When I arrived as the next Peace Corps Volunteer to serve with EFA International, it was clear this program was a huge success. Members felt empowered and attitudes and behaviors of both HIV-positive and HIV-negative people in the community were changing. I thought to myself: this is great, but how can it be better? I realized, the previous Volunteer had created this empowering and effective program, but now my role was to make it sustainable, to make it EFA’s program and not the Volunteer’s.

In April 2008, EFA International established a Peer Mentoring Program to assist with the development of the youth network in northern Cameroon. Five members of AJEPS, the first youth association to be supported by EFA, …