The frequency of this conversation reveals a bit about Dominican society. In 2011, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFP) revealed that the Dominican Republic takes the lead in both Latin America and the Caribbean in the number of pregnant adolescents. A common topic of conversation here among the socially concerned is about the issue of reducing the number of pregnant 13-year old girls. It's very common for unmarried young people to live together, which isn't necessarily negative in and of itself, but in a machista society, the girls/women are discarded after they no longer please the men. In an effort to increase the commitment level of their men, women often try to get pregnant, but when this strategy fails repeatedly, they are left with children from different men. In a country with no safety net, this spells a lifetime of struggle.
While we're playing the number game, this week the Dominican Republic celebrated coming in second place (first place was held by Venezuela) in terms of alcohol consumption by men in Latin American countries in a study completed by the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Costa Rica. (It should be noted, however, that the amount of pure alcohol consumed per year - 5.5 liters - pales in comparison to the quantity consumed in Europe, Canada, and the United States, respectively.) The Dominicans' response? "We need to work harder to get to first place!"
At any rate, I've learned an incredible amount in the last week and a half through extensive conversations with community leaders and people working in health clinics, schools, and other NGOs. I'm still in Santo Domingo for the time being, although I did end up visiting Bonao last week, and I will be having another series of meetings there tomorrow. It looks like I'll be moving there on the 11th at the very latest, which I'm definitely looking forward to.
The school in Bonao is really incredible. It's 100% powered by solar panels, it has spacious and clean classrooms, and there are even sports fields for the children. Although something like this would be relatively normal in the US, it's a tremendous departure from the reality of public schools in Santo Domingo. Additionally, what's particularly exciting to me is that peace is one of the cornerstones of the school; the ethic of peace has been informally integrated into all parts of the school, from monthly values to universal community service. I was able to spend last Friday afternoon with four youth (Youth for a Culture of Peace) who attended a workshop in Santo Domingo some months ago, and I'm working to build a capacity-building workshop for them. After they're trained and feeling comfortable, the goal is to have them facilitate workshops following the same format in their communities. They're pretty awesome kids, and they're really excited to be given the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and lead peace activities.
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| Youth for Peace and Me in the library getting to know each other and discussing the project. |
In other exciting news, the director of IDDI has asked me to develop a formal peace education curriculum for the school to be implemented in August when classes resume, something they've wanted for a very long time. I'm extremely excited to be given this opportunity; it's going to be a challenge for sure, but it's one that I'm ready to take. If anyone has expertise or experience in this area, please point me to any resources you think might be helpful.
And, just for kicks, a peak at my Sunday, which happened to be Mother's Day in the Dominican Republic, at Playa Guayacanes:
2 comments:
Have fun in Bonao! The curriculum project is going to be awesome.
The iddi.org website says great things about your school. You are fortunate to have the opportunity to develop a curriculum that will be a model in the Dominican Republic of what schools can be to better serve the students.
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