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| Somos Mujeres Dominicana (Northern Conference) 2012 |
Pieces of Me From The Peace Corps
Friday, April 20, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
I'm Slacking
Well, I’ve officially failed at this blog thing. It’s not like anyone I really know reads it anymore so I’m really just writing to satisfy the needs of random strangers flipping through blogs. As I had expected my life now compares nothing to the life I shared with you in August which was in reality the last official blog which stated my status in the Peace Corps.
I quit working with the USAID funded tourism cluster... What a disaster that was! I ended up leaving because there were really hard feelings about an 'inexperienced' twenty something year old (me) coming in and telling older executives (Dominican Nationals) how USAID would like to monitor the project. Needless to say it is a ton of paperwork. No one wants to do it as requested so we end up doing it a million times until these executives realize that USAID won’t budge until it’s done properly. I was eventually ostracized from internal activity.
I don’t understand how little volunteer me can be considered a threat to an NGO but regardless it’s over and I am more than relived. As soon as I left I took up an opening as a regional volunteer leader which makes me responsible of ensuring new volunteers are safe especially in cases of emergencies. Although I’m overseeing many volunteers, this really does not take up to much time on my schedule so I have also volunteered my time with FDD Foundation Dominicana de Desarrollo, a micro financing organization. This job is definitely more of my forte. In reality the team is a team and there are specific issues that need to be tackled which are so nice to have. I’m done with ambiguity.
I was asked to join a team of two ladies who are in charge of program innovation. Although this information is broad, there is only so much I can say. I’m not even sure how much I can :). I’m basically working on a large scale organization diagnostic. The goal; keep the employees and clients happy. There are many ways to do this and not to do this and the foundation has entrusted me and the other consultants with tactics and its implementation. Again very vague.
I’ve been doing both jobs now since October and honestly couldn’t be happier with all I’m learning and being able to do. I get to continue my interacting and participating with the spirit of a volunteer and the people as well as work with a pretty well structured organization.
The best part of it all is that I can still play a role in my old community. I received the funding necessary to construct my ladies stove, which I hope to begin constructing in June (too much else going on between now and then). As mentioned in my previous blog, this stove not only offers my ladies an opportunity to generate income by selling a wide variety of baked goods but it also provides the community to consume goods that are nutrient rich as opposed to the stale breads available at mini markets. Im very excited to see how it all turns out.
I have about ten months left in my service, which really leaves me little time to figure out what is next. I have school on my mind but need to find the way to balance my schedule better in order to discipline myself to study. Ok, my head feels likes exploding when thinking about all of this. Thanks for reading!
Marite
I quit working with the USAID funded tourism cluster... What a disaster that was! I ended up leaving because there were really hard feelings about an 'inexperienced' twenty something year old (me) coming in and telling older executives (Dominican Nationals) how USAID would like to monitor the project. Needless to say it is a ton of paperwork. No one wants to do it as requested so we end up doing it a million times until these executives realize that USAID won’t budge until it’s done properly. I was eventually ostracized from internal activity.
I don’t understand how little volunteer me can be considered a threat to an NGO but regardless it’s over and I am more than relived. As soon as I left I took up an opening as a regional volunteer leader which makes me responsible of ensuring new volunteers are safe especially in cases of emergencies. Although I’m overseeing many volunteers, this really does not take up to much time on my schedule so I have also volunteered my time with FDD Foundation Dominicana de Desarrollo, a micro financing organization. This job is definitely more of my forte. In reality the team is a team and there are specific issues that need to be tackled which are so nice to have. I’m done with ambiguity.
I was asked to join a team of two ladies who are in charge of program innovation. Although this information is broad, there is only so much I can say. I’m not even sure how much I can :). I’m basically working on a large scale organization diagnostic. The goal; keep the employees and clients happy. There are many ways to do this and not to do this and the foundation has entrusted me and the other consultants with tactics and its implementation. Again very vague.
I’ve been doing both jobs now since October and honestly couldn’t be happier with all I’m learning and being able to do. I get to continue my interacting and participating with the spirit of a volunteer and the people as well as work with a pretty well structured organization.
The best part of it all is that I can still play a role in my old community. I received the funding necessary to construct my ladies stove, which I hope to begin constructing in June (too much else going on between now and then). As mentioned in my previous blog, this stove not only offers my ladies an opportunity to generate income by selling a wide variety of baked goods but it also provides the community to consume goods that are nutrient rich as opposed to the stale breads available at mini markets. Im very excited to see how it all turns out.
I have about ten months left in my service, which really leaves me little time to figure out what is next. I have school on my mind but need to find the way to balance my schedule better in order to discipline myself to study. Ok, my head feels likes exploding when thinking about all of this. Thanks for reading!
Marite
Friday, January 6, 2012
COMMUNITY OVEN
Greetings Dear Friends and Family,
Two years and five months have passed since I landed in the Dominican Republic to serve with the Peace Corps as a Community Economic Development Advisor. In October of 2011, I signed on for a third year of service requiring me to move to Santo Domingo and take on a leadership role. Although I live several hours away from my original site placement I still have many initiatives in this rural village that the community and I are motivated to complete.
As many of you know, I was requested to assist the organization of a community association that is currently completing an eco tourism lodge with the assistance of USAID-DSTA and UNDP-PPS. After much hard work the community association is near the completion of this lodge and is in this planning phases of its grand opening.
While working with this association, I took on several secondary health projects within my community and neighboring communities. With the help of 17 rural health promoters, hundreds of family members were taught basic nutrition and were given the tools necessary to begin their own organic gardens. 160 gardens were created within 8 communities. Villagers are more aware of maintaining their diet and treating their ailments with the right foods.
Although nutrient rich foods can be found in the land and are more widely consumed, many villagers continue consuming products produced in towns made with nutrient poor and sometimes unhealthy ingredients contributing to the very common ailments of obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes. One of the main staples and products consumed in the village diet is bread (Pan de Agua). This bread is made with white flour, water, yeast, and sometimes flavored with pig fat and salt.
The Community association and I would love to introduce and sell a nutrient rich bread and baked goods to the surrounding communities. With the proper supplies and tools, an earthen oven will be built where large amounts of breads and baked goods can be made and distributed through our local "colmados" or markets. The Oven will be run by the woman of the community association within the grounds of the eco-lodge, also providing opportunity to sell to foreign and national visitors and empowering our village woman.
A very large number of woman in the DR do not have the opportunity of providing income for the family. This is the result from a combination of many factors. The woman who will be baking have always been house wives and are ecstatic to have an new activity in their daily lives which will provide an extra source of income to help support their humble families.
If you would like to help fund my project you can donate to
Or go to
http://www.peacecorps.gov click on Donate and submit project number 517-473.
Happy New Years!
M
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