Hello, FYI, see the announcement below. I am working with this person and can affirm that this is a worthy cause and a great opportunity for someone who has the time and flexibility and who wants to spend the summer working with kids in another country. I Can answer some limited questions for anyone who is interested. **** Empowerment Through Integration (ETI) is a 501(c)3 certified non-profit that is changing the narrative surrounding disability both for blind and sighted youth. We create integrated, supportive spaces with life skills training, emotional support, and community service opportunities. Through these integrated spaces, they are able to break down internal and external barriers surrounding views on ability in order to create positive change in society. Our ultimate goal is to enable society to understand that inclusion of all is a value for all. ETI is currently looking for Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Specialists or TVI (Teachers of the Vision Impaired) to volunteer as Curriculum Developer and Instructor for ETI Empowerment Programs executed in Lebanon. Volunteer Curriculum Developer and Instructor will be responsible for the design and organization of our specialized Life Skills Programs? curricula as well as leading the training of ETI?s team in Lebanon during the summer of 2019. Volunteer Curriculum Developer and Instructor will be required to travel to Lebanon to train our team of eager, hard-working ETI volunteers on the ground as well as implement our Life Skills Intensive program in Lebanon. RESPONSIBILITIES list of 10 items ? Design and revise ETI curricula and training materials associated with Empowerment Programs (EP) for youth with visual impairment, their families and volunteers with the guidance of ETI?s disability committee; ? Lead the training of ETI team in Lebanon (on-site) for the implementation of volunteer training program, life skills programs and family workshop in the summer of 2019; ? Collaborate with ETI Lebanon team members with localizing and tailoring EP curricula according to local socio-cultural context and participants? needs; ? Create and implement biweekly online training sessions of ETI life skills trainers associated with best life skills practices and updated curriculum materials; ? Support local ETI life skills trainers? in determining each participants? capabilities and needs in the areas of Orientation & Mobility (O&M), Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Social Literacy and recommend goals and objectives for future programming of individual students; ? Contribute to the composition of inclusive Human-Centric curricula materials for the training of public-school teachers and administrators; ? Assist Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) consultant for the evaluation of programs as needed ? Participate on weekly ETI's team meetings (phone calls, Skype, etc.) ? Check email account daily and respond to emails in a timely manner ? Report to ETI Lebanon Country Director list end POSITION REQUIREMENTS The Volunteer Curriculum Developer and Instructor need to be comfortable working as part of a team, lead development and revision of ETI specialized life skills curricula (starting March 10th and continuing through December 2019), be available for travel to Lebanon to support our summer programs between June 15th and July 31st 2019 (6 weeks) and support the composition of training and advocacy materials about inclusion of people with visual impairment (starting August 1st and continuing through December 2019). Education/Experience Requirements: list of 10 items ? Master?s degree (preferred) or Bachelor?s degree in Orientation and Mobility from an accredited university which meets the ACVREP 13 core domain areas ? 1-3 years of experience in the field of blindness ? Comprehensive knowledge on the latest trends impacting the blind and low vision community as well as a general understanding of the blindness community ? Demonstrates knowledge of specialized assessment, instruction, interventions, and modifications for individual visually impaired students ? Demonstrates effective skills related to instructing paraprofessionals, other staff, and teachers in the effective use of specialized equipment, communication, and modifications or accommodations for students with visual impairment ? Comprehensive knowledge of characteristics of individuals with vision impairments and other disabilities to include developmental, cognitive and socio-cultural influences ? The ability to recognize and respond to individual student differences ? The ability to work in a collaborative and cooperative manner with volunteers and ETI staff ? Excellent interpersonal skills with attention to detail, ability to prioritize and meet deadlines, and ability to handle confidential material ? Ability to work independently and manage multiple tasks list end Graduate degrees in Orientation & Mobility (O&M), or dual certification O&M and TVI, with (2-year minimum) experience in program development (including O&M) for blind youth, and experience working with volunteers and teaching abroad are strongly preferred. TO APPLY Interested candidates should submit a resume to ETI USA Program Director, Anna Barbosa, at abarbosa at etivision.org ETI will cover the costs associated with housing and airfare (roundtrip) for the duration of the program in the summer of 2019 (6 weeks). Volunteer will be responsible for costs associated with transportation on the ground, meals and personal expenses. For more information about ETI Empowerment Programs, please refer to our website www.etivision.org and/or our social media at @ETIntegration Edward C. Bell, Ph.D., CRC, NOMC, Director, Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness Louisiana Tech University 600 Mayfield Ave / 210 Woodard Hall PO Box 3158 Ruston LA 71272 Office: 318.257.4554 Fax: 318.257.2259 ebell at latech.edu www.pdrib.com ************* "I am somehow less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." -- Stephen Jay Gould From: Anna Barbosa <abarbosa at etivision.org> Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2019 10:44 PM To: Edward Bell <ebell at pdrib.com> Subject: meeting and call for volunteers Hi Edward! How have you been? I hope all is well and that you are having a great beginning of 2019. Our NGO ETI will have a some new activities in the summer and a new project in collaboration with a German Group in Lebanon throughout the year, and I would like to know if it would be possible to set up a meeting with you for sometime next week so I can inform you about these projects and we can talk about how we might be able to collaborate in 2019. In this regard, would you have any availability to meet (via Google Hangouts, Skype, or any other platform of your preference)? Also, we are currently recruiting two volunteer Curriculum Writer and Instructors to collaborate with us for the revision and design of our life skills programs and come to Lebanon in the summer of 2019. Would it be possible for you to help us advertise this volunteer position with your network? I have added a pdf document with the position description here. I have also copied and pasted the call for volunteers below. Thank you in advance for your support! I am looking forward to catching up next week! Best regards, Anna Empowerment Through Integration (ETI) is a 501(c)3 certified non-profit that is changing the narrative surrounding disability both for blind and sighted youth. We create integrated, supportive spaces with life skills training, emotional support, and community service opportunities.?Through these integrated spaces, they are able to break down internal and external barriers surrounding views on ability in order to create positive change in society.?Our?ultimate goal is to enable society to understand that inclusion of all is a value for all. ETI is currently looking for Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Specialists or TVI (Teachers of the Vision Impaired) to volunteer as Curriculum Developer and Instructor for ETI Empowerment Programs executed in Lebanon. Volunteer Curriculum Developer and Instructor will be responsible for the design and organization of our specialized Life Skills Programs? curricula as well as leading the training of ETI?s team in Lebanon during the summer of 2019. Volunteer Curriculum Developer and Instructor will be required to travel to Lebanon to train our team of eager, hard-working ETI volunteers on the ground as well as implement our Life Skills Intensive program in Lebanon. RESPONSIBILITIES * Design and revise ETI curricula and training materials associated with Empowerment Programs (EP) for youth with visual impairment, their families and volunteers with the guidance of ETI?s disability committee; * Lead the training of ETI team in Lebanon (on-site) for the implementation of volunteer training program, life skills programs and family workshop in the summer of 2019; * Collaborate with ETI Lebanon team members with localizing and tailoring EP curricula according to local socio-cultural context and participants? needs; * Create and implement biweekly online training sessions of ETI life skills trainers associated with best life skills practices and updated curriculum materials; * Support local ETI life skills trainers? in determining each participants? capabilities and needs in the areas of Orientation & Mobility (O&M), Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Social Literacy and recommend goals and objectives for future programming of individual students; * Contribute to the composition of inclusive Human-Centric curricula materials for the training of public-school teachers and administrators; * Assist Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) consultant for the evaluation of programs as needed * Participate on weekly ETI's team meetings (phone calls, Skype, etc) * Check email account daily and respond to emails in a timely manner * Report to ETI Lebanon Country Director POSITION REQUIREMENTS The Volunteer Curriculum Developer and Instructor need to be comfortable working as part of a team, lead development and revision of ETI specialized life skills curricula (starting March 10th and continuing through December 2019), be available for travel to Lebanon to support our summer programs between June 15th and July 31st 2019 (6 weeks) and support the composition of training and advocacy materials about inclusion of people with visual impairment (starting August 1st and continuing through December 2019). Education/Experience Requirements: * Master?s degree (preferred) or Bachelor?s degree in Orientation and Mobility from an accredited university which meets the ACVREP 13 core domain areas * 1-3 years of experience in the field of blindness * Comprehensive knowledge on the latest trends impacting the blind and low vision community as well as a general understanding of the blindness community * Demonstrates knowledge of specialized assessment, instruction, interventions, and modifications for individual visually impaired students * Demonstrates effective skills related to instructing paraprofessionals, other staff, and teachers in the effective use of specialized equipment, communication, and modifications or accommodations for students with visual impairment * Comprehensive knowledge of characteristics of individuals with vision impairments and other disabilities to include developmental, cognitive and socio-cultural influences * The ability to recognize and respond to individual student differences * The ability to work in a collaborative and cooperative manner with volunteers and ETI staff * Excellent interpersonal skills with attention to detail, ability to prioritize and meet deadlines, and ability to handle confidential material * Ability to work independently and manage multiple tasks Graduate degrees in Orientation & Mobility (O&M), or dual certification O&M and TVI, with (2-year minimum) experience in program development (including O&M) for blind youth, and experience working with volunteers and teaching abroad are strongly preferred. TO APPLY Interested candidates should submit a resume to ETI USA Program Director, Anna Barbosa, at abarbosa at etivision.org ETI will cover the costs associated with housing and airfare (roundtrip) for the duration of the program in the summer of 2019 (6 weeks). Volunteer will be responsible for costs associated with transportation on the ground, meals and personal expenses. For more information about ETI Empowerment Programs, please refer to our website www.etivision.org http://www.etivision.org and/or our social media at @ETIntegration Anna Barbosa ETI USA Program Director Empowerment Through Integration Email: abarbosa at etivision.org Phone number (Lebanon): + 961 70 34 59 73 WhatsApp: +1 (915) 307-0924 Website: www.etivision.org http://www.etivision.org Facebook: @ETIntegration Instagram: ETI Rafiqi Camp