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About SPW International

SPW International has developed a unique and effective model for youth empowerment, with particular reference to adolescent reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention. This model has been endorsed for its effectiveness by the World Bank, UNAIDS, and UNICEF, as well as the host country governments. SPW's vision is to deliver - through professionally-trained volunteers - youth-to-youth programs on a national basis in program countries, providing a low-cost, high-impact education strategy that empowers rural communities to implement development initiatives on their own behalf.

International Voluntary Service Activities

Every year SPW recruits volunteers (aged 18-28) from the program country and a number of self-funded international volunteers - primarily from North America, Britain and Australia. In 2003, SPW recruited 660 volunteers. In 2004, that number increased to 766, and will increase again to around 850 in 2005. All volunteers are professionally trained in-country by SPW and its partner organizations for 4-6 weeks. Training is comprehensive, including program-specific information, non-formal behavior change methods and adolescent counseling skills. They are then attached in pairs to rural communities for 9 months, during which time they implement a structured health education and/or community resource development program that reaches both pupils and out-of-school youth.

Their 5 areas of work are:

1. Teaching weekly health and environment modules in the classroom through non-formal education methods.
   
   
2. Establishing extracurricular activities (sports, art & drama clubs) that provide youth lifeskills training & health/environmental information in an informal setting.
   
   
3. Organizing high-profile awareness-raising events (e.g. health festivals, inter-school competitions).
   
   
4. Acting as peer educators and informal counselors.
   
   
5. Building the economic capacity of community-based organizations (CBOs) by providing training and connecting rural CBOS with schools, clinics & government agencies.

Volunteer for Prosperity Opportunities
Number of Opportunities	100+
Geographic Regions	Africa, Asia
Health & Prosperity Sectors	Economic Growth, Health, Capacity Building, Education, HIV/AIDS,Water, Information Communication Technology, Natural Resources Management, Women Youth Empowerment
Types of Opportunities	Technical, Support
Average Duration of Projects	16-36 Weeks
Volunteer Profile Summary
Volunteers must be between the ages of 18 and 28, and have graduated high school. Around 40% of SPW's international volunteers are between 18 and 20; the remainder are university graduates with 0-6 years work experience. While related academic training is an advantage, it is more important for prospective volunteers to have a proven ability to work independently and a flexible attitude. SPW's training is very comprehensive, and includes language, cultural awareness, program- and community-specific information, and appropriate development skills (including participatory rural appraisal, non-formal education methods, appropriate rural technologies and monitoring and evaluation techniques).