IMPACT, Peace Corps Volunteers Work Together to Support HIV Prevention Organizations in Bangladesh

A new collaboration between Peace Corps and the Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care (IMPACT) Project is strengthening HIV prevention organizations throughout Bangladesh.

The project pairs Peace Corps volunteers with IMPACT's community-based partner organizations to improve their operations and programming. Volunteers help build the skills of staff and peer educators in English, computers, report writing, office organization, and monitoring and evaluation. Some volunteers have also organized health classes and social activities for peer educators, provided assistance during training sessions and facilitated networking among NGOs working in HIV prevention. Currently, 14 volunteers are involved throughout Bangladesh.

In March 2005, IMPACT sponsored a three-day workshop for volunteers interested in working with IMPACT partner organizations. The agenda covered the basics of HIV, AIDS and STIs; gave an overview of the epidemic in Bangladesh; provided background on the organizational structure and documentation, reporting, monitoring and evaluation processes of partner organizations; and discussed ways that volunteers can build capacity in these organizations. IMPACT is managed by Family Health International with funding from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The volunteers also benefit in many ways from the experience. In addition to their primary assignment of either teaching English in secondary schools or working with youth and community development projects, volunteers in Bangladesh are expected to take on community projects, such as working with local NGOs, starting women's groups and teaching health or exercise classes. For volunteers interested in public health and AIDS education, building the capacity of an IMPACT partner organization and helping its staff organize outreach activities are ideal community projects.

"This is a winning collaboration for both the volunteers and the NGO," said Robert Kelly, Ph.D., IMPACT's country director in Bangladesh. "Volunteers provide these groups with direct technical assistance that isn't available from anyone else, and in the process they build their own knowledge and skills about the epidemic and learn how to work with community organizations."
 
Erin Murphy, an English teacher from Colorado assigned to work in the village of Rajbari, was one of the first volunteers to participate in the project. She contacted Kelly, who put her in touch with the Bandhu Social Welfare Society, an NGO whose main clientele is men who have sex with men. Bandhu's Rajbari field office is one of eight in Bangladesh that offer peer education on HIV, counseling, group meetings and activities, condoms, and STI clinical services and referrals.

Murphy, who had been looking for an opportunity to work on an HIV-related project, found that an introduction from FHI made it easier to approach Bandhu.  Instead of proposing a role for herself, she asked NGO members how they wanted her to help – and soon became involved in capacity-building activities.  

"They suggested I teach English, so I held a class for staff as well as clients," said Murphy. "Bandhu's central office wanted each field office to become more accountable for financial and activity reporting, so I also started doing monitoring and evaluation and helped them write up reports."

Murphy also began to network with other NGOs on behalf of Bandhu and joined committees planning for World AIDS Day. Her participation in Bandhu-sponsored public events had a positive effect within the community.

"Because Peace Corps volunteers are foreigners and very visible in Bangladeshi communities, I was able to bring Bandhu a lot of attention and support that they might not otherwise have gotten," said Murphy. "Being seen at rallies with these ostracized men helped promote community acceptance."

Murphy also incorporated her new knowledge into her English classes, leading discussions about HIV and health with her secondary school students. She also started discussing HIV with a village women's support group that proved to be very attentive.

"We talked about personal health and HIV because a lot of them had had no formal education about sexuality and reproductive health," said Murphy. "Launching this activity in a comfortable, all-female group allowed these women to share their feelings and experiences."

Because of the collaboration's success and growing interest among both volunteers and NGO partners, IMPACT plans to expand the program to more sites in Bangladesh and to sponsor more information sessions and training workshops. Many volunteers are formulating project proposals. In response to feedback from the training, FHI/Bangladesh has set up a listserv where volunteers can discuss their experiences, share ideas and provide feedback on the work they've initiated with IMPACT partners.  

By Margaret Dadian

Photo: Peace Corps volunteer Erin Murphy, seated second from right, and members of the Bandhu Social Welfare Society at a picnic.  View a larger image.

Additional photo: View Peace Corps volunteer Erin Murphy, second from left, and members of the Bandhu Social Welfare Society on World AIDS Day.