Testing parts of the Youth Peer Volunteer Model in Kiribati
We don’t always get things right the first time. Usually, we have to try a few times to make it work. This is what a prototype is – a simple test of a proposed model we can run at low cost and low risk. It’s a way of developing, testing, and improving an idea before inviting wider participation.
In Kiribati, we developed a youth peer-to-peer volunteering model designed to bring young people with different skills together to share those skills with other young people in the community. We didn’t know how much support the young people would need, so we tested it out by running a prototype.
In May 2023, volunteers from YPEER joined volunteers from Tungaru Youth Agriculture (TYA) to run an activity with young people from the Angaieta community in Tarawa, Kiribati – in a small, low-cost test run. This activity helped the program to understand how much support the volunteers might need, what challenges in collaboration there might be for volunteers with different skills, and any further training volunteers may require.
From this test, we clarified the support and training volunteers would need so the knowledge could be applied to the model design in preparation for handover to Y-PEER and any other Kiribati organisations interested in implementing.
What we learned
- There were no major barriers to collaboration for the volunteers from YPEER and TYA, although some facilitation from the Youth Officer at YPEER was required to ensure everyone understood the goals of the activity.
- Volunteers would benefit from having a workshop package or manual to follow, including both topics for the workshop.
- There was an opportunity for YPEER to adapt their sexual and reproductive health training to go beyond knowledge sharing and focus on attitudes and behavior change.
Want to learn more? Read all the latest news from the Hub.
Browse updates![](https://www.australianvolunteers.com/assets/tr/Innovation-Hub/_ctaWebp/34022/Person-filling-out-activity-sheet.webp)