On day 2 we visited a Montessori school created by the DREAM Project. DREAM program provides “more than 800,000 hours of quality education to more than 9,000 children through 14 different programs in 27 Dominican communities” (The DREAM website). They specialize in independent learning through specific activities that center around art, culture, language, math or practical living skills. They focus on creating a mentor/role model system in the class between the older and younger children (Montessori schools combine children of different age groups to learn together in a natural way). Students can gain admission to the school through a lottery system (although there are programs to boost admissions that incentivize and involve parents while encouraging them to integrate the Montessori method into their own homes). They work with children and young adults in the communities through 3 branches; Early Childhood Education, High Quality Primary Education and Holistic Youth Development.
The location we visited was located in Cabarete; a modest, two story, colorful building on a very busy street. We were greeted by Victoria, Danily, Lanka and other girls our age. Victoria became involved with DREAM through a fellowship from Princeton in Latin America for a 1 year commitment. She translated and guided us through our time at DREAM. We took a tour through their school, focusing mostly on their library which houses 4,000 books and serves as a community library (they have recently debuted library cards). In the small library, they host Storytelling Sessions once or twice a week for all the students, combining theater and literature. DREAM also has a program called My Very Own Library in which they host 3 book fairs a year with donated scholastic books. They allow each child to take 3 books home each time and promote home libraries. The illiteracy rate among Dominicans is unfortunately high, but nonprofit organizations like DREAM are working to combat that in struggling communities with programs like these.
After the tour, we began to focus on their women empowerment program, ÚNICA. This course covers issues of sexual education, early pregnancy, self esteem, healthy relationships and male dominance issues over 11 days. After completing the curriculum, the girls can become trainers and help spread this new information with other struggling kids. They use metaphors through interactive and physical activity and bonding exercises to create a safe and progressive environment where they support making healthy choices and encourage sharing this information with their community. 1 in 5 Dominican women become pregnant before the age of 20 due to lack of education and are placed lower than men on social standards, preventing them from making decisions within the household. Unfortunately, sexual assault by older men and unhealthy relationships are also common. ÚNICA wants to ensure that these young girls are receiving the opportunities they deserve and are raising a new generation of empowered women in their community.
We spent most of our day with these girls, getting to know them through ÚNICA and ice breaker activities. They led some women empowerment lessons with us, giving a first hand look at how they are educating and encouraging other girls their age through peer to peer education. Our group focused on self esteem improvement and the issues of early pregnancy. The skills of a goalie who can block any soccer ball that flies at her became our analogy for positive self regard and a relay race with increasing obstacles represented a girl who struggled to reach her goals due to teenage pregnancy. This method of learning combines our minds and bodies while promoting deeper thinking, self discovery and in depth conversations as a group. Claire mentioned appreciating their use of peer to peer education and utilizing the trainers as vessels to spread this vital information. In this way, they are becoming leaders for change in their communities.
We asked the UNICA girls how they originally became involved in the program: Danily said she wanted to be a trainer because she loves to help people and early pregnancy is a big problem at her school. Lanka told us that she had been a participant in UNICA and Deportes Para La Vida (Sports for Life) so she decided to become a trainer. Deportes Para La Vida is a precursor program to UNICA and the boys version of the program, Luchadores por el Cambio (Fighters for change), where they utilize sports to create metaphors for sexual education. Some of the UNICA trainers reported attending schools where sexual education wasn’t seen as important, so programs like Deportes Para la Vida are extremely important for educating these young boys and girls who live in a community with high HIV/AIDS rates. Some of the UNICA trainers reported attending schools where sexual education wasn’t seen as important, so these kinds of projects are extremely important for educating these young boys and girls.
“Their method of using sports was so interesting and involving” Avery mentioned as we reflected on our day with such an empowered group of women. Many of us felt inspired to take charge of our education and get involved with progessive programs like UNICA. Support for girls and women is important, especially in countries like the Dominican Republic where men are dominant. This issue is widespread and damaging to the self esteem of any young girl that is being raised in such communities. By finding strength within themselves, other girls and education, the members of UNICA are slowly turning the tides against male dominance in the D.R.. I am inspired by their leadership and empowerment.