By Nishika Ramchandani
Gardens for Health International: Multiple positions open
What We Believe
We believe that growing and eating healthy food can – and must – be a part of the long-term solution to malnutrition.
The world is facing an acute food and nutrition crisis. We must meet the world’s food needs with an approach that is environmentally sustainable, recognizes the primacy of nutrition for agriculture and health and strengthens local communities.
Through our work, we are changing the way that malnutrition is treated by moving away from short-term handouts and towards equipping families with the knowledge and resources to grow their own nutritious food and improve their health. We envision a future in which the key to lasting food and nutrient security for vulnerable families lies in their own backyards.
US-Based Positions
US Development and Communications Associate
The Development and Communications Associate will manage our grant writing and reporting process, and will help lead US-based fundraising efforts. This is an extraordinary opportunity to get practical experience in grant writing and fundraising while also working as part of a tight-knit and fast-paced team.
The US Operations Associate will be responsible for ensuring the smooth functioning of all US operations and logistics and provide support to our US-based team. This is an extraordinary opportunity to work closely with the leadership of an innovative organization and to see first hand how a fast-paced nonprofit office operates.
Full Job Description Here.
Rwanda-Based Positions
Rwanda positions will either be based out of GHI’s Demonstration and Innovation Farm located in Ndera, Rwanda – about 30 minutes outside of Kigali – or in our staff house located in Kigali city center. Hours will be full-time only due to the nature of the international location.
The Development Associate will manage in-country grant writing and reporting processes in Rwanda and will work with our Development and Communications Team to identify strategies for strengthening in-country fundraising efforts. The Development Associate will also support the administration of external partnerships as well as follow-up, report-writing, and capturing lessons learned. This is an extraordinary opportunity to get practical experience in development and partnership coordination while also gaining international experience with an innovative and rapidly growing nonprofit organization.
Gardens for Health is seeking a dynamic and forward-thinking recent graduate to join our Agriculture Team in Ndera, Rwanda. Our Farm Fellow will provide thought leadership and day-to-day management support on our five-acre farm in Ndera, Rwanda.
The Executive Assistant will work directly with our Senior Leadership Team and will play a lead role in ensuring the smooth functioning of our headquarters in Ndera, Rwanda. This is an extraordinary opportunity to work closely with the leadership of an innovative and fast-paced nonprofit, and to gain valuable experience working on the ground with an international organization.
Action Against Hunger: Moringa Proposal Development
Terms of Reference for Student Placement
Moringa Proposal Development
- Background
Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in Asia and trails behind on human development indicators (HDI ranking: 138 out of 182 countries). While poverty was reduced significantly, the number of vulnerable people has increased. Most people who escaped poverty did so by a small margin. The loss of only $0,3 per day would cause Cambodia’s poverty rate to double to 40 percent.
Despite economic, social and medical progress, the nutritional situation in Cambodia is alarming and has not improved in the last 10 years. 1 out of 28 children will not reach 5 years of age, and nearly 10% of children are dangerously thin (wasted) and 32% are stunted. Only 5% of these wasted children are treated and 76% of children aged 6 to 23 months do not eat properly in accordance with international feeding practices. Wasting and stunting can have profound, irreversible and intergenerational consequences. Wasted children are at greater risk of death and severe illness due to common childhood infections. As for the millions of stunted children, not only will they be forever stunted, but they are also more likely to have poorer cognitive and educational outcomes into adolescence[1]_[2], hence less able to contribute to their nation’s growth[3].
Action Against Hunger is looking for alternatives to the traditional approaches of addressing undernutrition by promoting the use of locally low cost available nutrition food in children’s diet. One such alternative is the use of the Moringa Oleifera plant. Moringa Oleifera is a tree commonly found in Cambodia. It grows unusually fast under harsh conditions in the tropic – up to 15 feet from seeds in one year – and on marginal land with a minimum of water. It is proven to have important nutritive value when compared to typical nutritious plant foods. The Moringa plant can be used in several different ways in a number of different forms. For example, its leaves a very nutrient dense and can be eaten fresh or dried into a powder form to be taken as a health supplement. Moringa seeds can also be used to make nutritious tea and ground seeds can be used to even purify water. Moringa can be incorporated into the diet in many forms and is incredibly easy to grow and the leaves can be harvested 8 times per year. Gram for gram, Moringa has 7 times the vitamin C of oranges, 4 times the vitamin A of carrots, 4 times the calcium of milk, 3 times the potassium as bananas and 2 times the protein of yoghurt and high in antioxidants. Not only leaves are valuable. The oil derived from Moringa seeds is starting to be used for cosmetic, cooking, biofuel and machine lubricant. At the same time, the international export market is expanding rapidly creating a positive enabling environment for Cambodian smallholder farmers who would be interesting to be involved in this new promising market to sustain their livelihoods.
Consequently, Action Against Hunger wants to carry out projects to improve the food security and nutritional status of the most vulnerable population through the promotion of the production, the processing, the commercialization and the consumption of Moringa, taking in consideration the existing best practices, limitations and innovative solutions. In line with the expected outcome, Action Against Hunger is looking for an intern/ student studying an advanced degree in Agriculture/agronomy, Nutrition and with professional experience in food security and in proposal development to carry out this assignment.
OBJECTIVE: To develop project documents (summary/ Concept note + full proposal) aiming at improving nutrition and Food Security &Livelihood (FSL) for rural population in the province of Preah Vihear in Cambodia.
- Tasks and responsibilities:
The student will work with the existing team in Cambodia (mainly with the Partnership and Fundraising Coordinator, the Field Coordinator and the Project Managers)
The student will be primarily responsible for:
- Conducting a feasibility study (mapping and scoping exercise) to inform and guide the future project development :
- Mapping of the use of Moringa
- Defining key opportunities and challenges in promoting widely the use of Moringa for nutrition and income generation/livelihoods.
- Ascertain the marketability and socio-cultural implications of Moringa??
- Formation of farmer associations/ cooperatives or linking new farmers to the existing community organizations.
Feasibility study scope: initial briefings, orientation and desk review, inception report / feasibility study work plan, stakeholder’s consultations and needs assessments, and market assessment
- Definition of the overarching structure for the FSL and nutrition project based on Moringa
- Compile and write the project documents that will be submitted to potential donors such as??
- Requirements:
- Ongoing University Degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in any of the following area is compulsory: Agriculture/agronomy/agroecology, Public Health, Nutrition
- Knowledge and experience in Feasibility study highly desirable
- Knowledge and experience in FSL project highly desirable
- Knowledge and experience in Nutrition project highly desirable
- Knowledge and experience in Project Cycle Management highly desirable
- Experience in developing countries highly desirable
- Experience in proposal writing is an asset
- Person Specification
- Strong networker, with a cultural and political understanding of the South East Asia context
- Competency in food and nutrition security, agronomy
- Good analytical, research and negotiation skills.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Proven ability to plan and deliver work to agreed deadlines.
- Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective relationships in a multi-cultural environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and gender.
- English: advanced level in speaking and writing
- Time frame
- 2-3 months
- Budget
- Transportation with Cambodia during working hours will be covered by Action Against Hunger.
- Action Against Hunger will provide decent place for working (desk, chair,..) and stationaries.
- Action Against Hunger will support the visa
- The students will have to cover his/her food and accommodation
- The student will need to cover travel from the US to Cambodia (and back), health insurance and repatriation insurance.
- Application
- Interested candidates should send an updated CV and letter of motivation by email indicating in the subject “Cambodia Moringa 2017” to spietzsch@actionagainsthunger.org
[1] Grantham-McGregor S, Cheung YB, Cueto S, Glewwe P, Richter L,Strupp B. Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries. Lancet 2007; 369: 60-70
[2]UNICEF (2013) Improving Child Nutrition, UNICEF: New York
[3]Vogl T. 2012. Height, Skills, and Labor Market Outcomes in Mexico. Department of Economic, Princeton University
Action Against Hunger: Water System Proposal Development
Terms of Reference for Student Placement:
Water System Proposal Development
- Background
Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in Asia and trails behind on human development indicators (HDI ranking: 138 out of 182 countries). While poverty was reduced significantly, the number of vulnerable people has increased. Most people who escaped poverty did so by a small margin. The loss of only $0,3 per day would cause Cambodia’s poverty rate to double to 40 percent. Despite economic, social and medical progress, the nutritional situation in Cambodia is alarming and has not improved in the last 10 years. 1 out of 28 children will not reach 5 years of age, and nearly 10% of children are dangerously thin (wasted) and 32% are stunted. Only 5% of these wasted children are treated and 76% of children aged 6 to 23 months do not eat properly in accordance with international feeding practices. Wasting and stunting can have profound, irreversible and intergenerational consequences. Wasted children are at greater risk of death and severe illness due to common childhood infections. As for the millions of stunted children, not only will they be forever stunted, but they are also more likely to have poorer cognitive and educational outcomes into adolescence[1]_[2], hence less able to contribute to their nation’s growth[3].
Factors and pathways leading to undernutrition are diverse, complex, and most often interconnected. The immediate determinants are related to food and nutrient intake and to health. Low access to quality water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are also major underlying determinants. There is strong scientific evidence that links undernutrition to unsafe or inadequate water and hygiene practice[4]. UNICEF estimates that more than 90 percent of death from diarrhea illness (which is one of the top three killers of children under 5 worldwide[5]) in young children can be attributed to unsafe or inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene practices[6].
Worldwide by the end of 2015, 91% of the population used an improved drinking-water source, and 58% enjoyed the convenience and associated health benefits of a piped water supply on premises[7]. While in Cambodia in 2015, only 76 % of households use an improved drinking-water source, and only 7% enjoyed piped water supply on premises in rural area. Except Laos where the situation is quite similar, this coverage is by far the lowest rate in the East Asia Pacific region, with similar coverage rates to countries like Congo or Rwanda or Yemen. Low access to safe water is still a major characteristic of poverty in Cambodia.
Indeed, the economic progress in Cambodia has not yet had a significant and positive impact on the access to safe drinking water at home. Decades of projects focused on conventional water supply-sides approaches (wells – ponds – rain harvest water, with or without subsidies) have shown their limit with evidence that a significant proportion of wells are either not operating or unproductive or even sometimes not safe. This requires new approaches for the establishment of sustainable water supply infrastructure, use and maintenance system. Various sector stakeholders have been exploring alternative approaches in water supply in rural area with highly encouraging results. Piped water supply on premise is one of these. The increase of income associated with an increase of awareness about the importance of safe water at home have created a positive enabling environment to develop piped water system at village/ commune level. The focus on sustainable structure for managing the services provided and a view of households as consumers rather than beneficiaries is what sets piped water system apart from conventional approaches to WASH service provision generally implemented in rural area in Cambodia.
Consequently, Action Against Hunger plans to develop new projects for rural piped water system, taking in consideration the existing best practices, limitations and innovative solutions. In line with the expected outcome, Action Against Hunger is looking for an intern/ student studying an advanced degree in hydrology and with professional experience in water supply and in proposal development to carry out this assignment.
Objective
To develop project documents (summary/ Concept note + full proposal) aiming at improving access to piped water supply on premises for rural population in the province of Preah Vihear in Cambodia.
- Tasks and responsibilities:
The student will work with the existing team in Cambodia (mainly with the Partnership and Fundraising Coordinator, the Field Coordinator and the Project Managers)
The student will be primarily responsible for:
- Assessment of the water supply situation in Cambodia
- Collect and analyze of secondary data and information
- Identification of pre-selected sites
- Field assessment in the pre-selected sites, collection and analysis of primary data.
- Definition of the proposed piped water system(s), draft design and estimate sizing and costing (done with the technical team of the Ministry Rural Development who is in charge of the Household Water supply).
- Calculations of costs for required for capital expenditures, operation & maintenance, using for example the WASHCost approach.
- Compile and write the project documents that will be submitted to potential donors
- Requirements:
- Ongoing University Degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in water-related studies is compulsory (hydrology, hydraulics, geophysics, civil engineering, environmental science, etc.)
- Ability to lead field surveys and technical design for rural water systems with minimum supervision
- Knowledge and experience in Project Cycle Management highly desirable
- Knowledge and experience in field assessment highly desirable
- Experience in developing countries highly desirable
- Experience in proposal writing is an asset
- Person Specification
- Strong networker, with a cultural and political understanding of the South East Asia context
- Sound understanding of piped water systems.
- Good analytical, research and negotiation skills.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Proven ability to plan and deliver work to agreed deadlines.
- Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective relationships in a multi-cultural environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and gender.
- English: advanced level in speaking and writing. Khmer a plus.
- Time frame
- 2-3 months
6. Budget
- Transportation with Cambodia during working hours will be covered by Action Against Hunger.
- Action Against Hunger will provide decent place for working (desk, chair,..) and stationaries.
- Action Against Hunger will support the visa
- The students will have to cover his/her food and accommodation
- The student will need to cover travel from the US to Cambodia (and back), health insurance and repatriation insurance.
7. Application
- Interested candidates should send an updated CV and letter of motivation by email indicating in the subject “Cambodia Water 2017” to spietzsch@actionagainsthunger.org
[1] Grantham-McGregor S, Cheung YB, Cueto S, Glewwe P, Richter L,Strupp B. Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries. Lancet 2007; 369: 60-70
[2]UNICEF (2013) Improving Child Nutrition, UNICEF: New York
[3]Vogl T. 2012. Height, Skills, and Labor Market Outcomes in Mexico. Department of Economic, Princeton University
[4]Black, Robert E., Cesar G. Victora, Susan P. Walker, Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, Parul Christian, Mercedes de Onis, Majid Ezzati, Sally Grantham-McGregor, Joanne Katz, Reynaldo Martorell, and Ricardo Uauy. “Maternal and child under nutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries”. The Lancet 2013; 382 (9890): 427-451. Pruss-Ustun et al. 2008
[5]Liu et al. 2012. Global, Regional, and National Causes of Child Mortality: An Updated Systematic Analysis for 2010 with Time Trends since 2000. The Lancet 379, 2151 – 2161.
[6]UNICEF. 2012. Children and Water: Global Statistics. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund. http://www.unicef. org/wash/index_31600.html
[7] WHO / UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme on Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) 2015
