Dominican Republic: The Last Hurrah

Hello Fellow Adventurers! 

Day 19 Thursday

Students began their morning by going to the local NGO Fundacion Red Misericordia one last time to finish touching up the mural and spending time with the children. Once completing service, the director Leonola Rodriguez gave a tour of the Papillion house which is a place volunteers can stay. For volunteers or groups staying more than 3 weeks, the housing and food is provided for their contributions. Even if someone volunteered for less than 3 weeks, the expense is very affordable and reasonable to stay on site and to have meals included. Leonola also went over how to sponsor a child if anyone would be interested and steps to reconnect if any of us or anyone we knew would be interested in serving at the foundation in the future. 

After service, students enjoyed lunch with their host families and then gathered to give their final presentations at the CCDA. The topics of the group presentations ranged from mental health, social and environmental health, and physical health. Each group offered health promotion ideas and suggestions for the NGO to further improve their services and how they function pertaining to the areas of public health. Students went over how the organization does and does not promote, prevent, and protect the overall well-being of the children they serve and what could be done differently. Once the presentations concluded, students finished their day by enjoying some of the best local ice cream with their peers at Helados Bon.

Day 20 Friday 

For our last full day in the Dominican Republic, students came to the CCDA to do their post evaluation of the program to offer CIEE honest feedback on areas to improve and to share how their experiences have been. Students were also presented with a certificate for completing 45 hours of community service at the local NGOs and 15 hours from the seminar intercultural learning and leadership in the program. After the evaluation,we did our last group trip to the Santiago Botanical Garden. At the garden, students spent time reflecting on their time here and enjoying nature. After the trip, students had free time to pack and spend time with their host families. To end the day, we all met to have a final dinner together. 

Thank you for following our adventures during our time in Santiago De Los Caballeros, DR. Stay tuned for Session 2!