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Community Health Promoter

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All MCC workers are expected to exhibit a commitment to: a personal Christian faith and discipleship; active church membership; and nonviolent peacemaking.

MCC is an equal opportunity employer, committed to employment equity. MCC values diversity and invites all qualified candidates to apply.

Community Health Promoter in Tha Thom, Laos

Term: 
3 years
Date Opened: 
September 30, 2009
Date Required: 
Available Now
Full Time Equivalent: 
1.0

 

Synopsis: 

The Community Health Promoter will join the Tha Thom Food Security and Nutrition Project team to enhance nutrition and long-term food security for selected households in ten villages in the Tha Thom district of Xieng Khouang Province in Lao PDR. In order to address the inter-related issues of nutrition and food-security, this project will take a community based approach to addressing these needs. The Community Health Promoter will join the team to share information, resources and expertise related to community health promotion.

 

Qualifications: 
  • A degree in Community Health Promotion and Education, Nutrition, Nursing or area related to project preferred
  • Previous experience with MCC overseas or experience with similar development agency desirable
  • Previous intercultural work experience desirable
  • Administrative, organizational, analytical, problem solving and networking skills
  • Ability to work on a team and possession of genuine understanding of the value of processing decisions as a team
  • Patience and flexibility to work in a context where plans change frequently
  • Commitment to hearing local counsel and affirming local institutions and individuals
  • Desire to learn Lao language
  • Strong interest in working with disadvantaged people
  • Basic computer competence; word processing, email

 

Assignment Description: 

The Tha Thom Food Security Project is aimed at addressing the issues of chronic food insecurity and lack of nutrition in selected villages in the Tha Thom district of Xieng Khouang Province. In order to address the inter-related issues of nutrition and food-security, this project will take a community based approach to addressing these needs. Over the course of five years, this project will work in 10 targeted communities.

The project will provide nutrition training for district health staff and teachers, nutrition and health education to primary schools and identified families in villages, livestock care training, resource management (water and forest) training and training in agricultural techniques (such as composting, using natural fertilizers and pesticides, etc.). The project will also develop small scale irrigation systems in order to increase rice productivity. Currently several other organizations are in the process of developing clean water systems for the communities. As communities have increased access to water sources, the project will assist with the construction of wet latrines.

The project implementers will also work with the community to encourage them to think about the future and how to build on the strengths of the community to ensure that there is long-term food security. This means that sustainable alternatives to the exploitation of rivers and forests will need to be found. These alternatives could include: increased forest and river conservation methods, the increased production of alternative food sources, the development of other income generation sources.The Community Health Promoter will work together with the Project Health Team consisting of the MCC Nutrition Project Officer and representatives from the District Health Team to develop and implement effective community health and nutrition strategies. The Community Health Promoter will be accountable to the MCC Laos Project Manager. The Community Health Promoter will be primarily responsible for seeking culturally appropriate information and resources to enhance the implementation of the project health and nutrition activities. The Community Health Promoter will also work with the team to plan, implement and evaluate the various activities of the project. The Community Health Promoter will assist with writing English language reports for the Canadian Food Grains Bank in consultation with the team.

 

Duties: 
  • Gather project related resources and information in order to strengthen the skills of the implementation team
  • Network with other nutrition projects nationally and internationally to identify effective approaches
  • Gain knowledge of local food sources and their nutritional value
  • Consult Project Health team to gain increased understanding of local health and nutrition values, beliefs and practices
  • Work in partnership with the Project Health team to plan and implement activities in schools and villages
  • Work in partnership with Project Health team to effectively monitor and evaluate project activities
  • Develop good relationships with the district government health staff by attending formal and informal meetings
  • Participate in the project management team that meets on a regular basis
  • Attend and participate in various meetings as required

 

Location Description: 

This position will be based in the remote Tha Thom District of Xieng Khouang Province in Laos. The District capital, Tha Thom, is a remote small community with all of the benefits of rural living. While you won’t see any theater productions, you will have an opportunity to know your neighbors, watch the children play, and see a magnificent display of the stars at night. Tha Thom is nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains approximately 260 km from the capital city. The town has a tiny early morning market for local “vegetables” (mostly green leaves) and meat (usually one animal is butchered every day), and two or three restaurants which serve noodle soup or sticky rice. The town, as of September 2009 was without consistent and stable electrical service. There is generally cell phone coverage and eventually the MCC office will have internet access. The road to Tha Thom is currently under construction which creates unpredictable and challenging travel conditions. Until the roads are paved, travel during the wet season will be primarily by boat.

Travel to and from Vientiane during the rainy season includes a 4 to 8 hour boat ride, plus a 3-4 hour truck/bus ride. It is anticipated travel to Vientiane will occur every two months.

There are no churches in Tha Thom. Health services are extremely limited.

The main MCC office is located in Vientiane, the small, relaxed capital of Laos. Unlike many South East Asian capital cities, Vientiane has a small town atmosphere. All important government and commercial sites are within a ten minute drive.

The Friendship Bridge connects Laos to Thailand about 20 kilometers from Vientiane which makes travel between these two countries fairly easy. Night trains and daily flights to Bangkok are available.

For non-emergency medical help, most foreigners use an informal network of foreign medical personnel. The French Embassy operates a 24-hour clinic in Vientiane that can do some basic testing, give advice and referrals and administer vaccinations.

The Australian Embassy represents Canadians in Laos. There is an American Embassy in Vientiane.

Life in Laos can be very enjoyable. The Lao people are generally friendly and welcoming to foreigners. The climate is called dry and wet monsoon. That means that there are two seasons; rainy and dry. The rainy season runs approximately from June to October and the dry from November to May.

The countryside of Laos is made up of mountains and lowlands, rice fields and forests. When one travels around the countryside in the rainy season, the rice fields are a vivid, verdant green and the forested mist-covered mountains are a deep, lush green. It is a beautiful sight.

The Community Health Promoter will have access, as available, to an MCC vehicle or motorbike for work related travel. There is also public transport available by bus.

In the past year, the Lao currency, the Kip, has gained strength against the USD (currently $1 = 8,500 Kip), and is also tied to the Thai Baht (1 Baht = 250 Kip).

The Lao economy continues to be heavily dependent on foreign aid money and loans.

 

Challenges: 

Limited contact with people outside of local community.

Health risks related to tuberculosis, dengue fever, malaria, etc.

Very limited contact with Christian community.

Limited access to health services in Tha Thom.