PA/24/13 26 June, 2013
Four more Australian volunteers arrive in Bhutan
Four Australian volunteers have arrived in Thimphu as part of the Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) program. The volunteers, Janese Boots, Tom Horniblow, Elizabeth Grover and Jane Nicholson, will work in the areas of education and health.
They follow the first batch of Australian volunteer nurses who arrived in April this year to support Bhutan’s efforts to achieve its health development goals.
The four volunteers will be in Bhutan for up to two years and will be based in Thimphu. Three of them will work at Kuzhugchen Middle Secondary School, Changangkha Middle School and Drugyel Lower Secondary School to mentor and coach teachers to deliver lessons in Science and Mathematics. They will also design a curriculum for students with special needs, including hearing impaired students for whom systems will be designed that include speech therapy and teaching in sign language.
The health volunteer will join the earlier batch of volunteer nurses in the Jigme Wangchuck National Referral Hospital, and focus on patient education.
Under the AVID program, volunteers are selected on the basis of their competencies in developing capacity, sharing skills and building relationships in priority areas identified by the Royal Government of Bhutan, which currently include health, education, agriculture and forestry.
AVID is an integral part of Australia’s aid program, and volunteers play a key role in improving the lives of people in developing countries, including Bhutan.
For more information on the AVID Program in Bhutan, please contact Ms Yeshey Lhaden, In-Country Manager, Australian Red Cross, AVID, at (975) 17165005, or email [email protected]