Preparation

6 months training to become a Development Instructor takes place at the Institute for International Cooperation and Development and contains the training of essential life skills - not only for your development work in Africa, but for living a meaningful life in the 21st century. They are not served as room service in the program, but brought about through the active participation of all the people involved - staff and participants alike. As a participant you are the driving force in your own education and at the same time you practice to be a team player.

Through the six months training program, you qualify to become a Development Instructor at one of Humana People to People’s projects in Southern Africa.

As the word "Development Instructor" indicates, the training shall qualify you to be able to instruct in development in some of the world’s poorest countries. This is no easy task.

First of all, you need to have the wish to change things for the better. This is a matter of attitude.

Then you need to acquire the tools - the skills and knowledge - necessary to instruct in development - at community level in Africa, often in a foreign language. This is a matter of training.

Finally it is getting a grip of how to create development. This you train practically and theoretically. To succeed, you need to change, which is often the most difficult part of it all. It is also often not appreciated before after it has taken place.

We Start with the Basic Training

Basic training focuses on basic skills and knowledge that are needed for the work in Africa as well as useful life skills for your future. Each week has its own headline

First Challenge: Take Action

As a Development Instructor it is essential constantly to have eyes and ears open to the need and opportunity of taking action to change, develop and improve things around you for the better. This applies to the life at the Institute – but it also applies to life in the societies we are part of – whether in USA or Africa.

Thus, Action Weeks are not only a training to be able to create development at the project in Africa, it is at the same time taking action here and now; Organizing summer camps in the country side for inner city kids, volunteering in a homeless shelter, teaching life skills in the Salvation Army after school program, giving a hand in ongoing community work or mobilizing support in the form of money and materials to bring to the projects in Africa.

Next Challenge: Fundraising Through Outreach

The task of raising money for the benefit of development is one that takes up much time and attention over the course of the Development Instructor training. During fundraising periods, the Development Instructor typically collects money in the streets, door-to-door or by tabling at shopping centers.

This humble work demands a lot from each individual and for the team together.

It entails many skills that will be needed in the Development Instructor’s work: to be able to promote a good cause, skills to argue and reason on the problems and solutions of the world, skills to plan and organize logistics such as room and board, skills in presenting oneself with confidence, and skills in writing, making layouts, etc.

The effort put into the fundraising provides many people with the opportunity to make a contribution towards a better world.

However, if you only focus on the money, the doors of opportunity that are opening around you each time you speak to someone will shut! It is about reaching out, reaching out, and reaching out again... Information, education and communication. The American public needs awareness of the issues in the world and your task will be to make people listen and to gain their support. Here you will have to practice your understanding of Africa, what you will be doing and why.

Specialization for Your Position in Africa

Having decided your position in a project, the specialization period is where you focus on getting prepared to fill it. IICD offers a unique structure and a framework of open management. Within this, each person has every opportunity to apply theoretic knowledge into practical experiences. You need to communicate with your future Project Leader, the staff, fellow participants and Development Instructors who have already been in Africa. You need to develop your project skills and capacity to make a difference. You need to produce useful materials to bring to the project.

Planning and Evaluation

Planning and evaluation are ongoing elements in the entire program. Half way through the preparation period there is a midway meeting and at the end of the training there is a final conclusion meeting after which the Development Instructor enters into an agreement with Humana People to People about the second period. There will also be regular "Peoples Exams" at IICD where you will conclude and present about your progress during your training. You will also be expected to prepare and give courses and presentations to your team, and others, during your training period.

Language Training

Language is one of the keys in understanding a people’s culture. At IICD, English is the common language. If your development work will take place in a Portuguese speaking country, like Mozambique or Angola, it is essential to master Portuguese. If you will volunteer  in an English speaking country, you will work on your English if you are not a native speaker.  

 Art and Culture

Personal Fitness

Personal fitness is a precondition for any Development Instructor. Development work is demanding and takes often place under unfamiliar conditions in which you need to be able to work and be productive. It is not just about doing sports - it is also about having healthy habits, eating healthily, to avoid getting sick, to have stamina and perseverance in staying with a task until it is completed. And it is about taking care of the welfare of everyone

You are in the Driver’s Seat

The demand for people who are capable of instructing in development is colossal. Globally, learning how to organize, lead and get development to take off are qualities in high regard. Today and in the future, leaders who understand how to mobilize people, work with diversity and manage development programs, are necessary. The Development Instructor Program trains you exactly for this in a hands-on no-nonsense program, where you are the central person in the education at the institute.

Every Development Instructor has access to a computer linked to the digital database with the curriculum. The training program is basically divided into 3 elements: Studies, Courses and Experiences. At present there is a huge amount of studies, courses and experiences in the database. But it is also essential to underline that our curriculum is not just there – it has to be alive – with new studies, courses and experiences added, outdated information or files deleted. This is an ongoing task for everyone using the system – Development Instructors and their teachers.

Here are some examples of titles of study tasks:

Here are some examples of course titles:

Life-transforming Experiences:

You and we together

From day one you are involved in all that it takes to run the institute. Everyone takes part in the cooking, dishwashing, cleaning and promotion. And each person has an area of responsibility – it can be maintenance, computers and network, the library, cultural arrangements, the team’s economy, the food or the enrollment of new Development Instructors. It is a chance to learn how to take good care of things that have a great impact on the quality of our daily lives. There is a lot to learn from this.

"Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a fire", William Butler Yeats