International Development Programs

• World Learning International Development Programs aim to bridge the gap between the desire for human development and the ability to achieve that goal.
• Programs with participants from more than 140 countries work to unlock the potential of individuals, communities and institutions to take charge of their own development.

Teferi Kassahun

Teferi Kassahun, an Ethiopian construction worker, saw AIDS claim the lives of dozens of coworkers before he discovered a World Learning program that unlocked his potential to help.

The education and training program enabled Kassahun to become a peer counselor on his work site in Gondar, a city in northern Ethiopia. Before the program, Kassahun struggled with persuading even his best friend to get tested for HIV when the friend and his wife fell ill.

Tens of thousands of construction workers are deployed throughout the country, as the government moves to provide more citizens with reliable electricity, improved roads, and irrigation. Projects take workers away from home anywhere from a few months to eight years, leading some to engage in risky sexual behavior.

Kassahun leads a weekly small group of peers in talking about how such behavior can alter the course of a person’s life and affect their families. The sessions also link workers with local organizations that provide condoms, medical care, and voluntary counseling and testing.

The nationwide program plans to train enough peer educators to reach 33,000 construction workers, as well as 3,000 commercial sex workers. The United States Agency for International Development funds the program, and works in partnership with the Ethiopian government.

Kassahun said the training had a profound effect on the way he views himself and his coworkers. He made a personal vow to remain faithful to his wife, and the training gave him the confidence to counsel his best friend.

"There has been a change in my desire to help others," he said. "You will see me changing, with other peer educators, to a better lifestyle."

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