Christopher Hedrick, Country director of the Peace Corps Senegal writes about the “New Peace Corps” — one that embraces new malaria tools and technological advances to fight malaria on a larger scale than it ever has in the past, with the dedicated efforts of a new generation of young, tech savvy volunteers with lofty goals and accustomed to working with disparate teams.
Hedrick writes: “These volunteers are entering their service just as a technology revolution is exploding in the developing world. “Cell phone proliferation in some countries in Africa now surpasses parts of the United States, and Internet access is growing exponentially. In the New Peace Corps, mobile devices offer access to free, ubiquitous technology tools.”
“Teamwork is replacing the traditional notion of the lone volunteer. Increasingly, volunteers are collaborating to pursue audacious goals and teaming with partners, such as international non-governmental organizations and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), to work for important change. The Peace Corps’ Stomping Out Malaria in Africa initiative, launched in 2011, is a model for this fresh approach. Growing out of our experience in Senegal, we have rapidly built a team across 23 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to fight malaria. The program uses Skype to beam in world experts for training seminars, Google Drive for knowledge collaboration, and Facebook to build virtual communities of learning and expertise.”
Full Story: Huffington Post
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