Description

Interns will have a unique opportunity to collaborate with community members in Kwara State and teach health and wellness initiatives in Nigeria. ERI presents a grassroots, hands-on approach to engage the region's youth and equip them for the future.

By working with students of local Kwara State University, ERI program participants will be a part of a new community-based program to address the needs of the region and take the steps towards a sustainable future. Though it boasts the largest population in all of Africa, Nigeria and her people have been severely handicapped by a history of corrupt government management that minimizes the population's well-being and self- empowerment. The result has been a weak infrastructure and an abundance of land and resources not being used to their full potential to benefit the people of Nigeria. The short-term economic and medical aid that Nigerians receive from independent and federal programs around the world eventually runs dry, and the people are stuck in an endless cycle of survival on a day-to-day basis.

With new elections and new reforms, Nigeria is taking some bold steps to break this negative cycle and begin implementing programs and projects that will provide better support for the people and their communities. ERI has assembled a program and curriculum to take the first formative steps towards educating the community about their situation and teach them how to take steps to resolve it.

Highlights

Interns will have a unique opportunity to work directly with Nigerian healthcare providers, nurses, medical students, and other members of Kwara State University. Kwara State and take on nationwide problems of public health, ecology, and how community members can improve their lives. Through both a medical and developmental perspective, ERI is taking a holistic approach to solving the region's problems that involve a sincere commitment to education and the many facets that go into community development. ERI's grassroots approach gives participants a unique opportunity to collaborate with Kwara State youth to educate the region about their public health and wellness, and to equip them with skills they need for the future.

Housing, local transportation, and security will be provided.

Qualifications

Our ideal volunteers and interns will be medical or healthcare professionals/students as well as community development and wellness educators. Experience and/or interest in: disease control and education, family planning, pre-natal care, general women's health issues, and public health work in developing countries.

Experienced in working or living in a developing country preferred, with some background in either healthcare or community development. Graduate students and recent college graduates are encouraged to apply.

Intern Types

Languages

• English

Cost in US$:

0

Cost Includes:

• Food
• Housing
• Pre-departure orientation/Training
• Travel while in host country
• Written materials pre-departure

Credit Available

yes

Experience Required

yes

Experience and/or interest in public healthcare, sanitation, wellness, community development and education, and economic capacity building in healthcare would be beneficial.

Volunteer Types

Typical Volunteer

A typical volunteer at Earth Rights Institute will be versed with global issues of economic and medical development and can ably teach community members about them. The program participants either possess specific knowledge of a field or can educate a range of populations about key developmental issues. They are also matched to their specific program in age: Young adults age 18-26 will be most suitable to work in a foreign university setting with students, etc.

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals.

Participants Travel

Independently

Typically Participants Work

in Groups

Application Process Involves

• In-Person Interview Required
• In-Person Interview when Feasible
• Phone/Video Interview
• Written Application

Earth Rights Institute's Mission Statement

We promote an approach to development that is ecologically, socially, economically and culturally sustainable. Through initiatives in education, research and advocacy we act to end wide-scale poverty worldwide, secure a culture of peace and reverse environmental degradation. We insist on the importance of empowering communities of the global south to manage and direct their own development, conceiving strategies and cultivating expert knowledge at the local level. Instead of training experts in methods and theories originating in a foreign context, models for local development should be taught in a local context. Ultimately, theoretical and practical study of improving the lives of people of the Global South must be anchored in the Global South.

Year Founded

2001