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Sunday, February 26, 2012

3rd Year Possibility

Hi! So, I've been pretty busy lately. I was recently in Phnom Penh for a meeting and the K5 cohort's Technical IST (In-Service Training). I helped facilitate some small group discussions for the IST; the presenters were very impressive in their delivery which resulted in some very intelligent discussion between all of the volunteers. The week was such a treat as there were probably about 75 volunteers in town for various reasons. It was really nice to catch up with some of them and in these various ways:

- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D (It was pretty cool, but it would have been cooler were it Episode IV)
- Ngon Restuarant (Vietnamese/Cambodian cuisine: a new place for me. It was tasty and cheap!) There was a dessert/drink there that was coconut milk with a bunch of delicious jelly-like things. It tasted like cereal milk! mmmm)
- Friends trying to drink strangers' beverages that were left behind
- etc.

Anyhow, that was all fun, but getting to the title of this blog:

3rd Year Possibility

So, I met with Population Services International (PSI) on Thursday to discuss a potential scope of work, and we came up with this:

1) Linking PSI to Peace Corps
  • Hopefully, my potential counterparts and I can come up with a way that can better partner PSI with PCVs out in the field more effectively.
  • Explore other ways to partner with PCVs further.
2) IPC (Interpersonal Communication) Support + Monitoring

- Some of the things discussed were project oversight responsibilities: working with PSI community volunteers as well as project managers for MVUs and Roving Units to create more efficient ways of reaching out to the community.

3) Photo Skills Capacity Building
  • Working with the current PSI photographer to build knowledge and skills in the technical art of photography
  • Building photographic libraries and taking stock photos for IPC Tool Development
Their technical director wants to utilize my skills as a photographer to help build capacity of the HCNs (Host Country Nationals) that work with PSI and to assist with the potential revamping of IPC materials. Essentially, a lot of the aid world uses pictures and drawings for health messages/educational games. They're finding that photographs may be more clearly understood.

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Anyhow, I'm not sure how it will all turn out, but I will be sure to update you all when I know more.

Talk to you soon,
Garrett

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