The Universal Civil Service (SCU) is an initiative of the Italian Department of Youth Policy that gives girls and boys between the ages of 18 and 29 the opportunity to work in developing countries, paid by the Italian Government and hosted by associations that operate in these countries.
Change operates in Ampefy about 140 km from the capital Antananarivo, on the shores of the great lake of Itasy.
Although Ampefy is an important road hub for the region, the surroundings remain immersed in a profoundly rural dimension where volcanic reliefs are mixed with rice fields and villages where different ethnic groups live together. Road conditions, especially during the rainy season, make many inhabited centers isolated and difficult to access.
The Saint Paul Medical-Surgical Center, founded and managed by Change, is a reference point where thousands of people from the town of Ampefy and beyond come to be examined and treated. In addition, following the inauguration of the Medical Center in 2014, Change has addressed a problem that is very rooted in Malagasy society: malnutrition as an intergenerational phenomenon. For this reason, it has started a Nutrition Center, which, in addition to hosting daily care activities for young mothers, children and pregnant women, carries out field projects in the villages near Ampefy.
And this is precisely where the boys and girls of the Universal Civil Service come into play. In fact, they will be able to take part in the daily life of the Medical Center through awareness-raising activities, prevention, data collection and management, diagnosis and clinical-therapeutic management of patients. In addition to this, they will be able to actively participate in the prevention and treatment of maternal and child malnutrition at our Nutrition Center.
The objectives of the project in which the volunteers will take part are three:
increase access to basic health services for the entire population, in particular with regard to priority communicable and non-communicable diseases, through awareness-raising and health education activities and specifically dedicated courses,
reduce the incidence of acute and chronic maternal and child malnutrition with prevention and treatment activities.
improve the management and organization of data, in order to improve the services offered.
We strongly believe that the contribution of young people who desire a confrontation with different realities and cultures is a stimulus and source of enrichment both for local staff and for the Malagasy population and vice versa.
Aspiring volunteers can submit an application for participation with SPID, exclusively through the platform.
