PCV
Kenya
Kenya
Bachelor's degree in special education.
OR
Bachelor's degree in any discipline with state certification in special education (general or with an emphasis in working with people with visual or hearing disabilities).
OR
Bachelor's degree in education with experience working with people with disabilities, including physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychological disabilities.
OR
Bachelor's degree in any discipline with 1 year full-time experience working in classrooms or residential homes with people with disabilities, including physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychological disabilities.
Elementary Schools for the Deaf
None
Volunteers live within three kilometers of their work sites in community or school staff housing. Houses are not shared with other staff or family members, even when located within a host family compound. Each house has facilities for cooking, bathing, and either indoor toilets or outdoor latrines. Volunteers may have to carry water from a local water source up to 100 meters from their home and may not have reliable electricity. Volunteers can access the regional capital of Kisumu via public transportation within five hours.
No
24
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Create a lasting impact on students in Kenya who are deaf or hard of hearing as a literacy and early-language teacher.
Expand your sign language skills by learning Kenyan Sign Language and apply your skills where they are needed most.
Experience the warmth of Kenyan culture and build lasting friendships through cultural exchange and community engagement.
Collaborate with Kenyan teachers to improve KSL use, share teaching strategies, and adapt resources for learners who are deaf.
Teach students who are deaf to enhance their KSL, literacy, and/or numeracy skills.
Promote increased involvement of families and caregivers to support education for students who are deaf through home-based programs and school-based initiatives.
Adapt and develop teaching and learning materials to suit young learners who are deaf, including adapting assessment strategies to ensure meaningful test scores.
Support out-of-classroom experiences for learners who are deaf such as social events, camps, and extracurricular activities.
Advocate for learners who are deaf by encouraging their access and involvement in child development programs.
You may also work on additional projects that meet the community’s interests and priorities, such as community grant projects, deaf empowerment camps, or clubs.
As an Elementary Deaf Education Teacher, you will be trained on the Kenyan childhood literacy curriculum, lesson planning, classroom management, and teaching methodologies. In addition, you will receive comprehensive training in culture, health, and safety to support your success in this role. Peace Corps/Kenya will teach you Kenyan Sign Language to help you comfortably teach and connect with students and teacher colleagues who are deaf. You will also receive language resources and may also learn languages such as Dholuo and Luhya.
After 10 weeks of pre-service training, you will move to a rural community where you will collaborate with schools for the deaf in the area. You will work with the community to assess their needs and develop solutions based on the priorities of the Ministry of Education and the school where you will work.
Only heterosexual couples can be accepted for this program.
Couples who are selected for the same sector will live together but work with different local partners, which may be in the same community or in neighboring communities (not more than 30 minutes apart)., Cohabitating couples are highly encouraged to present themselves as married throughout service due to cultural expectations.
Couples will live together during training but may separate occasionally for field-based activities.
Each person must apply separately and must qualify for a position in either the same or a different sector than their partner.
As the preeminent international service organization of the United States, the Peace Corps sends Americans with a passion for service abroad to work with communities and create lasting change. Volunteers develop sustainable solutions to address challenges in Education, Health, Economic Development, Agriculture, Environment and Youth Development. Through their Peace Corps experiences, Volunteers gain a unique cultural understanding and a lifelong commitment to service that positions them to succeed in today's global economy. Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, more than 240,000 Americans of all ages have served in 142 countries worldwide.
