Social Work in Monte Cristi

Christina, what do you do all day besides miss Cleveland?

Glad you asked! First, here’s a brief background on Orphanage Outreach. It’s an organization founded by Tom Eklund that empowers existing orphanages with a constant influx of volunteers and interns, who facilitate programs and provide resources and fresh creativity. I just found out today actually that OO even provides a scholarship opportunity for some of the orphans to attend a local university after they leave the orphanage (age 18). Every week, Orphanage Outreach volunteers put on various camps and programs that benefit the kids on a holistic level. However, this is the very first summer they’ve brought in a group of social work interns…aka me and 4 other girls. Consequently, they do not have a specific role for us to fill quite yet. We are here to do some trail-blazing, and hopefully establish a long-term partnership between agencies in the community of Montecristi and social work interns here at OO. It involves a lot of exploring, a lot of debriefing, a lot of questioning, a lot of observing, a lot of creativity and a lot of critical thinking and brainstorming. Our group leaders are Mary (a school social worker) and Patty (a swk prof who has been in the field for a long time). When we are available, we assist the other volunteers with the different programs—this week is math camp…divertido, no? lol—however, our main goal is to assess the existing welfare structure and figure out where the gaps may be. Thus, we hope to spend the majority of our time out in the community. Today, we visited two different agencies: la Fundacion Madre Tereza de Montecristi, as well as a local physical rehabilitation center. Both are doing some amazing work but struggling financially, and both agencies need fluent Spanish-speakers with skills in the medical field and/or social work field.

So where are the gaps?

Another great question. There are zero MENTAL HEALTH institutions or group homes for people who are mentally ill/disabled. There is a huge stigma with mental illness—even more so than the United States; these people are usually locked up in a shed or the back room of a house so that they aren’t in the way. The DR lacks education and awareness on the topic of mental health and treatment.

There is also very little NUTRITION education, if any, and absolutely zero sex education. Most of the orphanages and other organizations do not provide SEX EDUCATION because of strong Catholic influences that highly discourage the usage of birth control and/or contraceptives. Promiscuity rates are very high, and it is common for spouses to have another fling on the side, even to the knowledge of their children. Teen pregnancy rates are incredibly high as well.

Why math camp?

Love these fabulous questions. Keep ‘em comin. The education system in the Dominican Republic is the worst in the entire western hemisphere. Even worse than Haiti? Yes. Why is that? While the Dominican has a much better economy than Haiti, there are multiple reasons why their education is worse. It is culturally “normal” for school to start at least an hour late and end an hour early, with lots of recess and free time during the day. The kids only receive about 2 ½ hours of real instruction each day, most of which lacks any type of challenge or critical thinking. Math is an especially slighted subject; many teachers here simply have students copy down numbers, without ever learning real equations. Monte Cristi has the notoriously worst schools in the country, where a 12-year-old may not know the solution to 12 + 4. (I remember doing times tables in third grade.) Kids often times do not even finish grade school, because there isn’t a good system of accountability in place to make sure they are completing their education. Also, while the DR economy is in a much better spot than Haiti’s, the government here is very corrupt. Although they have a representative democracy, politicians are usually known for making false promises and pocketing most of the money themselves. Hence, the funds for various social services and education don’t always quite reach their destination.

AGUA ESTA PRECIOSO!!!

I miss the airport bathrooms.

Ha, never thought I’d say that. The plumbing system here in the DR is very poor—(but at least they have one!)—which means that toilet paper cannot be flushed, otherwise we will take showers with sewage water. There are waste baskets next to every toilet with the beautiful aroma of urine and human waste. Here, we use the motto “If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down.” Mom, sorry if I come home and forget to flush!

Water conservation is HUGE over here, which is why we try to flush the toilets only every so often. It’s also why we take “army showers”…2-3 minutes tops, and why we turn the water off when we are shampooing our hair. Water is PRECIOUS here.

We only drink the water that’s been filtered…the water from the sinks and showers is not safe to drink, even if you are just brushing your teeth. You have to use a water bottle at all times.

Airport Bathrooms (6/26/10)

The great thing about flying by yourself is you get to bring all of the crap that is on your person into the bathroom stall with you. You open the little door, which conveniently swings inward so that once you get inside the stall you have to practically stand on the toilet seat to get the door closed. Then you set down your carry-on, your purse, and your cup of coffee on the grimy bathroom floor while you do your thing. Washing your hands is also really fun. After fighting with the door to get back out of the stall, you make your way over to the sinks, smacking the entire line of people in the stomach with your carry-on as you walk by. Your purse is on one arm and your carry-on is one the other arm. You balance the cup of coffee on the edge of the sink that’s 1.5 inches in diameter. More often than not, your coffee spills…which means spending more time in the bathroom trying to get cleaned up. You proceed to leave with wet hands because it’s getting crowded in there and you just want to get out of the bathroom. You pull the germy door handle open and wonder why you bothered to wash your hands in the first place.

And that my friends, is a true (recurring) story.

Oops. (6/26/10)

So…apparently when I was buying my plane ticket online, I filled in my last name as my first name and my first name as my last name. Needless to say, I go by “DiNardo” here at the O’Hare airport.

“Enjoy your flight, DiNardo!”
“Welcome to Chicago, DiNardo!”
“Where are you traveling today, DiNardo?”

This is one of those things that’s almost funny, except for the fact that I’m flying internationally and will most likely have to pay a $150 fee to have my first and last name switched so that I don’t “arouse suspicion”. I mean, I probably do look threatening…I have an eyebrow ring and a tattoo that’s a Bible verse. Good thing I left my firearms at home.

In other news, I am sitting in the food court with two hours to kill waiting for my next connecting flight…and I am people-watching like crazy. I am noticing that all of the employees at Dunkin Donuts are Indian, all of the employees at Starbucks are African American, all of the employees at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory are white, all of the employees at Manchu Wok are Hispanic…and O’Brien’s wins the diversity prize with two black employees and one white employee. Congratulations O’Brien’s!

ADDRESS!!!

I forgot to mention that I looooooooove snail mail ;)

Christina DiNardo
C/O Coco Barrett
Orphanage Outreach
Calle Altagracia #80
Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic

Welcome to "the Other Side"

The Dominican Republic is the Carribean's largest tourist destination: warm, tropical weather, beautiful white sandy beaches, year-round golfing, deluxe resorts and all-inclusive restaurants and bars...the perfect get-away. But believe it or not, this is not how the natives live.

Let me introduce you to "the other side" of the Dominican: 42.2% of the people live below the poverty line. Education standards are quite low, and the literacy rate fluctuates in the low 80s(%). The DR is the 4th largest exporter of prostitutes (only behind Brazil, Thailand and the Philippines). And generally speaking, the native people tend to fall lower in economic priority than the tourism industry, which just so happens to be largely funded by American vacationers.

Now believe me when I say I am NOT anti-vacation. I love me some vaca. Still, I think Americans need to be awakened to the reality that this country is so much more than a hub of tourism. On the other side of the white sandy beaches, there are real people and real issues; real poverty and real beauty.

I will arrive this Saturday (the 26th of June) in Monte Cristi, to explore this "other side".