MCC Service Opportunity Assignment Title: SALT/YAMEN: Paralegal Assistant – PAG (Proyecto Aldea Global) Term: August 10, 2017 – July 14, 2018 Location: Siguatepeque/Comayagua, Honduras 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: For program details see mcc.org/salt or mcc.org/yamen This SALT/ YAMENer will support and work in trainings regarding domestic abuse in legal and psychosocial areas with lawyers and psychologists and the community at large with the Deborah Program that is part of the NGO Proyecto Aldea Global (Global Village Project). It is based in Siguatepeque, Honduras. The MCC worker assigned to this position will work in the 21 municipalities of Comayagua and 2 municipalities of Cortés as a technician to give training and support to people from vulnerable populations to improve their self-esteem and learn about their rights. Qualifications: All MCC workers are expected to exhibit a commitment to: a personal Christian faith and discipleship; active church membership; and biblical nonviolent peacemaking. • Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, Psychology or other Social field preferred • Experience working with vulnerable groups in rural communities with limited economic resources • Communication, teaching and motivational skills; ability to unify and bring spirit to a team • Ability to relate well with all the members of the organization • Creativity • Cooperative, collaborative and tolerant • A high level of self-motivation and desire to do things well • Skills at managing differing opinions—including their own—and with aptitude to correct and be corrected • Capacity to see empathy as a method of greater understanding in the professional field and distinct social situations • Sensitivity to vulnerable groups and vested interest in their learning and growth • Intermediate level of Spanish and a desire to learn more to better communicate with project participants. • Basic computational skills in Microsoft • Respect the policies and administrative guidelines established by PAG for the submission of reports and preparation of documentation. Assignment Narrative: Proyecto Aldea Global (Global Village Project) was founded in 1983 by Chet Thomas and Ells Culver. It is a Christian non-profit organization that is committed to empowering families to reduce poverty and build just, peaceful and productive communities. PAG uses a holistic strategy of development which addresses many different social issues such as health and HIV/AIDS prevention, domestic violence, education, industrial agriculture, micro-credit, environmental protection and infrastructure. PAG through the Deborah Program has been working since 2001 in response to cases of domestic violence. From 2001-2009 it averaged 700 cases per year and since 2010 it has increased in capacity to 1050 cases per year which marks an increase of 50%. This would not have been possible without the support of local organizations (churches, universities, schools and women’s networks) that came together to provide counseling and legal services to the victims of domestic violence. As an indirect consequence of this work it was also achieved to successfully advocate for an increased payment of subsistence allowances for minors who had been abandoned by their parents. The Deborah Program was able to extend its area of intervention in the municipalities of Comayagua and Cortés and now works in 23 municipalities (21 in Comayagua and 2 in Cortés). This is due greatly to the support of local governments and organizations for their strengthening of the Municipal Women’s Offices (OMM) and established Paralegal Offices in each municipality. The Deborah Program will provide the SALT/ YAMENer with vocabulary, cultural information, documents on presentations and scripts so that they may help in the preparation, execution and trainings of the other technicians and constituents. They will be trained by Deborah Program personnel in the themes of self-esteem, mediation, effective communication and reconciliation for vulnerable groups. The weekly schedule may vary according to the target community and the different distances. They will be supervised by the Deborah Program Supervisor. Duties: 1. Responsibility and self-motivation to learn about the topics that you do not know. 2. Share the knowledge that you have with the team to better develop the teachings for the project participants. 3. Collaborate with the paralegals in the preparation of teaching material for the trainings. 4. Lead trainings and workshops in themes of self-esteem, reconciliation, mediation and communication with the vulnerable groups. 5. Support the participants of the Deborah Program with specific tasks (publicity campaigns, radio programs, television interviews, activities and recreation with children and elderly, icebreakers, etc.) in the planning and work of the group. 6. Active participation in the life of a local church congregation. 7. Participation in the meetings and retreats of MCC and PAG and provide plans and reports to MCC and PAG when requested. Location Description: Honduras is the second largest country in Central America with an area of 112,492 square kilometers and a population of more than 8 million inhabitants. The country shares borders with Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. Honduras is a mountainous country with many micro-climates. Temperatures are hot with humidity high on the Atlantic coast and in and around San Pedro Sula. The Pacific coast is hot but arid. The climate is moderate in the capital, Tegucigalpa, because of its altitude of 975 meters. There are two main seasons in Honduras: the rainy season (called winter), which extends from May to November or December and the dry season (called summer), which lasts from January to April. Siguatepeque come from the native Nahautl word “cihualtepec”. Cihuatl (female) and tepec (hill) means that Siguatepeque is “The Hill of the Women”. Siguatepeque is located to the north of the Montecillos mountain range in the central plateau of Honduras. It is in between two major cities: Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, 114 km from the first and 139 km from the second. It is surrounded by green pine forests which provide lots of fresh air for the city. It is part of the Department of Comayagua and situated between 1000 and 1200 meters above sea level. The extension of the municipality is 606.5 km2. The local economy is characterized by being an important agricultural center for the region. It is in Siguatepeque where the commercialization and processing of many typical grains and agricultural products are realized. These include corn, beans, coffee, sugar cane, fruits and horticulture. Cattle and livestock-raising are also developing rapidly in this zone. The SALT/ YAMENer will be situated in Siguatepeque, Comayagua. There are many modern conveniences in the city, options for transport and access to basic amenities. Evangelical churches that can be found in the city include the El Shaday, Iglesiai Centroamericana, Iglesia Bethel, Iglesia Emmanuel and Iglesia Gamliel. The MCC office and country representatives are based in San Pedro. Both San Pedro and Tegucigalpa are transportation hubs for the region and offer a range of busing options. Challenges: • San Pedro Sula has a reputation for high crime and gang activity, and the worker should not be out at night alone. Transportation can be hard to find at night so staying out late is not usually an option. As in most large cities, petty crime and theft require vigilance with respect to belongings and personal safety. MCC Honduras takes security precautions according to the recommendations of our partner organizations and communities, taking very seriously what they recommend. The worker needs to become accustomed to using their community and host family as their most important source of security, even when it might infringe on one's independence. • The Evangelical Church in Honduras is in general charismatic and rather conservative. In many churches, there is an active youth group and the churches have been very welcoming to previous MCC workers. It may be a challenge for the worker to adjust to a different pace of worship and church life and to adapt to a conservative lifestyle (especially concerning issues like the use of alcohol and tobacco, sexual orientation, gender roles, dancing). • Desire to learn about and adapt yourself to the Latino culture (food, language, customs and expectations, etc.) • Zika, Dengue fever and Chikungunya are health concerns in all of Honduras. • 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 giftings 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