The time is coming.... November 21st I will be an official RPCV (returned peace corps volunteer) kicking up my feet and living the good life near my parents fridge. I have actually just completed my medical clearance to return. I was poked, prodded, scraped, and had samples taken of way to many things to mention. It was by far the most thorough exam I have ever had- and probably will ever have. Best part is all is clean and clear. Not even a cavity! Life is good....
I had an incredible summer! So often in this line of work you experience so much frustration- so many road blocks. Very rarely do you get those 'warm, fuzzy' 'i did something right' moments. It can be terribly stressful and most volunteers feel this frustration for the majority of their service. This summer I had several oppertunities that lead to to those 'warm, fuzzy' 'i did something sooo right' moments. I got to throw a graduation for my english class; finish a book club; participate in translations for a medical mission; and thanks to all of you who donated- act as a counselor in a summer camp for disadvataged youth. In these events there were plenty of eye-opening experiences all around.
The english class graduation was rediculous and Dominican, as one would expect. The 11 graduates arrived in their sunday best to my house. I passed out dipolmas. We took photos. They picked at (because NOONE here actually likes my cooking) the truely american mac and cheese and rice chrispy treats I made. It was just relieving to see something I helped accomplish (as clearly THEY are the ones who truely accomplished it).
The medical mission was heart-breaking and inspirational. My friend Bill, who also attended the mission, and I were recapping some of the cases we dealt with last night (over pitchers at the american sports bar in the capital) and he broke out in tears. The case he broke down over goes a little something like this- he was translating for a nurse and doctor doing a home visit in a rural community. The family presents a tiny TINY set of twins babys that are clearly suffering from mal-nutrition. Bill translates for the doctor "how old are the babies" the caretaker stumbles back about them "cumplir-ing" (having thier birthday) the previous month. Now Bill's not very confident in his spanish and these twins are so small that they could not possibly be over a few months old so he continues to question and ask for elaborations for a while before calling over a different volunteer, Jessica, with more confident spanish to take his place. Jessica discovers Bill was translating correctly these babies are a year old and so severly mal-nutritioned that they have actually stopped crying because they lack the strength. The worst part about the whole situation comes down to that all this was caused by mis-education! The family was feeding the babies regular powdered cow's milk, not even baby formula which they could afford! They didn't understand that babies needed special nutrition and mother's milk is best- infact formula is viewed as a status symbol here and; therefore, better than breastfeeding. The babies were taken care of by the doctor- given plenty of formula and the parents given new education about baby nutrition. My most moving experience of the med mission was helping a 19 year-old boy with horrible bed sores. The boy had been paralyzed from the waist down for 2 years after falling out of a canape tree why collecting canapes to sell on the road. Well the poor boy fell victim to bed sores that put him in the hospital 3 weeks prior that just wouldn't heal dispite the dedication of the family and neighbors who had been vigilantly caring for him and cleaning his wounds like the doctors prescribed. They had been cleaning his wounds with too much iodine that they couldn't heal. The doctors taught a new way to create a better cleaning solution to promote the healing along with a really cool hanging chair swing- that Bill created out of plastic chairs- to take the pressure off the sores.
Camp Glow presented an amazing oppertunity to empower teenage females- a very unempowered population here. The most rewarding moment for me was one night during 'small break down sessions' in which we discuss what the girls enjoyed about camp that day and anything they were thinking about in small groups of 5 girls to 2 counslers. One of the girls in my group was asked "what was your favorite part about camp?" and she thought then replied "this group. Noone ever asks me how I feel and what I like. Noone really listens like you. I just go to school, clean and take care of my brothers. Here I've been heard." The girls loved camping in tents (slightly amusing considering their daily lifestyle is considered 'camping' to many americans) an experience they've never had before. They were taught to plan life goals. When discussing this in the nightly 'break down session' one girl informed me that her goal is to buy her house before she marries. That way when the husband cheats on her or starts to treat her bad she can kick him out. She will still have her house and in that way be protected. Ouch! Sounds strange but thats what my host mom did here. Some parts of this culture hurt.
There was another situation in my site that I want to write about but this post is already really long and I'm in the capital and thinking about the rare oppertunity I have to eat pizza right now. I think I will go take advantage of that now.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Donation soliciting
Ok so here it is- I am soliciting donations for two camps that I am working on with other volunteers. Read the letters below. You can even see me in the picture from Celebrando el Sur last year!
Camp GLOW
Dear Friends and Family!
It’s our pleasure to be writing to you today. Imagine the Dominican Republic, strengthened, empowered and succeeding in the hands of powerful, young female leaders. Peace Corps Volunteers committed to Camp GLOW, a world-wide Peace Corps initiative, are preparing this year’s event. GLOW is short for 'Girls Leading Our World,' and here in the DR, we call our event '¡Campamiento Estrellas de Hoy!" (Camps Stars of Today). As volunteers involved in this year’s Camp GLOW event, we’re planning talks, workshops, games, and bonding activities for over 50 young Dominican women.
All this takes place during a weeklong camp where the girls have the opportunity to hear and talk openly and honestly about life goals, life planning, healthy sex and relationships and much more. From yoga to HIV awareness, the camp will be life-affirming for all our participants, and a much needed respite from social and economic pressures. Many young women in the Dominican Republic have children and are married or otherwise involved in a domestic partnership far before age 18. Camp GLOW aims to introduce and reinforce their power to make healthy choices.
The girls themselves raise funds to participate, and the PCV’s seek corporate sponsorships, as well. Yet, it’s still the generous contributions of our Stateside communities that make ends meet. Your contribution will pay for lodging, food, materials, and convey to these young ladies that the world cares about their well-being!
If you’re able, please consider sponsoring a camper by securely donating money at the Peace Corps-sponsored link below and send this email on to at one other person. Donations from $5 or more are warmly welcomed one and all. If your auxiliery club is interested in making a donation, we encourage you to contact your volunteer before using the website.
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=517-248
We would love to send donors Thank-You cards and a photo from camp in appreciation of your generosity. If you would like to receive one, please be sure to fill out all the contact information on the donation web form.
Thanks so much for taking the time to consider it!
Warm Regards,
Your Volunteer, the girls, and the whole Camp GLOW
It’s our pleasure to be writing to you today. Imagine the Dominican Republic, strengthened, empowered and succeeding in the hands of powerful, young female leaders. Peace Corps Volunteers committed to Camp GLOW, a world-wide Peace Corps initiative, are preparing this year’s event. GLOW is short for 'Girls Leading Our World,' and here in the DR, we call our event '¡Campamiento Estrellas de Hoy!" (Camps Stars of Today). As volunteers involved in this year’s Camp GLOW event, we’re planning talks, workshops, games, and bonding activities for over 50 young Dominican women.
All this takes place during a weeklong camp where the girls have the opportunity to hear and talk openly and honestly about life goals, life planning, healthy sex and relationships and much more. From yoga to HIV awareness, the camp will be life-affirming for all our participants, and a much needed respite from social and economic pressures. Many young women in the Dominican Republic have children and are married or otherwise involved in a domestic partnership far before age 18. Camp GLOW aims to introduce and reinforce their power to make healthy choices.
The girls themselves raise funds to participate, and the PCV’s seek corporate sponsorships, as well. Yet, it’s still the generous contributions of our Stateside communities that make ends meet. Your contribution will pay for lodging, food, materials, and convey to these young ladies that the world cares about their well-being!
If you’re able, please consider sponsoring a camper by securely donating money at the Peace Corps-sponsored link below and send this email on to at one other person. Donations from $5 or more are warmly welcomed one and all. If your auxiliery club is interested in making a donation, we encourage you to contact your volunteer before using the website.
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=517-248
We would love to send donors Thank-You cards and a photo from camp in appreciation of your generosity. If you would like to receive one, please be sure to fill out all the contact information on the donation web form.
Thanks so much for taking the time to consider it!
Warm Regards,
Your Volunteer, the girls, and the whole Camp GLOW
Celebrando el Sur
Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings from the Dominican Republic! I am writing to offer you all an opportunity to directly impact the lives of Dominican youth in my community. The Peace Corps offers a grant program through which volunteers can solicit donations for locally initiated projects from their friends and family. This is your chance to make an impact.
Celebrando el Sur (Celebrating the South) is an annual weekend-long youth conference focused on diversity and cultural understanding here in the southern region of the DR. The South is the least developed region of the country and youth throughout the area face great economic hardship and a lack of opportunities. I will be bringing two young people from my community and together with the 60 other conference participants they will participate in a variety of challenging talks and activities, broadening their perspectives to the experiences of others around them and people throughout the world. My kids rarely travel outside of our community, and this conference is an amazing chance for them to meet other young people from the South in a positive, stimulating environment.
I sincerely ask for your contribution to our fundraising efforts. I assure you that every dollar you are able to give will directly impact the lives of these young people. You can read an official grant summary online and donate by visiting the following website:
www.peacecorps.gov/contribute
Click on Donate to Volunteer Projects then select Caribbean as the region. The project is listed as Celebrando el Sur Youth Conference under the name M.Watson, and the project number is 517-249.
Please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.
Your support will make this project a reality. Thank you so much!
Greetings from the Dominican Republic! I am writing to offer you all an opportunity to directly impact the lives of Dominican youth in my community. The Peace Corps offers a grant program through which volunteers can solicit donations for locally initiated projects from their friends and family. This is your chance to make an impact.
Celebrando el Sur (Celebrating the South) is an annual weekend-long youth conference focused on diversity and cultural understanding here in the southern region of the DR. The South is the least developed region of the country and youth throughout the area face great economic hardship and a lack of opportunities. I will be bringing two young people from my community and together with the 60 other conference participants they will participate in a variety of challenging talks and activities, broadening their perspectives to the experiences of others around them and people throughout the world. My kids rarely travel outside of our community, and this conference is an amazing chance for them to meet other young people from the South in a positive, stimulating environment.
I sincerely ask for your contribution to our fundraising efforts. I assure you that every dollar you are able to give will directly impact the lives of these young people. You can read an official grant summary online and donate by visiting the following website:
www.peacecorps.gov/contribute
Click on Donate to Volunteer Projects then select Caribbean as the region. The project is listed as Celebrando el Sur Youth Conference under the name M.Watson, and the project number is 517-249.
Please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.
Your support will make this project a reality. Thank you so much!
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
an update because i know i should
I've reached that point in my service where I don't post anymore... Life here just seems like that- life. Things seem normal here and I guess that's a good thing as I've been here more than a year and a half.
So a quick recap of what's been going on since my last post. Same ol', same ol'. Attempted to start an english course and failed. Was in the process of writing a grant for stoves when my community lost intrest. Attempted another english course and then yet another and failed on both accounts. Attempted multiple times to get my sex-ed kids back together and failed- oh but they come over after the meetings were supposed to happen to hang out and reassure me that it's not me. They also reassure me that my meetings are way more fun than the PLAN international meetings. WELL THEN WHY WON'T YOU ATTEND THEM?!?! YOU ATTEND THE PLAN international MEETINGS! My little mystery. Of course theres always the literacy tutoring that I do. still successful. Oh and the 'jam' sessions with the instruments I have and the kids, and the braclet making, and the art stuff, still sucessful. but then came semana santa again and everything shuts down for 2 weeks. The girls get their hair cornrowed (which normally is a haitian style) and everyone breaks out the ron brugal (rum) mid-day and goes to the beach/river. As for me, my semana santa consisted of a full day 12 hour hike in the mountians behind my house with the host family. Don, Dona, 17 yr-old baseball playing brother Uziel, 4 yr-old brother Xabiel, and 2 teenage cousins. It was pretty intense and my feet got sore, but the next day I managed a killer 11 mile run. Yes my friends that is right, the more I try with my projects and fail the more frustrated energy I have going into my running and oh have I ever been sucessful with my running. Marathon running followed by marathon eating of Dona portioned rice and beans heaped up and inhaled with a soupspoon. How I plan on joining Over-eaters anonomous.
Sounds like I'm a very well equipt failure, and it's true I am. Well lately has been a different story. My 2 month of April attempts to start english classes have been successful and I teach 2 english classes now. My month of April attempt to start a book club has been amazingly SUCCESSFUL! Oh and cooking groups with my teenage girls. But now I am stuck in the capital thanks to a 'general' country wide strike. What are they striking about? General life here... Makes sense to me.
Trying to think of a good story to tell.... ehh! got nothin. I feel this post describes a pretty typical occurance in peace corps- rediculous amounts of trying to accomplish things that your site claims to want followed by rediculous amounts of failure. man do i have endurance, but yes finally in the month of april- 10 months in this site- things are looking up.
So a quick recap of what's been going on since my last post. Same ol', same ol'. Attempted to start an english course and failed. Was in the process of writing a grant for stoves when my community lost intrest. Attempted another english course and then yet another and failed on both accounts. Attempted multiple times to get my sex-ed kids back together and failed- oh but they come over after the meetings were supposed to happen to hang out and reassure me that it's not me. They also reassure me that my meetings are way more fun than the PLAN international meetings. WELL THEN WHY WON'T YOU ATTEND THEM?!?! YOU ATTEND THE PLAN international MEETINGS! My little mystery. Of course theres always the literacy tutoring that I do. still successful. Oh and the 'jam' sessions with the instruments I have and the kids, and the braclet making, and the art stuff, still sucessful. but then came semana santa again and everything shuts down for 2 weeks. The girls get their hair cornrowed (which normally is a haitian style) and everyone breaks out the ron brugal (rum) mid-day and goes to the beach/river. As for me, my semana santa consisted of a full day 12 hour hike in the mountians behind my house with the host family. Don, Dona, 17 yr-old baseball playing brother Uziel, 4 yr-old brother Xabiel, and 2 teenage cousins. It was pretty intense and my feet got sore, but the next day I managed a killer 11 mile run. Yes my friends that is right, the more I try with my projects and fail the more frustrated energy I have going into my running and oh have I ever been sucessful with my running. Marathon running followed by marathon eating of Dona portioned rice and beans heaped up and inhaled with a soupspoon. How I plan on joining Over-eaters anonomous.
Sounds like I'm a very well equipt failure, and it's true I am. Well lately has been a different story. My 2 month of April attempts to start english classes have been successful and I teach 2 english classes now. My month of April attempt to start a book club has been amazingly SUCCESSFUL! Oh and cooking groups with my teenage girls. But now I am stuck in the capital thanks to a 'general' country wide strike. What are they striking about? General life here... Makes sense to me.
Trying to think of a good story to tell.... ehh! got nothin. I feel this post describes a pretty typical occurance in peace corps- rediculous amounts of trying to accomplish things that your site claims to want followed by rediculous amounts of failure. man do i have endurance, but yes finally in the month of april- 10 months in this site- things are looking up.
Friday, February 01, 2008
overdue update after a vacation home
so ive been neglectful of this and its about time for an update.
I had an over indulgent white christmas at home in KANSAS! The full leiker-side of the family actually was able to get together for the first time in forever (this time with a new addition, little leila). the incredible vacation made readjustment to the dr difficult. Noone should be allowed a 2 1/2 week vacation to the developed north. it's just not right. i honestly don't think i stopped eating once while i was home. oh well
A week back and i had a meeting with my boss and project partner to discuss our plans for the upcoming year (talk about a quick jump back to work!). ugg. my boss is one of those people who is very good at allowing for silence and i am not- at least not with her. In her silence i found myself commiting to plans i had barely considered before! I was just trying to fill the silence. So now I'm committed to English classes and stove building. Beyond that I'm still reading "el arbol generoso" to kids 3 times daily, back to taking kids to the river, back to an increasingly flojo healthy decisions group, and back to running daily with whatever muchacho, youth, parent, mule, or bull that will have me. Oh and how running was difficult after that vacation! I ran like a gordita for 2 weeks! But now I'm back. I'm back to kicking and screaming for things to work. Hoping that now that Patronales (the festival that honors my town) is over people will become more reliable, that people will attend my groups, and that my work will start back up.
As for patronales, imagine booths selling rum and beer in the street. Imagine food venders and loud music from the bars 24 hrs a day for a week straight. Imagine people drunk in the street at all hours, dancing all hours, and one big party. I got very little sleep as I live infront of a bar and after it all I needed a vacation from their party. Thank god its over!
Really though it's nice to be back. My blood has gotten too thin to live near snow. I found myself missing this weather and the beach- I know me! the one who always LOVED the cold dreary days in kansas!?! rediculous!
Now, i am working on grant writing so i can get money to build stoves. These stoves will improve the ventilation of the smoke so as to decrease the unhealthy side-effects many women experience from cooking on bad stoves with poor ventilation. yeah i have no-idea what i am doing. wish me luck!
I had an over indulgent white christmas at home in KANSAS! The full leiker-side of the family actually was able to get together for the first time in forever (this time with a new addition, little leila). the incredible vacation made readjustment to the dr difficult. Noone should be allowed a 2 1/2 week vacation to the developed north. it's just not right. i honestly don't think i stopped eating once while i was home. oh well
A week back and i had a meeting with my boss and project partner to discuss our plans for the upcoming year (talk about a quick jump back to work!). ugg. my boss is one of those people who is very good at allowing for silence and i am not- at least not with her. In her silence i found myself commiting to plans i had barely considered before! I was just trying to fill the silence. So now I'm committed to English classes and stove building. Beyond that I'm still reading "el arbol generoso" to kids 3 times daily, back to taking kids to the river, back to an increasingly flojo healthy decisions group, and back to running daily with whatever muchacho, youth, parent, mule, or bull that will have me. Oh and how running was difficult after that vacation! I ran like a gordita for 2 weeks! But now I'm back. I'm back to kicking and screaming for things to work. Hoping that now that Patronales (the festival that honors my town) is over people will become more reliable, that people will attend my groups, and that my work will start back up.
As for patronales, imagine booths selling rum and beer in the street. Imagine food venders and loud music from the bars 24 hrs a day for a week straight. Imagine people drunk in the street at all hours, dancing all hours, and one big party. I got very little sleep as I live infront of a bar and after it all I needed a vacation from their party. Thank god its over!
Really though it's nice to be back. My blood has gotten too thin to live near snow. I found myself missing this weather and the beach- I know me! the one who always LOVED the cold dreary days in kansas!?! rediculous!
Now, i am working on grant writing so i can get money to build stoves. These stoves will improve the ventilation of the smoke so as to decrease the unhealthy side-effects many women experience from cooking on bad stoves with poor ventilation. yeah i have no-idea what i am doing. wish me luck!
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