About The Job

Apply by :

October 1, 2025

Know By

December 1, 2025

Depart On

May 25, 2026

Duration

2 years, plus 3 months training

ELIGIBILITY: Must be at least 18 years of age. Must be a U.S. citizen.

Project description

Youth Health Promoters in Paraguay will work with a Community Health Worker (CHW) from the local health post to support health promotion activities related to youth health and well-being within the health post, the school(s), and the community at-large through:

• Promoting healthy lifestyles, including physical activity and a healthy diet to reduce and prevent negative health outcomes, including non-communicable diseases and other health-risk factors like obesity;
• Reducing youth’s use of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances by providing them with healthy alternatives;
• Improving youth’s ability to cope with their emotions and stressful situations;
• Increasing the knowledge and skills of youth to improve their sexual and reproductive health services and programs
  
  

After the integration period, the Volunteer will work with the CHW to better understand the main challenges to youth health and well-being within the community. This will be done through activities such as community meetings, house visits, community mapping, youth census, informal interviews, and outcome surveys, etc.

Together, Youth Health Promoters and CHW counterparts work with middle and high school students, and are expected to participate in community integration activities to get to know the students and build relationships within the schools and the health post. Later on, the Volunteer will co-facilitate classes and/or sessions with teachers and the CHW. Additionally, the Volunteer and CHW will form a youth health club outside of the school and are expected to support the training of the youth club leaders.

If the community process allows it, it is also expected that the Volunteer, alongside the CHW, offer training and discussion groups to parents, caregivers, and/or service providers to increase their capacities to support youth health and wellbeing in the community.

In addition to the primary activities described above, secondary activities outside of the sector framework may be started/proposed by the community and carried out with the Volunteer’s help depending on the community’s interest. For example, Volunteers could be asked to teach English, which can be a great way to spend time with community members to build relationships and trust, and learn more about the community. (Note: Volunteers are not required to be a trained or certified English teacher.) Nevertheless, English classes could be considered a primary activity if volunteers can integrate health-related content into English-language classes or conversation clubs.

Volunteers facilitate a wide range of activities, and their success depends on their willingness and ability to integrate into the community, speak the local language, build trust and adapt to the varying needs, ideas and work styles of community members.

Volunteers will receive specific technical training to learn how to design, implement, and evaluate primary and secondary project activities. Trainees receive 10 weeks of Pre-Service Training before moving to their communities and then attend additional training events during their two years of Volunteer service with their community counterparts.

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