Community Health Programs

Health Education Coordinators work to empower and equip the Saharawi in the following areas:

• Family wellness

• First aid and safety

• Health promotion

In 2018, members of the Community Health Programs (CHP) team went on a survey trip to the refugee camps and spoke with leaders of the Ministry of Public Health where they learned more about their Strategic Health Plan from 2016-2020. Once CHP members started living in the refugee camps in 2018, they began learning about some of the needs in the community, including education and awareness in family wellness, training in first aid and safety, and malnutrition/Hepatitis. Our desire is to come alongside our local Saharawi partner organization and equip and empower the Saharawi to develop ways to address these issues in a culturally appropriate way. The majority of the curricula we use are based on information and standards from the World Health Organization. We want to build relationships with our Saharawi partners, primarily in their local language of Hassaniya Arabic, and facilitate the process as they identify the community health issues and become the problem solvers. We approach our Community Health Programs with an asset-based mindset, meaning that we believe that everyone comes with gifts and already has something to contribute.