Friends,

It has been some time since I have last updated this blog and with some spare time on my hands I feel it is about time I should do that. Things have change quite a bit since I last written. As of right now, The eco-lodge is on a stand still do to lack of funding as well as recent maintenance needs on the community’s Micro Hydro-electric plant.

This isn’t great news however it has given me and the community opportunities to take advantage of other needs that have to be addressed. As of last month we have began taking the initial steps in order to legalize the community association. This means that we have sat down on more than one occasion to discuss rules and regulations or statutes to agree upon and make into legal writing. We have gone through some revisions but lack some work. Once this is completed we will begin discussing a logo for the organization. I still need to do a bit of research to see if the name of association already exists in the DR and if so, what new name we should come up with. We are definitely in the beginning stages of this process however something is something considering how slow things move around here.

With some help from a religious organization some money is being funneled our way to promote and develop at least 160 organic community gardens throughout this region. With the help of a fellow health volunteer we have organized and given several sessions on maintaining an organic garden as well as what vitamins and minerals can be found within specific fruits and vegetables. We have also given health sessions on identifying mal nutrition and proper development of motor function skills in the ages of 0-6 years of age.

Through this same organization and their funding, I am also traveling frequently to the city of Santiago to teach business to Haitians interested in opening a micro-business. With that being said, I will receive Creole training in May in a Batey located in Barahona. I definitely look forward to this course as it should facilitate my classes as well as open new opportunities throughout my service.

There is a nationwide competition hosted by Peace Corps and Plan International along with local universities called “Construye Tus Sueños” . This is basically a business plan competition open to young adults interested in starting a micro business. Peace Corps and Business volunteers have created a 6 month intensive course to prepare students and train them in planning a business using basic business practices. As of last month I have started giving this class every Sunday and shall give them until the month of July. Sometime in August my students will submit their plans and If approved will go on to the competition round. The winner of the competition basically gets funding to take off their dream business. These courses have really integrated me into the youth of this region. I have had a pretty strong relationship with the kids in my community however now I have ties with a good majority of the kids in the municipal district.

My next big goal is to begin preparing a latrine/sanitation project proposal. I have a design but am still awaiting a census to see the number of latrines needed in the region. Sometime in the next few weeks I plan on going to several hardware stores and getting quotes on needed materials. We are currently in congressional election season and this is the perfect time to begin asking politicians for money (As cheap as that may sound). Of course I do not have my heart set on this so I will also be applying to as many grants possible, considering there are probably a considerable amount of latrines needed within the 8 communities I would like to aide. We shall see how things go. As more time elapses in my site, I feel more determined and feel more pressure to get something big done. These people have been nothing but incredible to me and are truly a family.

This about sums up the major events that have taken place in the last few months. Pictures to come! Much love and happiness to all J

Marité

My soon to be home.

This is my little girl Luna "LULU" Perez

3 Month In Service Trainin

Friends,

Its been a while since I have written and I do want to apologize for it. My first three months have been pretty secluded from outside contact but I believe there will be less of that from this moment on. Tomorrow is my In service training (3 month-IST) in Santo Domingo, where I and fellow business volunteers will be presenting our community/organizational diagnostics.

I have really gone in hiding this last month simply to prepare all the data for this presentation so I must admit I am pretty nervous. I will be attaching bits and pieces of my work (its all is Spanish; sorry for those who may not understand). I hope you all like it!

I have also been busy decorating and painting my new home for my move(Pictures attached) . As soon as I return from my 3 month training I will be moving in and leaving my dear host family. I am actually very sad about it and know I may find myself lonely after getting accustomed to all the noise and busyness of the house. Its not too bad though considering I will only be a few houses away ;)

I have really bonded with my host family and community these months. I feel like one of them (especially since a good portion of the community shares my last name). They include me in everything and really make sure they know they love me and need me. Its so nice! I have made a few trips to the city and I must admit I definitely do not like leaving my community no more than a few days. Its partly because the city is a drag: Tiring, dirty and noisy. But its also cause I really miss these people.

As soon as I return from this training I will be officially allowed to begin executing a few plans for the community, the association and the Eco-lodge project itself. My first plan of action is looking for money of course. As I have mentioned before 3 of the 5 lodges are about complete but there isn't sufficient funding to complete the rest nor to construct the restaurant/office from the original project proposal. I will probably be very busy the first few weeks just writing out solicitation/grant letters and submitting them to different organizations.

While I wait for responses I hope to begin plans for building a library for the local high school. I am not 100% sure how I will be going about all that but that will be discussed during our 3 month In service training, so I will fill you all on that later.

My English class is going steady. I seem to have 2 groups of students though. One group shows up one Sunday while the other group shows the following. I tend to repeat the class twice and when they return it is as if I haven't taught anything at all. I do blame myself right now because I have not confronted the situation but I do plan on doing that as soon as I return next week to my project site.

I recently began dedicating a few minutes every morning to my neighbor, a little boy who is way behind on his reading. He currently is learning the first few letters of the Spanish alphabet although he should be well on his way to reading chapter books. His attention span is also very short, so classes can not go on for too long since he tends to drift away to another dimension. I am happy to say however that he is showing some progress although it is very slow.

For those curious to know, My little girl LULU is doing well. She is getting big but she is a doll. I love her to bits.

For those who have inquired about visiting, you are more than welcome to now. My house is now ready to be broken in.

Love you all,

M

One month in site w/ some progress

Friends,

Today I have reached my month mark in-site. I am transitioning into my work pretty well but still lack information to get myself running on bigger tasks such as grant writing and proposals. I have met and shared time with almost everyone in my community which is nice. Basically wherever I go I am greeted by name or by "Americana"/"Cubana". I cant say I know each person´s name or apodo (nickname) but Im getting there.

The Lodges are well on their way construction wise. As for funding, they are starting to run low and concerns for the projects completion are on the rise. We still have enough funding to roughly complete 3 of the 5 lodges (let me emphasize "roughly"). Right now I am working closely with my project partner to update our original proposal so once I am given the go I can begin requesting funds from other NGO´s.

I have 2 months left until my 3 month reunion with Peace Corps staff to present my organizational diagnostic and my plans for the next year. I could probably present today if I had to, so I am not concerned about the content of my work and priorities. In the mean while I am more focused on "Escojo me vida" youth group and English classes. Today is Intl HIV/AIDS Day and yesterday we had students from the group present a charla to the local highschool on the realities of HIV/AIDS, statistics, etc for awareness. After the charla we marched through the the community with a banner. Last weeked we (students and 2 fellow volunteers, Peter and Randi) painted a mural on the school wall regarding HIV/AIDS and how it is contracted.

I have great pics and videos of all of this and hope to post them as soon as I get better internet access.

English classes begin in 2 weeks after the local elections which is the hype at the moment.

Last week for Thanksgiving all the volunteers in country traveled to the capital to celebrate together. We all stayed at local pensiones which are not too shabby and very cheap for us volunteers. I arrived in Santo Domingo on Wednesday morning and as soon as I arrived to the Peace Corps office I saw a litter of puppies that a fellow volunteer was caring for. You know where this story goes.... I had to take one. It was a litter of female pups that were going to be abandoned or euthenized because no one in this country wants female dogs. Long story short, her name is Luna "LULU" Perez and she is precious. I cannot say what kind of mut she is but she is super cute and has an amazing personality. Since my job has no restrictions she basically goes everywhere with me and is now my official confidant in crime..(J/K in service). ****SMILES****

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Thanks to the Thanksgiving commitee we had amazing delicious food and I was able to stuff about three plates into my belly and then some. I put the boys to shame. Mind you I have gained my freshman 15 since my arrival to this country. Im not too sad about it, keep telling myself its muscle weight from all the hiking. The bash was held in a country club in Santo Domingo and we did all sort of activities throughout the day. I was able to meet many new faces (old volunteers and not so old ones). I still have many more left to meet. The size of DR team is really daunting.

I beleive this sums up most of the latest. I love you all!

Marite