At the end of this past year I applied and was accepted as a new member of the Peace Corps Ecuador HIV Task Force. The task force is a working group of Peace Corps volunteers who represent provinces across the country and all project sectors (Agriculture, Youth and families, Health and HIV/AIDS). Our task force meets every four months to design and implement new training modules for incoming Peace Corps training classes and to support current volunteers with HIV education materials.
Two weeks ago was my first HIV Task Force meeting which took place in Vilcabamba, Ecuador. We split up into committees and for two days finalized our new projects for this year. The Task Force is focusing on 3 main projects at the moment: (1) designing new training curriculum for training class 105 which arrived in Ecuador a few weeks ago, (2) creating a HIV Task Force tool kit and (3) creating a new Peer Educator in HIV Prevention Program to be used by current volunteers.
My committee is currently working on the Peer Educator in HIV Prevention Program. Our committee is working to create a PC Ecuador specific training module for peer-educators/promoters in HIV prevention. Recognizing that the Peer-Educator/Promoter module is a big buzz term for volunteers looking for sustainable programming, the HIV Task Force, wants to create a PC Ecuador specific education program. Inspired from the successes of the Cuanto Sabes de VIH/Sida program, we would like to rework the training model to work better for both volunteers who work in the campo (countryside) and volunteers who work in the big city. Using more teaching focused dÃnamicas (warm-ups), incorporating more life-skill building activities, expanding and offering more activities to explore the sensitive topics of puberty, sexuality, reproductive health, etc. which are all important in the context for preparing youth to become Peer-Educators/Promoters. We are drawing from PC volunteers who successfully completed Cuanto Sabes, and we plan to document their adaptions and additions to the Cuanto Sabes program. In the next month, our committee will be interviewing volunteers who worked on CS, and reviewing, selecting and updating materials to include in the training program. Our goal for our next meeting in May, is to have an outline of the future HIV prevention program.
During the meeting I was elected as the new Treasurer of the Task Force. I am now responsible for overseeing our annual budget and for organizing costs and logistics for our meetings. As a new member of this working group I feel much more connected to all of the other volunteers who are working across the country on HIV/AIDS prevention and education.
Our meeting took place in beautiful Vilcabamba, Ecuador which is known as the valley of longevity. National Geographic wrote on an article on how inhabitants supposedly live to be 100 or more years old. Locals attribute their good health to their simple, hard-working lifestyle, their diet of non fatty foods and Vilcabamba’s excellent climate.
We stayed at Izhcaluya HosterÃa, which is known for its panoramic view of the Vilcabamba Valley.
http://www.izhcayluma.com/
Some pictures of the hostel and the view from their restaurant.
Izhcayluma Restaurant
gardens at Izhcayluma
The view of the town of Vilcabamba
a pararama view from Hostel Izhcayluma
green hills as far as you can see
During my last day in Vilcabamba, I took a 4+ hour hike called the Mandango Loop Trail with 4 other PC volunteers. The hike will go down as one of the hardest hikes that I’ve taking in my life!! Apart from the steep inclines, the narrow paths and the sheer cliffs on either side of the trail, this hike was fantastic because of the 360 degree views over Vilcabamba and surrounding hills. I hope the photos go some way to indicate how beautiful the area is and how intense the hike was.
The first of two crosses that we hiked to
The second of two crosses that we hiked to
sheer cliffs on either side of the trail
we took that tiny little trail around the buttee called Mandango
An agave plant on the trail
The view of our hike from Hostel Izhcayluma
Leana: I love all your posts, but as you might guess, this is a favorite. Congratulations on the selection to the task force. You’ve come a long way in a relatively short time. I’m proud of you.
The scenery is beautiful, and the hike looks absolutely unreal. I’d love to have been with you to see all of this, but don’t know my stomach (or my OLD) muscles would have taken it. But what an adventure.
Stay well and keep living life to the fullest.
Uncle Dell
Hey Leana,
I have recently been offered a position as a Community Health AIDS\HIV prevention specialist. I will be arriving in June, any suggestions or suggested readings to better prepare myself?
Cheers,
Sean