge for those who prefer more space. Each member of the couple will be assigned to one health facility. Most likely the house will be located closer to one of the health facilities and placement may mean one member of the couple will work nearby whilst the other will work at a distance from the house (but less than 2 miles).
