Deadline: May 12, 2023
Peace Corps Moldova seeks Health Education Volunteers to work with children and adolescents (aged 8-18) throughout the country. Volunteers will support children and youth in developing life skills and knowledge for healthy lifestyles, including basic hygiene, prevention methods of communicable diseases (such as tuberculosis, viruses, gastrointestinal diseases, STIs, HIV, COVID), behavioral health (like physical fitness, stress management, healthy eating habits, reduction of alcohol or tobacco consumption, and violence prevention) as well as the prevention of substance abuse and non-communicable diseases (such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic respiratory difficulties). Health Education Volunteers do not engage in clinical work.
Schools are often the strongest community institution in Moldovan towns and villages, making students in these settings an ideal audience for needed instruction. The majority of Health Education Volunteers’ time is spent co-planning with school partners to perform formal and informal health education activities using student-centered techniques. It also involves co-teaching with local teachers and other partners in the local language to increase youth’s knowledge and skills so they lead healthy lives and transition into healthy, productive, and engaged adults. The Volunteer’s formal teaching schedule is from Monday to Friday.
In addition to their teaching responsibilities, Health Education Volunteers support the research and development of evidence-based, supplementary teaching materials for health lessons, campaigns, and clubs through close collaboration with their school staff and community professionals. Volunteers also organize and conduct after-school activities including health clubs, health and life skills day camps for school-aged youth, and health awareness campaigns for youth and adults with the involvement of school youth leaders. Activities are generally developed in collaboration with local professionals and parents as well.
Volunteers are also partnered with a community advocate or organization dedicated to promoting youth health and well-being. These partners might be a local youth-friendly health clinic, youth center, library, or NGO. The Volunteers promote programs such as health life skills or service learning that strengthen linkages and collaboration between the school and the community partner while enhancing opportunities for youth to become active champions of their health journey.
When school is not in session (including during the summer), Volunteers continue with extra-curricular activities, working with school youth leaders and local professionals to provide youth with opportunities to gain new healthy life skills through youth participation in activities or events related to awareness days (e.g. International Youth Day, World Hepatitis Day), health campaigns, health fairs, local summer (day) camps.
Also, Volunteers enhance teachers’ professional competencies by organizing communities of practice, summer schools for teachers, and professional development workshops. Capacity building for teachers is needed because Moldova does not have college courses to train Health Education teachers. Though the Ministry of Education and Research encourages biology or chemistry teachers to teach Health Education; reality shows that in some communities, the Health Education course is taught by teachers with other backgrounds. Health Education Volunteers are usually partnered with 2-3 school teachers, and depending on the community, this may mean one partner teaches biology, another partner teaches geography, and a third partner is a primary school teacher.
Peace Corps Moldova Volunteers promote gender equity and girls’ education and empowerment through their activities. All Volunteers in this program receive in-depth training on ways to incorporate methods of gender analysis into community assessment and development efforts and are encouraged to find culturally appropriate ways to incorporate gender equity, especially girls’ education and boys’ engagement, into daily work as appropriate.
COVID-19 Volunteer Activities
As a Volunteer, you will be trained in how to best protect yourself from COVID-19 exposure and understand the impact of and steps to reduce stigma related to COVID-19. You may also have the opportunity to engage with your community on implementing or enhancing COVID-19 mitigation activities, such as COVID-19 prevention and risk reduction strategies including social distancing, hand washing, mask wearing, addressing myths and misconceptions related to these practices, and vaccine hesitancy. Activities will be tailored to address the COVID-19 circumstances in the communities where you will serve.
Required Skills
Qualified candidates 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
• 5 years’ professional work experience
Desired Skills
More competitive candidates demonstrate one or more of the following desired skills:
• Teaching experience
• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition, Health, Health Education, Nursing, Physical Education, Behavior Change, Community Health, or a similar discipline
• Health-related work or volunteer experience
• Professional experience in the field of social work
• Knowledge of human and child development
• Knowledge of community organization and needs assessment techniques
• Understand how to construct, implement, and evaluate health awareness campaigns
• Experience working with diverse segments of community population such as youth, children with special needs, parents, teachers, youth service providers, and community health professionals
Required Language Skills
There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position.
This position does not require language background as a prerequisite to service. Experience with romance languages is, however, beneficial for learning Romanian, the primary language that Volunteers are required to learn during Pre-Service Training. As Volunteers need to work closely with professional partners and other community members with limited or no English skills, it is critical for Volunteers to have good Romanian language skills. Trainees must demonstrate, at a minimum, an oral proficiency of Intermediate Low in Romanian at the end of the 12-week training period. They are also encouraged to develop their language proficiency further throughout their service. Volunteers will also be introduced to Russian and Ukrainian language which are both spoken in Moldova.
Living Conditions
Housing: Host family accommodations provide a safe private room, food, access to laundry, access to transportation and sometimes internet (for an additional fee). Host family stays are required during Pre-Service Training and at least six months in the community of service. A majority of Volunteers live with a host family for the full duration of their service, but they may also seek private accommodations after the required six-month period if alternate arrangements are available. Regardless of housing options, Volunteers usually form close relationships with their host families.
Travel and Communication: All Volunteers will be placed in regional clusters so their nearest Volunteers may be in the neighboring village or within 30-60 minutes by vehicle to the predetermined cluster meeting point. Every Volunteer will be placed within three hours from the Peace Corps office in Chisinau by private vehicle, though the journey on public transportation may take longer.
Volunteers are strongly encouraged to come to Moldova with a laptop. It will be used during PST and to perform daily work during service. High-speed Internet connectivity is now available in an increasing number of communities, in some cases where there is no gas or running water. Even though Internet is generally available in all communities, access may be limited due to irregular power supply.
Professional Appearance: Moldovan cultural expectations around professionalism include business casual attire and emphasize a neat appearance. Long hair, untrimmed beards, and mustaches as well as earrings for men are not common in Moldovan culture. Visible tattoos and facial piercings are not openly accepted, especially in rural communities, regardless of gender. Volunteers may be encouraged to cover visible tattoos. Additionally, Volunteers with certain hair styles (locks, hair dyed bright colors, and shaved heads for women) may receive unwanted attention and curious questions regarding their appearance.
Climate: The climate in Moldova has four distinct seasons. Winter lasts from November to March, is usually quite cold, and characterized by heavy snowfalls. High temperatures during the summer (sometimes above 90 degrees Fahrenheit) can also be challenging, given the lack of air conditioning in most buildings.
Diversity: Peace Corps is challenging regardless of where you serve, and in some way or another Volunteers will be a minority. Volunteers who are of an American racial, ethnic, or national minority or whose religious or spiritual beliefs differ from the Moldovan majority may find they experience a high degree of curiosity or unwanted attention. Please be aware that American concepts of politeness and appropriate behavior are not universal. Ethnically, nationally, or racially diverse Americans may be asked where they are “actually from” or if they are “really” American. LGBTQ+ Volunteers may need to be thoughtful about disclosing their sexual identity in their communities and should use their best judgment to determine the best way to approach this with their counterparts and community members. Host families and counterparts are generally very accepting of all Volunteers, despite limited exposure to American diversity. Additionally, many Volunteers have been able to turn these encounters into learning experiences, in which they can share American values, and deepen local community members’ understanding of Americans. Pre-Service Training will address intercultural communication as well as diversity and inclusion to support successful integration for all Volunteers. We encourage you to access the Moldova section of the Peace Corps website for more information regarding diversity and inclusion.
Social Security Administration: The Social Security Administration (SSA) has indicated that it shall not continue Social Security payments to recipients who live in certain countries where Peace Corps serves (including Moldova).
Serving in Moldova
Learn more about the Volunteer experience in Moldova: Get detailed information on culture, communications, housing, health, and safety — including health and crime statistics — in order to make a well-informed decision about serving.
Couples Information
Peace Corps Moldova cannot accommodate couples who work in the same sector or an English Education Volunteer and Health Education Volunteer pairing.
If one member of a couple applies for the position of Health Education Volunteer, the other member can only be considered for either the Community Development Facilitator position.
Members of couples are separated for the duration of the 11-week Pre-Service Training period, living in separate host family households and attending training in neighboring villages. While they must work in different sectors, couples serve in the same community after their training period. Once the couple moves to their assigned site, they are required to live with a host family for at least six months but must be prepared to stay with a host family for the duration of their service, given the significantly limited availability of appropriate alternative housing for couples. Volunteers serving as a couple should be flexible and are expected to conform to local living standards.
Medical Considerations
Before you apply, please review Medical Information for Applicants to learn about the medical clearance process.