Volunteers: The Essential Element for Providing Essential Services in Anse la Raye

Continuing our work on community projects to help deliver the 12 Essential Services required for children to reach their full potential is the heart of The St. Lucia Demonstration Project.  Our actions together will help minimize factors inhibiting children’s capacity, while optimizing those variables which will promote their full growth and development.  It’s not easy – but it’s so fulfilling! As a short-term volunteer, every team member is a vital component in helping families and local community organizations deliver these essential services to their children.

At the center of community development is Global Volunteer’s Essential Services Triangle. These are the 12 essential services, prescribed by the United Nations, which every child needs to realize the fullness of their potential. Global Volunteers organizes these services into three major categories – Eradicating Hunger, Improving Health, and Enhancing Cognition.

Eradicating Hunger:

School and Household Gardens, Child Nutrition, Micro-nutrient Supplementation

Establishing, planting, maintaining and harvesting school and household gardens using Earth Box® technology is a recurring project – and a long-term commitment – in The St. Lucia Project. Most of the families we serve are under-nourished, and many children go to school without breakfast or lunch. Earth Boxes are reliable and accessible sources of vegetables and fruits to supplement students’ diets.

Improving Health

Health, Nutrition and Hygiene Education, HIV/AIDS prevention

ost new mothers in St. Lucia want to provide their best for their children.  However, pervasive poverty works against them in many ways.  Global Volunteers works with the Roving Caregivers to provide early childhood intervention, parent education, and health care assistance to parents who would otherwise have no access to such services.  Volunteer nurses, dieticians, physical therapists, medical students and the like provide care and offer updated information to outreach workers and parents.

Enhancing Cognition:

General Education, Girl’s Education, Potable Water and Sanitation Facilities, Psychosocial Support

Volunteers provide one-on-one assistance in reading, math, science, computer literacy, geography and the like at the preschool, elementary and secondary school levels.  Succeeding teams focus on special needs students with individual education requirements to provide continuity of service.  Often, volunteers as outside resources teach health, hygiene and nutrition education segments for entire classrooms.  As is true worldwide, repetition and interaction is key to successful adoption of important educational concepts at all ages.