Last Week in Monte Plata

Today we took our Youth Group to a neighborhood nearby named Columbia, along with the local department of Health. The project the girls in our group decided on was going house to house giving charlas (educational talks) on the benefits of using chlorine to standing tanks of water in order to reduce the mosquito population.  The idea was to prevent  Dengue in the area.  Aside from providing households with small packets of chlorine, packets of poison were given away to reduce the rat population. This was not really my idea of a great Youth Project, and the word "charla" is really getting on my nerves. My experience is one of having been lectured at so much while in the Peace Corps and I dislike the possibility that I might similarly patronize the Dominican population. 

The highlight of my day was being in the back yard areas of those we visited. I wish that I were as self sufficient as the people with whom we visited. And they were so kind-- allowing all four of us in our group to tromp right through their house (unannounced) and stand around in their back yard while receiving a lecture! They listened patiently while being chastised for all of the standing vats of water in the backyard. The Health Educator was very good, don't get me wrong. I think she really does a great job and her heart is in the right place. It's just that if the Health Department came to my house unannounced, I wouldn't want them to take a tally of all the containers in my back yard with standing water and preach to me about how my lifestyle is all wrong (OK, maybe I am a little sensitive here. I suppose it is possible that those we visited were truly appreciative of the education provided). Also, I thought it was too bad the girls who developed the idea for the project weren't able to take a more active role today (yet I was also personally relieved-- there is nothing more annoying than being lectured to by a teenager--just my opinion).  The Health Department pretty much took the lead. They came into the collaboration on the recommendation of the Institut de Mujeres, the organization with whom we are partnered.

Everyone we visited today raised chickens and various households in the community raised ducks as well. My photos in today's blog post will include many taken today of chickens and ducks. I'll start with is a photo of one of our girls in the youth group, as well as the representative from the Health Department who is explaining to a woman the benefits of using chlorine in water stored in tanks that are left standing out of doors in the back yard.

OK, I will admit that there are mosquito larvae in these pails of water. I will refrain from maintaining this kind of mosquito producing haven in my own back yard in the future!

Aren't these good looking chickens! The following is a handsome representative of his species as well!

I found this roost particularly impressive today.  And how about this rooster! I love the concept of year around outdoor cooking, too. A great way to keep electricity costs down. I should be as capable of living off the grid, so to speak. 

Also, I admire the way Dominicans line dry their clothing, the way my mother did when I was growing up during the 50's. I wonder how soon it will be (as fuel becomes less available & more costly worldwide) that citizens of the USA return to drying clothes out of doors instead of relying on clothes dryers.

This is a photo of one of the streets we visited today, and the truck carrying bottled water which is ubiquitous in Monte Plata.

And here we are going into a house. The political banner of President elect Danilo and the Vice President, formerly the First Lady of Dominican Republic, prompted this photo.

I appreciated this landscape of the Dominican Republic in one house we visited today, along with family photographs and the school photo of a child alongside a famous Dominican baseball player.

This stream in the barrio we visited today struck me as being lovely, although the all too common problem of basura in the water is evident.  There's plenty of basura in the good ol' US of A too.

I'll end this segment of the blog with another photograph of ducks.

Here we are in our Peace Corps Spanish class yesterday after our instructors arranged an opportunity for us to ask questions of women about the priorities in their lives and what they hope for their children's future. I'm cheerful because of the opportunity to stand with women "de mi edad." The women liked that I enjoyed being with them so much. My friend Susan is standing just behind me. 

A new chapter is about to open at the beginning of next month!

Last week I found out I've been assigned to Hogar Renacer and I'll live in Villa Mella, a northern suburb of Santo Domingo. I love the name of this Home, which means "Rebirth" in English. I imagine that I will be born again there too. This is an exciting new cycle for me.The home is supposed to be very lovely, and Peace Corps staff told me they are very excited to have me here. I will be working with 16 girls along with  a staff of a social worker, a psychologist, and the nuns who run the organization. I am very happy to hear the news of this assignment from Adele Williams, the Youth Program Director for the Dominican Republic. I realize that Peace Corps staff have been paying attention and they know that I am older, have a PhD and am a Licensed Psychologist. 

Peace Corps staff told me that the staff is very excited about having a mature woman with their team and someone who has an extensive background as a psychotherapist. They are particularly happy to know of my background and interest in art therapy. My host family here is really happy that I am going to be living an hour away and can come and see them often. I am very glad about this too, because I love my host family here in Monte Plata so much. I also hear that Peace Corps had wanted to place a volunteer in the Hogar Renacer for some time yet did not have someone with the experience needed. She had considered placing a third year volunteer in this home, and then they met me! Peace Corps staff visited the site six times before assigning me to Hogar Renacer. Peace Corps does invest time and care into their decisions!

Next blog I'll post about the site visit I'll be making to Hogar Renacer during last week of October. October 31, our training group will have our official swearing in ceremony as Peace Corps Volunteers.