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Assignment
The
Peace Corps has six primary fields of assignment: education, business,
environment, agriculture, health, and community development. Recently,
the Peace Corps introduced two additional focus areas that incorporate
specialized skills into the six existing assignment areas: HIV/AIDS and
Information Technology. Naturally, my interest was to serve within the
Peace Corps's new IT focus.
Due to a lack of resources and education, many of the world's developing countries have been unable to take advantage of the advances in technology that we often take for granted. For example, most people in the developing world have never used a computer or searched the Internet. Today, however, more Peace Corps Volunteers are working to help people in these communities take part in the information technology revolution.
The newest component of the Education/Community Development project in Guyana involves working with the Ministry of Education to enhance its computer-training for students and educators. I will play a role in the development of Information Technology as a curriculum subject within the school system.
I will work with local organizations to provide young people and entrepreneurs with basic training in computer use and Internet technology, opening the doors to e-commerce for micro and small business ventures. By helping people learn more about the power of technology, the Peace Corps hopes that I will expand the prospects for economic growth in Guyana.
Guyana faces significant economic and social changes that have placed the nation's youth, representing nearly 60 percent of the population, at great risk. Volunteers and I will be working with youth organizations and the Ministry of Education to provide at-risk youth with educational, personal, and life skills development opportunities, and thus enable these youth to meet the challenges of adolescence and contribute positively to their communities. Through teacher-training activities, my coworkers and I will also work with educators on nontraditional teaching methods and the life-skills training methodologies.