Peer Educators Academy 2018 (For Young Change Agents)

Peer Educators Academy 2018 (For Young Change Agents)

Started by Reach A Hand Uganda in January 2014, the Peer Educators Academy is an informative fellowship programme developed to equip young people in and out of school between the ages of 17-24 years with information and skills on Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights (SRHR) to support their peers.

                      

Through Peer Educators Academy, peers develop transferable work-related skills such as communication and presentations skills, advising, counseling, leadership and teamwork experience among others. Through the multiplier effect, Reach a Hand believes that these young people will transfer these skills to other young people to help one another make informed life choices.

How Peer Educators Academy Works

The Peer Educators Academy is a full year fellowship program which starts in January with a one month long intensive training of Peer Educators using a module based on SRHR information and life skills. At the end of the training, the now equipped Peer Educators are distributed in different communities, schools, community based organizations and other partner organizations Reach a Hand works with.

The team keeps mentoring and monitoring their progress through monthly meetings and one-on-ones with the programs team to support the peer educators in passing on SRHR information as well as mentor their peers. This trains and equips them with the necessary skills that they use even after the one year Peer Educators Academy fellowship.

Under this approach, behavior change starts with the peer educator. The changed peer educator then influences a positive change among a fellow youth in schools and communities, mainly from the SRHR clubs. These school and community SRHR club members who then adopt the promoted behavior/practice. After realizing the benefits of the new behavior or practice, they make informed choices.

Peer Educators Academy Benefits

• Leadership

Working collectively is a lifeblood. The Peer Educators Academy fellows devote significant time to develop team building skills and get the opportunity to refine their interpersonal skills, explore connections and become better young leaders.

• Communication skills

The academy provides a perfect way to meet new peers from diverse backgrounds with different experiences,values and beliefs. This gives the young people an opportunity to interact and learn how to communicate and relate with other young people from different backgrounds hence leaving no one behind.

• Develop a network

Throughout the year, the peer educators are actively engaged in different activities that we carry out in schools and communities. Furthermore, they get opportunities to actively interact and engage with our partners hence creating sustainable networks and partnerships.

• Mentorship

The Academy provides a conducive environment for young people to be mentored by icons from different fields like Sexual Reproductive Health, education, media, business and entrepreneurship, edutainment, politics and many others. The young people get first hand information from their fields and life experiences to become empowered young people.

• Internship opportunities

As the peer educators continue to work with us, we involve them in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of our activities which equips them with skills like report, proposal and work plan writing, interpersonal relations, computer and new media literacy among others. This puts them at a higher ranking to ably compete at the competitive job market. Our Peer Educators Academy is a pool of young energetic and innovative human resource which our partners and other organizations are always willing to take in as staff after the one year fellowship.

• Love, laugh, play and be young!

Being young, dynamic and fun people, our Academy is not all about work. We actually get time to relate, love, laugh, play and be young. Throughout the year, the fellows get time to bond through picnics, movie nights, barbeques, retreats, beach and sports games. As the saying goes, work without play, makes peer educators dull fellows.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should fill in the application form in the link below

Click Here to Apply

The successful applicants will be invited to attend a one month intensive training at  Victoria University on the 3rd to 31st of January 2018 at a services fee of UGX 200,000/- and commit to the programme for the full year.

If you have any questions regarding your interest in joining the Peer Educators Academy, please contact info@reachahand.org or call +256 (0) 414 697 037.