Dominican Republic: Day 9 & 10 Activities

Hello Fellow Adventurers! 

Day 9 Activities

On Day 9, students went to the local NGO Fundación Red Misericordia to work with children and paint another base coat for the mural. One group of students taught some English to the children. This group worked with 9–13-year-old girls and did an icebreaker to learn everyone’s names and for them to introduce themselves. Their activity included what their favorite animal was in Spanish to then teach them what the word is in English, and the same thing was done for colors. Another game played to teach students English was telephone using short phrases.  After serving at the NGO, students joined their host family for lunch and gathered back at the CCDA to do another public health seminar. The seminar featured videos and quizzes related to public health, social determinants of health, and the various factors that impact overall wellbeing. After the videos and quizzes, students worked in groups to create questions related to a component of public health such as health promotion etc. To end the day, students gathered to watch a movie called In the Times of the Butterflies in preparation for the next activity tomorrow which is a trip to the Mirabal Sisters Museum.

Day 10 Activities

On Day 9, students began their day doing service at the local NGO Fundación Red Misericordia to help with the graduation ceremony. Students helped decorate and assist the children in getting dressed and organized. The students also helped the children with their hair and making sure their shoes and outfit were correct. A few students helped watch after the babies and younger children while other prepared the rest for the ceremony. After lunch, students continued the day by going to a new city and touring the Hermanas Mirabal Museum. Minerva Mirabla was one of the four sisters, and she was the first woman to graduate from law school in the Dominican Republic. This museum is in the second home of the Mirabal family in Conuco, Salcedo. It is such a beautiful way to remember the 3 sisters who gave their lives for the country they loved, and the fourth sister, who worked to preserve their memories. Before leaving the city of Salcedo, students went to a monument outside of where the original Mirabal Sisters house was and celebrated the birthday of one of the students in the program. 

Stay tuned for more!