Things I dislike about the DR....CIENPIES (Centipedes)

We’ve entered the rainy season in the DR. It’s very refreshing on a hot summer day to have a downpour of water to cool you down. The only bad part is that when there’s lots of water the Centipedes enter the houses to escape the water.

I spent last night hanging out with friends. We cooked a lambi dinner with fried plantains. (Lambi is conch, the animal living inside a big sea shell. The shells you put to your ear to listen to the ocean. They sell the conch fresh, right out of the ocean here and after a good seasoning it’s delicious!)

After dinner we were sitting around enjoying conversation and a centipede came crawling/slithering along. I’ve ever seen this big in my life. It was like a snake with 100 feet…GIGANTIC! It had to have been a foot long (no exaggeration). During my past year I’ve killed a hang full in my apartment, but they’ve all been 2-3 cm long. Intimidating, but nothing like this. It looked like something out of a Goosebumps book that I liked as a teenager. I have been informed that when a centipede bites it is venomous and when they are that big it is necessary to go to the hospital.

Fortunately, my friends killed this monstrous centipede right away, but left me with a restless night of sleep. The neighbor’s rooster that always sleeps in the trees right by my window crowing at random times throughout the night, moved slightly and I jump out of bed with fear of a centipede crawling into my bed and biting me.

Centipedes...a part of the DR that I dislike most!

Women leaders

Yesterday was a long day. I love the Dominican Republic, the culture, the food, the relationships that I have developed, the beach. However, sometimes there are cultural differences that I lose patience with and miss home, family, friends, the food, speaking in English, the change of seasons...

Yesterday was one of those days that I was frustrated and at the end of the work day ready to go home and relax, escape the world I'm living in for an evening. But Denisse, my wonderful boss, asked me to go with her and a few women I work with to check out possible spaces for a homework room. Although tired, I accompanied them. What I thought would be just a little bit of time, stopping to see a couple building spaces turned into something completely different.

We met with a group of women leaders from the community, all gathering in a little chapel, although it was really just a piece of concrete with a pavilion style tin roof. It is a Cathlic chapel but the women were proud to explain that they all came from different Christian churches and respect each other for their different beliefs and political views. I found this surprising and wonderful. In this culture it is difficult to find people open-minded.

At first I was rather impatient and wanted Denisse to get down to business; state the reason that we had come (to see the homework room spaces) and then we go on our way. However, that is not that way business works in Dominican culture. We spent a good 30 minutes sitting around talking and eating lemonsillos (their little fruits that are growing on trees now, look like little lemons, delicious!) Then we participated in their meeting of women leaders, talking about the problems in their community, what they want to see change, how they want to see it change. This included the big problem that's in many communities here with education, lack of space in schools, not allowing children to enter school because they are behind or without documents. This included the lack of recreational space for their youth, such as a basketball court or community center, baseball field. The problem of trash. This area is further away from the center of town and where they used to throw the city trash. Although it's improved since the community has grown, there is still big open fields filled with trash, all dirt roads with lots of holes. This were all concerns they addressed and talked about how they have been working to make change and what they will continue to do.

I found it to be an incredibly inspirational meeting. The women ranged from 18 years old to 80 and were all very energetic and passionate about their opinions, they listened to each other and even asked each of us as visitors to express our opinions. I was honored to be among these women. Most of all this gave me hope. I have gotten to know many children from this community. Some shoe shinning boys that come from very economically poor families, children that have participated in the homework room; each of these children behind in school, with learning or behavioral problems and dysfunctional families (abusive, orphans, neglected children, etc.) The children that come from this community I've noticed are generally quicker to start a fight or be aggressive. The women addressed these problems that they see within the family, in their community and how they want to work with the families, educate women, teach them a skill and help them get jobs.

After seeing so many problems among the population of children I saw a sign of home from these woman. Strong, inspired woman that are not just talking of the problems, but working to be the change within their community!

Although I returned to my house 3 hours later than I had hoped, it had been a wonderfully, inspiring experience.

School enrollment

So hear we are in August. Wow the summer passes fast. Here in Caminante we finished summer camp and spent this past Monday evaluating the weeks of camp; what went well, what we can improve for the next summer. After a useful evaluation we enjoyed the afternoon at a beautiful house in a pool overlooking the ocean. It was a fun way to enjoy time with all who helped make the summer camp successful.

School enrollment has begun which means Caminante staff has jumped into action to make sure no kids are left out of school for reasons such as do not have the school uniform, shoes, school supplies, and the biggest problem of all....a birth certificate. There is a law in the Dominican Republic defending the rights of children stating that by law each and everyone has a right to an education regardless of their race, nationality or sex. However, this law is in conflict with another law stating that children without a birth certificate can not enroll in school. So, now that school enrollment has begun we have many children and parents coming to our office informing us that the school won't let the child enroll because they are with out documents.

A large percentage of children here in the DR are do not have a birth certificate. This is for a variety of reasons:

1. The parents are immigrants from Haiti living in the DR without proper documentation and for that reason can not declare their children at birth because they themselves do not have papers as well they live in a fear of deportation. Although the children are born in the DR they are not automatically given a Dominican nationality. (do you see any relation to immigrants in the US?)

2. The parents are unaware that they need to declare the child at birth. This is done separately away from the hospital and costs extra money. Therefore, parents who have no money, are illiterate or do not have documents either do not think to declare their child.

The process to get a child a birth certificate when the parents are of Haitian nationality or do not have a birth certificate themselves is next to impossible and extremely expense. So...Caminante begins the battle with the school directors and district directors fighting for the rights of the children. The battle that children have a right to education and it is obligatory to enroll them in school; meanwhile we will assist the parents and children in beginning the process of first the parents getting their papers and then the children getting a birth certificate.

The other side of the problem is the fact that the schools are overpopulated with children, not enough teachers or classroom space. Therefore, the first and easiest children to reject are those without birth certificates.

Then down the road in the future you have uneducated, undocumented young adults and adults without jobs and with hungry children that are don't have birth certificates and the cycle continues.

At first the problem seems simple, but then it unfolds into a greater systematic problem that has no easy solution. It's overwhelming, frustrating and a challenge. Many children not in school, then they go to the street and that leads to a whole other series of problems.

Where do you begin to see the change? What can we do?

Caminante continues the battle and with their strong presence in the community many children that are normally marginalized and left out of school are in school. There is where we begin to break the cycle. Although it doesn't end there...now that these children are in school we fight the battle of them staying in school. Many enter already behind for their age, with learning problems, with little support from home and with the weight of working outside of school to help support their family. The children in school treat them differently and they often have poor attendance and grades. Here is where the work of Caminante continues; education reinforcement, a constant presence in the life of the children, enrolling them in the homework rooms that work as an educational reinforcement as well as helping children with personal development, working with the families, being a presence in the parts of the city where they are working. And that's only the beginning....