Teachers, Especially French-Speaking Teachers Needed for Nine-Month Assignments in Africa

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- IFESH, the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help, is recruiting certified teachers, professors, and school administrators with at least three years teaching experience, to serve for one year as a volunteer with the Teachers for Africa program (TFA). TFA volunteers spend one academic year in Africa providing support to local community educational reform efforts. Applicants selected to participate in the program receive a monthly cost of living stipend, round trip airfare, health and life insurance, as well as a settling in allowance to help with relocation expenses.

IFESH, which was established by the late Reverend Dr. Leon H. Sullivan in 1981, provides highly respected, grassroots education, health care, poverty reduction, conflict mitigation, and community development assistance in 10 sub-Saharan African countries; Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, and South Africa.

The TFA participants work with the local communities in teacher training colleges and institutes, universities, and government educational agencies to assist with administrative management, classroom teaching, development of child-centered learning curriculums as well as information technology and ESL instruction. Volunteers may be placed in Benin, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, or Namibia. Benin, Djibouti, and Guinea are Francophone countries. There is an urgent need for French speaking teachers to volunteer to work in these countries.

"Africa is a vast continent, and the educational needs of its people remain acute," says Dr. Julie Sullivan, IFESH President and CEO. "Education is among the most important factors for achieving sustainable poverty reduction in developing countries and the TFA program is helping to ensure access to basic education for millions of children and adults by training African educators to teach their own people."

More than 800 TFA placements have been made to sub-Saharan Africa since 1992, and more than 68,000 African teachers have benefited from this training. These 68,000 teachers have, in turn, trained members of their own communities. "The program provides American educators with an opportunity to share their knowledge and expertise with the thousands of undereducated children in Africa. The work is so incredibly IFESH, rewarding and the needs so great, that a large percentage of TFA volunteers return a second year, or occasionally even a third year," continues Dr. Sullivan.

February 28, 2005 is the deadline for applying for the 2005-2006 program. Applications, transcripts, letters of recommendation and other related materials must be received by the close of business February 28, 2005. Completed applications and related application materials should be forwarded to:

The International Foundation for Education & Self-Help

Teachers for Africa Program

5040 East Shea Boulevard, Suite 260

Scottsdale, Arizona. 85254

The TFA program is open to qualified U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the application by visiting the IFESH web site at: www.ifesh.org, or by calling 800-835-3530. A pre-departure orientation will be held in Arizona in August 2005 and participants will depart for their posts in September.

In addition to the TFA Program, IFESH has also built nearly 200 schools on the continent, principally in South Africa. Additionally, in partnership with the Latter Day Saints Church and Brother's Brother, IFESH has sent a number of 40-foot containers of donated books and other supplies valued at 30 million U.S. dollars to the neediest areas of Africa.

The Teachers for Africa program is an IFESH initiative that is supported through a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).