Apply by
January 1, 2025
Know by
March 1, 2025
Depart on
August 18, 2025
Duration
2 years, plus 3 months training
Project description
Volunteers who have served in Zambia consider it to be the quintessential Peace Corps experience due to the rural nature of their community placements and the enthusiasm typically shown by communities towards Volunteers for their collaboration in addressing health needs. From their brightly colored chitenge fabric to the spectacular Victoria Falls, Zambia embodies its philosophy of “One Zambia, One Nation.”
The Community Health Empowerment Project (CHEP) Is a Comprehensive Rural Health Project In Which Volunteers Work With Rural Health Centers And Build Capacity Within Community-based Organizations To Encourage Community Members To Take Charge Of Their Health. Volunteers Will Engage Partners At The District And Community Levels To Implement Health Activities Using Evidence-based Interventions. All Volunteers Will Work In Three Focus Areas
- Maternal Health
- Neonatal, Child Health and Nutrition
- HIV/AIDS Prevention
All Volunteers in Peace Corps Zambia are trained in evidence-based malaria prevention interventions as the rates of infection vary across regions. Health Volunteers may also get involved in water and sanitation initiatives that intersect with maternal and child health, nutrition, and HIV/AIDS prevention.
As a CHEP Volunteer, you may be involved in the various activities during a typical workday:
- Co-facilitate evidence-based interventions that promote positive health outcomes on issues that relate to the project focus area such as safe motherhood, neonatal, and child health.
- Co-train and support community-based health organizations that advocate for positive social behavior change messaging on diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, which are national top priorities.
- Collaboration with traditional and local leadership to conduct needs assessments, identify community public health challenges, and develop local solutions.
You will typically work with community members known as a Community Based Volunteer (CBV), and your work schedule will vary from that of a 9:00am – 5:00pm type of “business” workday, to a less formal schedule involving activities occurring on a variety of days, times, and locations in the community. Work meetings and activities can happen on any day of the week and some days you may have no formal work activities and will be free to work on your own personal and secondary projects. In addition to health centers and organizations, you will also have opportunities to work in schools and with out-of-school youth on health-related activities.
Peace Corps Zambia prioritizes gender awareness and girls’ education and empowerment. You will receive training on gender challenges in Zambia and will have the opportunities 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.
In Peace Corps Zambia you can expect to embark on a challenging yet rewarding journey, where building strong relationships and executing projects will bring a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Many of our current and past Volunteers will attest that the lifelong value of the experience far outweighs the challenges.
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
Please Note: A bachelor’s degree is mandatory for all candidates as a requirement for your Zambian work permit.
Desired Skills
Competitive candidates will have one or more of the following:
Prior experience or interest in working in the areas of:
- Maternal and Child Health
- HIV/AIDS prevention
- Nutrition
- BA/BS in Nutrition, Health, Nursing or Dietetics
- MA/MS in Public Health (MPH)
- Certified Physician's Assistant with interest in public/community health
- RN, LPN, LVN Nursing Degree or Diploma, or other post-grad health/medical degree with interest in community health
- Volunteer or work experience in a health related field, i.e. HIV/AIDS outreach; COVID-19 response; sexual education; contraception or family planning counseling
Required Language Skills
There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position. While English is the official language of Zambia, most Volunteers find that community integration is enhanced with their ability to hold basic conversations in the local Zambian language used in their communities. Some community members may have intermediate or advanced levels of English, however most will not. Therefore, Volunteers are most effective when conversing and working in the local language and all Trainees are required to learn a local Zambian language.
Trainees are offered a comprehensive language immersion program during Pre-Service Training. They will have three months of language learning from native speakers in the predominant language spoken at the community in which they will be placed. They will be required to attain an intermediate level score in this language and will receive a language survival kit. Once in your community, Volunteers are encouraged to engage the services of a language tutor (paid for by the Peace Corps) to continue building their language skills.
Living conditions
Serving as a Volunteer in Zambia requires commitment to working in rural areas that may be mentally and physically challenging. Volunteers typically live in villages in traditional houses made of local materials, such as mud bricks, tinned roof, cement floor, without plumbing or electricity. Water will be collected from a nearby bore hole, well or stream, which is then filtered through a Peace Corps-issued water filter. Volunteers typically live on a large housing compound, with an independent living structure, cooking area, private bathing area, and latrine. Volunteers may choose to share meals with their resource families and neighbors or cook for themselves.
Clinics where Volunteers work are usually nearby within the 5 kilometers of their houses. However, Volunteers are expected to work at outreach posts with community clinic’s catchment area, which has a radius of about 20 kilometers or more. Bicycles will be provided, and you will receive comprehensive training on both riding and maintenance techniques to ensure a safe and reliable cycling experience.
Transportation from your community to the provincial capital may take one or two days and will generally be by crowded and dusty forms of public transportation. After transiting at the Provincial Resource Center, it usually takes one day to reach the capital city Lusaka and transportation is normally more comfortable, with better roads and commercial vehicles such as buses.
In each province where Volunteers serve, Peace Corps Zambia operates a Provincial Resource Center, which is staffed year-round and is used for work collaboration and training. These Centers allow for more comprehensive and timely support for Volunteers’ programming, administrative, and health and safety needs, aligning with Peace Corps’ top priorities.
Cell phone coverage for making calls may not be completely reliable in all communities, but all Volunteers report having enough coverage for text messaging. Many Volunteers choose to bring a laptop, as internet is available at the Provincial Resource Centers and through cell phone providers. Upon arrival, all Volunteers are offered brick phones (not a smartphone) and tablets to support their personal and professional needs in their community.
Zambians regard dress and appearance as demonstrating respect for one another. Volunteers are expected to dress appropriately, whether they are in training, traveling, or on the job. CHEP Volunteers spend much of their time in the field, so it is advisable to bring clothing that is comfortable and modest. Footwear appropriate for considerable standing, walking, and biking is also a necessity.
For women, dresses and skirts should fall below the knee and spaghetti straps are not appropriate unless covered with a sleeved shirt, coat, or jacket. Skintight sports shorts or leggings/yoga pants worn alone are also inappropriate, but may be worn under a skirt or dress, especially when riding bicycles. Men and women should wear shorts only at home, when exercising, or when doing work where Zambian counterparts are also wearing them.
Hair should be clean and combed, and beards should be neatly trimmed. Long hair for men, tattoos, and some piercings may not be culturally accepted and may impede community integration, especially during your first few months in the community. Facial piercings are considered inappropriate and should not be worn during Volunteer service. Large tattoos should be covered with clothing as much as possible.
Food availability and variety will depend on your community location. The staple food in Zambia is nshima (shee-muh), which is made from maize meal and cooked into soft lumps that are eaten with cooked vegetables, fish, meat, beans, or chicken, typically by hand. Vegetarians should have little trouble maintaining a healthy diet, though vegetarianism is relatively uncommon. A few words of polite explanation usually suffice to be excused from eating meat in any situation.
Learn more about the Volunteer experience in Zambia: 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
Peace Corps Zambia Welcomes Couples Serving Together During Service. For Any Couples To Be Considered, Your Partner Must Qualify For And Be Invited To One Of The Following Projects
- Maternal, Child Health and HIV/AIDS Educator (Community Health Empowerment Project – CHEP)
- Education English Teacher (Rural Education Development – RED)
The Pre-Service Training communities for Health and Education Volunteers are in the same location. Cross-sector couples will be living together during the three months of Pre-Service Training. Couples also need to be aware that additional but compulsory trainings such as in-service training and mid-service training can be held at different times. However, they will then live together at their permanent community.
