Dominican Republica: Day 3 & 4 Orientation and Museum Visits

Hello My Fellow Adventurers,

These past few days have been filled with service and opportunities to learn!

Day 3 and 4 Orientation & Activities:

Students are beginning to settle into their homestays and learn more about Dominican culture. On Day 3, before going on our trip to the local NGO where we will be doing our service component, we stretched and did some yoga before our bus ride. Before we can take care of others it is important that we take care of ourselves; especially after the long days we had prior. The Public Health group attended an orientation at a local NGO called Fundacion Red Misericordia. This organization assists at-risk children and adolescents by addressing their health needs and conditions. Children and young adults served by this organization have the opportunity to focus on their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Students learned more about this organization and took a tour of its complex to see the medical examination rooms, classrooms, playgrounds, and the rooms the children reside in. One of the projects we will be doing is to create a mural to paint pertaining to public health in groups of 3 throughout our time serving. The mural will be painted in the corner of a concrete wall boarding one of the playgrounds.

Monument Museum Tour 

On Day 3 in the evening, we had the opportunity to tour the Monumento de la Restauracion and we learned about how the monument was originally built during Trujillo's dictatorship in 1944 as "Trujillo's Monument to Peace”. After his assassination in 1961, the government changed the name of the monument to, "Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración'', dedicating it to the heroes of the Dominican Restoration War, fought from 1863 to 1865. There were 5 floors to the museum and on the 5th floor there was an amazing view of the city Santiago de los Caballeros. Afterwards, students had some free time to walk around the city to grab an ice cream, stop at stores, etc before coming back to their homestays for a meal with their host families. 

Camvia Construction & Papillion House

We learned that the Fundacion Red Misericordia is working on constructing Camvia which will have buildings created for serving women that are victims of violence. In their plans for construction there will be a community center, a cafeteria, a building dedicated to pregnant youth, housing for pregnant mothers, and a building for vocational training. During our visit, we also learned about how the organization receives funding for its program and how people volunteer. Most of the funding is provided by churches and organizations. People also have the option to fund a child and make a one time or monthly donation to aid in the expenses. Interestingly, the Papillion house is available for volunteers to stay at during their time serving for a low cost. Many volunteers who come to stay in the Papillion house are from churches, universities, locals in other parts of the Dominican Republic etc. 

Day 4 Activities: 

Today, we took a trip to visit another local NGO named Cometas De Esperanza, which serves children who live near the landfill in the community. Students had the opportunity to do an activity with the children in pairs and see part of the community and the garden that was created after 16 years of work to help clear most of the trash to create it. The garden was created in hopes of growing food to aid in feeding the children and to also one day build a classroom near the garden to offer environmental and sustainability classes. This trip was a true eye opener to just how much one's environment can greatly impact overall well-being and the poor conditions of a small rural community impacted by waste. 

Centro Leon Museum Tour 

In the evening, students had the opportunity to take a tour of the Centro Leon Museum. This museum at Centro León featured interesting art displays from various Dominican artists and also had artifacts and interactive components to learn about Dominican culture, nature, and history. On the first floor there were displays of art that won national prizes by Dominican artists, an interactive section featuring artifacts and videos of Dominican culture and history, a cafe, and gift shop. On the second floor of the museum was a contemporary art display that changed every few weeks and many students enjoyed reading and learning about this particular artwork and artist. Our tour guide was very informative and did well in explaining the components of the artifacts, cultural video, and sharing interesting facts.