Community Health & AIDS Taskforce
Coaching For HopeResourcesProject GrantsWorld AIDS Day | Stomp Out Malaria
From maternal and child health to HIV/AIDS and hygiene, CHAT is a volunteer driven committee that advocates a comprehensive approach to promoting community health activities among Peace Corps Volunteers, their counterparts and communities.
To support volunteer health activities in all sectors, CHAT furnishes ready-to-use health teaching resources, guides to past volunteer projects, and information on select health topics and disease trends in Burkina Faso.
In addition to these resources, the taskforce promotes annual Worlds AIDS Day Activities, hosts a Coaching for Hope Conference, and has organized regional Training of Trainer Conferences in the past. Individual volunteer project assistance grants for HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health and hygiene are also offered contingent on annual funding.
CHAT Spotlight: Easy IGA Helps 'Stomp Out' Malaria
Naeta Rohr, DABA Volunteer in Tansila and her women’s association produce a simple neem cream that keeps those pesky mosquitos at bay. Not only is it an easy way for a volunteer from any sector to meet their responsibility to the “Stomp Out Malaria” initiative, but it also can make a few CFA in the process. Rohr and her association uses the proceeds from the locally produced mosquito repellant to help fund their projects.
A simple neem cream recipe is as follows:
Ingredients:
1 liter of water
1 small tin of neem leaves
1 bar of hard soap (cut into small melt-able pieces)
200 cfa of buerre de kartié (about 1 liter when melted)
Boil the neem leaves until the water turns green. After straining into a separate bowl, melt in the small pieces of soap and then add the shea and mix until it is a consistent texture (Don’t worry! It will be darker and more liquidy while hot). Allow to cool stirring occasionally (it should be a yellow/cream color and the texture of lotion after completely cooling off).
If you have a health-related activity to share send us a summary and a photo at: CHATBurkina@gmail.com
News
Malaria Month -
On April 25th the entire planet will be marking World Malaria Day by giving donations and raising awareness about this annoying disease. But in Burkina Faso, where malaria affects 100% of the people living here (including you!), one day just isn’t gonna cut it. So I hereby proclaim April to be Burkina’s Malaria Month!
Malaria Month will be a competition of sorts among volunteers. Here is how it works: Check out the Stomp Out Malaria Page on the CHAT website, the Stomp Google Docs, and the packet left in your Ouaga mailbox for a number of suggestions for programs, projects, and activities for PCVs to carry out in their community, on their blogs, and even on Facebook and twitter. Once a volunteer has completed at least one social media shout out to malaria, one community-based activity/project, and an evaluation, they will be entered in a raffle for one of many stompingly awesome prizes. E-mail submissions to Dan Q.
Peace Corps Burkina is not alone in this fight. We are Stomping with 3000 other volunteers in 17 countries, and partners such as USAID and Malaria No More. Together we can make a difference in our communities and fulfill our 3rd goal mission by creating awareness about malaria on behalf of our friends and families in the states. For more information, check out Stomp Out Malaria Page and find project ideas at pcburkina.org and stompoutmalaria.org. Also, check out the Stomp blog at stompoutmalaria.tumblr.com to see Burkina Faso featured in their “Weekly Awesome” series.
Malaria and HIV TOT - Thank you for your interest in the Malaria and HIV TOTs. Participants have been selected and trainings have started. The Master TOT was held in Ouahigouya April 4-6. Volunteers who participated in this training will be assisting in facilitating the two regional trainings.
Regional TOTs will be held in Bobo (April 23-25) and Fada (May 4-6).
Please contact your CHAT representative with any questions.
Coaching for Hope - Applications for the Ouahigouya training (July) are available online. They are due April 25. Please contact Mollie M. or Hayley D. with any questions.
World AIDS Day - A huge thank you to all volunteers who participated in this year's World AIDS Day Project. Volunteers painted murals at their sites t
o raise awareness about HIV. In addition, volunteers worked with community counterparts to teach people about HIV and AIDS in their communities. Congratulations to all volunteers on a successful World AIDS Day!
For participating volunteers - please remember to turn in all recepits to your regional representative ASAP! This will help us finish our final reports on time. In addition, please e-mail photos to chatburkina@gmail.com. Thank you!
