MCC Service Opportunity

Assignment Title: SALT/YAMEN: Public Health Documentation Assistant – Shanti

Term: August 10, 2017 – July 14, 2018 FTE : 1 Location: , Nepal Date Required: August 10, 2017

MCC is an equal opportunity employer, committed to employment equity. MCC values diversity and invites all qualified candidates to apply.

Synopsis:

Program details at mcc.org/salt and mcc.org/yamen

The SALT/YAMENer will support Shanti Nepal with preparing English-language reports and proposals, teaching English to the staff, as well as documenting project impact through photos, videos, case studies, and other communication methods.

Qualifications:

All MCC workers are expected to exhibit a commitment to: a personal Christian faith and discipleship; active church membership; and biblical nonviolent peacemaking.

• University or college degree in social sciences, health, or communications • Work or volunteer experience working with community groups and marginalized people • Willingness to live in an area with few foreigners • Demonstrated ability to relate to a wide variety of people from different cultural and religious backgrounds • Willingness and ability to learn Nepali • Fluency in English with good verbal and written communication skills • Skills in photography and videography • Strong ability to be independent, and self-motivated • Willingness to conduct research on topic of interest to Shanti Nepal and the participant (required for research visa) • Ability to hike to remote hilly areas, potentially requiring several days of walking at a time

Assignment Narrative:

Shanti Nepal is a Nepali public health NGO that works in Dhading District. Shanti Nepal’s programs include toilet building and sanitation, health and nutrition, and agriculture projects with marginalized people groups in remote areas. Shanti Nepal recently expanded its work into the highly remote northern part of the district, near to the Tibetan border. The field office is accessible by road, with many buses going back and forth to each day. Many of the project sites are in remote areas only accessible on foot.

After six weeks of study in Kathmandu, the SALT/ YAMENer will move to a host family in Dhading Besi, near Shanti Nepal’s field office. The participant’s role will be to assist with English-language report writing and documentation, prepare case studies and other communications pieces, help connect the staff members to useful resources related to Shanti Nepal’s work, and teach English to the staff members.

Another part of the SALT/YAMENer’s duties will be to conduct primary research and write a short research paper on a topic relevant to Shanti Nepal and public health projects. This is part of acquiring a research visa. The final research will be shared with Shanti Nepal, MCC, and MCC’s other partner organizations.

This position requires a lot of self-motivation and ability to identify find ways to contribute to Shanti Nepal’s work. Although the SALT/YAMENer will be based in Dhading Besi, there will likely be frequent travel to remote project areas. Occasionally, s/he may also assist at Shanti Nepal’s head office in Kathmandu.

Duties:

• Develop working relationships with Shanti Nepal staff and members of the community • Learn Nepali language and culture • Participate in and assist staff with project activities • Assist with documentation, monitoring and evaluation of projects • Assist in preparing progress reports and other reports for donors • Assist in preparing new project proposals • Document good practices, case studies, lessons learned from programs and projects • Provide English teaching and coaching to Shanti Nepal staff • Conduct research on topic of interest to Shanti Nepal and the participant (required for research visa) • Take part in MCC Nepal events including retreats and workshops. • Be active in the life of a local church

Location Description:

This position will be based at Shanti Nepal’s rural project office in Dhading Besi, about four hours away from Kathmandu.

Dhading Besi is the District Headquarters for Dhading. It is a small, but bustling town located in a river valley that serves as a market and transportation hub for the northern area of Dhading. Dhading is among the most affected districts by the April 2015 earthquake. Electricity is available, though may be rationed during the dry season. Drinking water needs to be treated before consumption. Medical clinics are available, though serious conditions should go to Kathmandu for treatment. Internet is available in Dhading Besi as well as through 3G mobile phones.

Kathmandu has more facilities, including lots of restaurants that cater to Westerners. Public transportation is easily available.

For vacation, Nepal has lots of opportunities for outdoor adventures including trekking in the Himalayas, mountain biking, white-water rafting, and jungle safaris.

Challenges :

• Water and electricity are regularly rationed because supply is low during the dry season throughout much of Nepal. • Nepal has faced some political instability in recent years. There may be times when political strikes will close down parts of the country, and travel is not available. • In Dhading Besi, few people will be able to converse in English. Learning Nepali as an ongoing activity is important for this assignment. • Pollution and dust levels are high in the city, especially from November to May. • Nepal, and Kathmandu in particular, is at high risk of earthquakes, and service workers keep emergency kits at their homes. • Managing frustration when things don’t turn out as expected can be hard. While we do our best to determine and outline job responsibilities with our local partners, assignments really come alive based on the passions, skills, and gifts of an individual. Responsibilities may change or be refined over time in communication with supervisors to meet the ongoing changes and needs within a local context. As such, the greatest characteristics a participant can bring to an assignment are adaptability, flexibility, patience, a willingness to get your hands dirty, and humility to complete even mundane tasks. • For those who are very task oriented, it can be a challenge to recognize the importance of "being" instead of always "doing" as building healthy relationships and mutually transformative learning is an important part of the participant experience. We hope participants will come with a desire to walk alongside our local partners, rather than see the assignment solely as a way to "get things done".