Description of Service Preview

PEACE CORPS

Description of Peace Corps Volunteer Service

Mark Allen Kennedy – Healthy Schools

Guatemala

Mark Allen Kennedy began pre-service training on February 12, 2013 at the Peace Corps Office in                                                Guatemala. During the 9-week intensive program, Mr. Kennedy acquired the language and technical skills necessary to become a successful Volunteer during his two-year service. The program included:  

·         210 hours of intensive Spanish language instruction

·         288 hours of technical training in rural community health and development, adult education, local health services and structures, participatory analysis assessment, educational material development, training systems development, and health beliefs and behaviors.  Approximately one half of this technical training was practical field experience.

·         56 hours of core training in: non-formal education, cross-cultural integration, project design, management, and evaluation, situation management, community analysis, participatory rural appraisal, and diversity. 

·         48 hours of training in personal safety and preventative health.

·         8.5 hours of training in cross-sector project priorities such as food security, HIV prevention, and gender and development. 

In-Service Trainings

·         16 hours of training in Project Design and Management.

·         57 hours of training on topics such as leadership, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation, tools for improving water, sanitation and hygiene at schools, improvement of school gardens and methodologies to improve work with very young adolescents.

Mark Allen Kennedy took the Oath of Enlistment in the Peace Corps on April 18, 2013. He worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health for the duration of his service in Guatemala. He served as a District Coordinator for the Healthy Schools Project, a project created by the Guatemalan government to improve the basic health and hygiene of elementary school students and develop the health promotion capacities of members of the educational community. Mr. Kennedy worked primarily with the principals and teachers of ten schools in the municipality of                           , but collaborated with a variety of actors from other institutions as well.  

District Healthy Schools Coordinator

·         Conducted a Healthy Schools Diagnostic, guided by Peace Corps approach to community development, at each of the 10 schools he worked with in order to gain a better understanding and context of the status of the student’s hygiene, sanitary infrastructure on school grounds, and teaching practices most commonly used by teachers.

·         Planned, organized, and facilitated three day-long leadership workshops to orient principals in the municipality towards the Healthy Schools Project, techniques of non-formal education, and methods of health promotion. An average of 50 principals attended the workshops, which were co-facilitated with professionals from the Health Center and the Ministry of Education. 

·         Strengthened capacity-building amongst school staff members to encourage health education in the classroom.

·         Assisted in the formation of a Municipal Healthy Schools Committee to manage and oversee the project sustainably in              . In its first year, the Committee organized a municipal-wide Earth Day clean-up, authored, edited, and published a Healthy Schools manual for every school in           , and appeared on a local radio station to promote the Healthy Schools Project and healthy practices in schools. 

·         Planned, organized, and facilitated a “Best Practices and Positive Leadership” workshop for the Municipal Healthy Schools Committees of 4 municipalities. The workshop was organized with 3 other volunteers as well as 2 members of the National Healthy Schools Commission, and attended by 26 Healthy Schools Committee members (including educational superintendents, social workers, food security coordinators, and municipal workers).   

·         Appeared on multiple local radio spots to promote the Healthy Schools Project and practical waste management strategies in the rural community. 

·         Formed a group of Peer Health Promotors in one of the 10 schools. This group met weekly to learn and discuss diverse health topics, take part in leadership-building exercises, and engage in activities over gender equality.

·         Created and developed educational resources and lesson plans to share with other volunteers and the Peace Corps as a member of the Environmental Education Working Group within the Healthy Schools Project. 

·         Worked with principals and teachers at 10 schools to assist each classroom in the formation of adequate healthy spaces in accordance with the Healthy School Project guidelines.

·         Facilitated the construction of a school garden in one of the 10 schools to promote healthy eating habits and self-sustainable agricultural practices.

·         Created and developed educational resources and lesson plans as a member of the Environmental Working Group within the Healthy Schools Project.

·         Assisted in the writing and editing of the National Healthy Schools Manual to be used in all municipalities of Guatemala.

Project Management

·         Solicited and administered a grant of $2,600 to plan and host two adolescent camps, one for boys and one for girls, during the school vacations.  Coordinated with 10 host country nationals from various government institutions, and 2 other Peace Corps Volunteers. 

·         Solicited and administered a grant of $251.28 to print and bind 100 Healthy Schools manuals – written and edited by the Municipal Committee, and to be distributed to every school in             . 

·         Solicited and administered a grant of $250 to bring together the Municipal Healthy Schools Committees of 4 communities in a workshop to share best practices, improve teamwork, and discuss positive leadership.

Secondary Projects

·         Studied 20 hours of Kaqchikel, the regional Mayan language, with the instruction of a local teacher, during the first year of service. 

·         Planned and completed an adolescent girls’ camp during the school vacation with the collaboration of 4 other Peace Corps Volunteers, local youth leaders, teachers, and health professionals. Mr. Kennedy co-facilitated educational sessions on gender equality and HIV/AIDS during the camp, which was attended by 40 young women.

·         Planned and completed an adolescent boys’ camp with the collaboration of 2 other Peace Corps Volunteers and host country nationals from three different government institutions and local NGOs. Mr. Kennedy facilitated the educational session on nutrition and acted as coordinator of activities during the camp, which was attended by 40 young men. 

·         Shared Peace Corps experiences and Guatemalan culture with the teacher of a Spanish classroom in Georgia through a continuous exchange facilitated through the World-Wise Schools (WWS) program.  

·         Planned and completed two annual science camps during school vacation. Mr. Kennedy taught and administered interactive activities pertaining to topics in Geography, Geology, Physics, General Chemistry, and Biology.

·         Worked with the school principal and teachers of two rural communities to host weekly nutrition and food preparation workshops with the mothers of students.

·         Co-designed and facilitated 2-hour workshops on Preventing Teen Pregnancy and Drug Addition in nine high schools in              .  Topics included resisting peer pressure, managing stress, and making positive decisions regarding sex and alcohol/drug use.  In total, approximately 500 students and 20 teachers participated.

Mr. Kennedy conducted all primary and complementary work activities in Spanish and his mastery of the language was critical to the success of his work. At the end of service, he was tested by Peace Corps certified examiners through a Language Proficiency Interview and achieved a rating of Advanced High.

Pursuant to Section 5(f) of the Peace Corps Act, 22 U.S.C. 2504(f), as amended, any former Volunteer employed by the United States Government following his/her Peace Corps Volunteer Service is entitled to have any period of satisfactory Peace Corps Service credited for purposes of retirement, seniority, reduction in force, leave, and other privileges based on length of federal government service. Peace Corps Service shall not be credited toward completion of the probationary or trial period of any service requirement for career appointment. 

This is to certify in accordance with Executive Order 11103 of April 10, 1963, that Mark Allen Kennedy served satisfactorily as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His service ended on March 20, 2015. He is therefore eligible to be appointed as a career-conditional employee in the competitive civil service on a non-competitive basis. This benefit under the Executive Order extends for a period of one year after the termination of the Volunteer’s service, except that the employing agency may extend the period for up to three years for a former volunteer who enters military service, pursues studies at a recognized institution of higher learning, or engages in other activities that, in the view of the appointing agency, warrant extension of the period. 

March 2015