Hesperian Releases Zika Prevention Guide in Kreyol

About Hesperian:  Hesperian produces and shares easy-to-understand health information for people worldwide.  Our work began in the 1970s in Ajoya, Mexico. There, an expanding group of volunteers working with villagers created a simple manual to use medically accurate knowledge in a culturally appropriate way to address community health needs. The Hesperian Foundation was established to publish this manual in 1973 as Donde No Hay Doctor. In 1977, to share it with the world, Hesperian published the English language version Where There Is No Doctor, now the most widely used health book in the world.Over the years, we have partnered with community health workers, villagers, medical professionals, and others to develop, publish and share information. We publish 20 titles, spanning community health, women’s health, children with disabilities, HIV, and environmental health, and distribute many others. The global spread of our materials is a result of these partnerships and our common commitment to improving health conditions for those most in need. The Hesperian Foundation was re-named Hesperian Health Guides in 2011 to better communicate the substance and spirit of what we do. We also launched our new digital resource center in 2011 as part of our Digital Commons Initiative, an extension of our pioneering “open copyright” policy. This landmark digital platform enables global users to search, translate, customize and download our content, and to access our image library. Through this ongoing Initiative, we will evaluate and employ emerging digital technology to ensure that people everywhere have access to empowering health knowledge.  Throughout our history, Hesperian has joined together with others around the world to promote health justice, and has been a leader in the People’s Health Movement, both in the US and internationally.

Volunteering: Volunteers are essential to our work.  Last year alone we had 233 volunteers contribute over 15,900 hours on projects including translations, mobile apps, impact analysis, the HealthWiki, the Hesperian Image Library, marketing, and social media.  If you’re looking for a fun way to get involved, we have volunteer opportunities ranging from researching topics for new books to expanding our digital reach to packing books to send around the world. We are also open to your ideas for how you can contribute! You’ll gain valuable experience with a non-profit publisher working for social justice. Most volunteers must be able to work in our Berkeley, CA office. E-mail jobsearch@hesperian.org for more information.

Google AdWords Volunteer:  Hesperian Health Guides, non-profit publisher of Where There Is No Doctor and other grassroots health materials, is seeking a volunteer to work with staff on increasing our reach using Google AdWords. With resources in over 80 languages on topics ranging from disability health to workers’ safety, we hope to expand our scope to reach even more of the people who need our clear health resources.  This is an unpaid, volunteer position. We are asking for an initial commitment of 5-10 hours/week for 3 months at our office in downtown Berkeley, with the option to extend for up to a year.  If you are interested in joining our team, please send a resume and short cover letter to jobsearch@hesperian.org with the subject line: Google AdWords Volunteer. Position will remain open until filled.