Week One

So I have been here in the Dominican Republic for a week now, sorry I haven’t been very good at keeping up my blog. I’m new at this so hopefully I’ll get better as things go along. I guess I’ll just start from the beginning…

I got in without any major problems. As soon as I stepped off the plane into the Puerto Plata airport I was surrounded by the Dominican culture. Live music filled the airport and the people were loud and busy and everything was very fast and crazy. I made through customs okay and caught the bus to Cabarete, where I am staying. Our hotel is nice (although I’m sure it wouldn’t meet my mother’s standards). It’s inside a gated community and we have a 24 hour guard on duty who carries a 9mm in the seat of his pants. I’m afraid to talk to him. There is rarely hot water, and the power is off every day from noon until 4. We do have wireless internet in the lobby, which is actually more a tiki hut than a lobby. There is also a heart shaped swimming poolWe’re about a 3 minute walk to the beach and to the town. The town is very fun and always busy, although I’m told is pretty mellow for the Dominican Republic. The beach is beautiful and always busy, but today Lauren, Rachel, and I, walked a little further down the beach and found a nice little secluded spot where not a single person bothered us. It was like we were on our own private island, it was beautiful.

The past week we have had orientation to prepare for camp. Originally I thought I was going to be teaching the PE class, but I have been changed to be a group counselor for the Campéones (champions) group. I am actually very happy about this, because now I have one group of kids that I get to know very well as opposed to seeing all 150 kids at the youth camp once a week. I also get to go on all the field trips now which will be very exciting as well. I have two other co-counselors, AJ from Northwestern and Marie from Jersey. I think we’re going to get along great and hopefully we can make it fun for all the kids. Friday the kids had registration so I got to meet all the kids as they came to sign up for camp. They are absolutely adorable!!! And they are all so excited for camp! I’ve gotten to know a few of them throughout the week, just meeting them on the beach and in town and I have already fallen in love with a little boy named Bernie. He is eight and I just might bring him home with me. His brothers and some of the other volunteers and I built a sand castle on the beach one day. Then they buried me and Rachel in the sand. They made me into a mermaid and Rachel into a star. Now every time they see me they yell “Sirena! Sirena!” Which means mermaid and they call Rachel “estrella” which means star. Most of the kids live in the callejon, where the school is located. It’s a road at the end of town a couple miles long lined with dumpy little houses, stores, and restaurants. The people here are very poor. Children run around in their underwear, and stray dogs wander aimlessly throughout the streets. Lots of people here ride motorcycles and they have “motoconchos” which are motorcycle taxis. As volunteers we are absolutely NOT allowed to ride these, as there are frequent motoconcho accidents due to reckless and drunk drivers. They really are pretty scary.

I have had the opportunity to get to know the area a little bit and it truly is gorgeous here. We went hiking in “la loma” the other day which is the mountain/jungle the other day. We were supposed to hike to a watering hole where we can swim, but the people wouldn’t let us in so we went to a cave instead. It was really fun. Chi Che, who works at the youth camp, was our own personal tour guide and was full of interesting tid bits. We picked lots of tropical fruits right off the tress and ate them. My favorite were these little things called “limoncitos.” Unfortunately they made everybody a little bit sick… good thing I brought down that diarrhea medicine, haha.

What is the DREAM Project?

The Dominican Republic Education And Mentoring (DREAM) Project, a US 501c3 nonprofit organization, provides quality education for all children born into poverty in rural areas and small communities of the Dominican Republic which fulfills its mission by:
• Building classrooms, libraries, computer and science labs and sport recreation areas• Securing books, school supplies and educational materials for the classrooms• Partnering with public schools• Operating private preschool classrooms• Operating youth groups and summer camps• Empowering local communities by providing models, resources and training• Raising awareness within the international community• Soliciting international volunteers; and• Training Dominican teachers and local community members in modern child centered teaching methodologies
From the DREAM Project website, “It is our vision that all children born in the Dominican Republic have the opportunity to receive an education and learn to their full potential. It is our hope that our efforts can be multiplied to allow the opportunity for every child’s gifts and challenges to be met with support nationwide. It is our goal to break the cycle of poverty and change peoples’ destinies. It is our dream that the world will be a better place for the children and families of the next generation.”

What will I be doing?

As a volunteer for the DREAM project I am working at the Guzman Ariza Escuela y Campamento de Verano, which is a summer camp for the “at risk” children in the surrounding communities. Because it is only a six week program, not much progress can be made with the students in such a short period of time. The main focus of this camp, then, is to get the kids excited about learning and to open their eyes to the world around them. Most of the children in the camp have never been more than 15 miles from the Callejon and don’t know of any other way of life. The camp intends to open their eyes to opportunities and to help them see their individual potential. Along with two other volunteers, I will be a counselor for a group of 25 11-12 year old children. Each day I will follow the children to their classes and help them with academic tutoring and any other areas they may be struggling. Basically it is my responsibility to know my students better than anyone else and do all that I can to help them succeed throughout the duration of camp.

Education in the Dominican Republic

Facts about National Education
As one may imagine, the educational system of the Dominican Republic is very different from the United States. Public school classrooms are typically overcrowded and under-funded, even with students attending school only 3 or 4 hours a day. School is frequently cancelled due to a variety of factors, and only a minority graduate from high school. Here are a few other facts:
· 80% of Dominican students do not make it past the 5th grade.
· 85% of poor Dominican parents have never completed primary education.
· An estimated 11% of all Dominican children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition and among rural children the percentage raises to 16.5%
· Early childhood education currently consumes only .06% of the national education budget.
· The Dominican Republic’s public investment in education is 1.2% of their Gross Domestic Product
· 40% of 14-17 year olds still attend primary school.
· Only 2.2% of Dominican 4th graders were able to reach at least 75% of standards in Math and English for their grade level.
· The child of a mother with no education has only a 28% likelihood of attending school, but that raises to 71% if the mother has completed high school or better.
· On average, a typical Dominican student in primary school receives only 2.4 hours of instruction per day.
· In reading comprehension, fifth grade students in Dominican public schools perform at the same level as third grade students in Dominican private schools.
· 60% of the high school graduates who arrive at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) do not have the minimum conditions to enter into a program of higher learning.
· 59% of high-school age youth are not in high school