Projects Crisalida and Mariposas, Helping Girls Grow Wholesomely--Fundacion Mahatma Gandhi

  Dominican Republic

Las Terrenas

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring, Summer, Throughout the year, Trimester, Winter 
Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months, 7-12 months, 1-2 years and over 2 years
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: Rolling dates, special attention to summer sessions, Jun-Aug

Description: Projects Crisálida (Chrysalis) and Las Mariposas (The Butterflies) for girls in Las Terrenas are meant to strengthen self-esteem, help girls with their changing anatomical and psychological nature, enhance motor skills through recreation and sports and support their academic development through academic enhancement workshops. Often girls get the short-end of the stick in communities when limited resources provide limited recreational and educational opportunities to early-teens and teens. Proyecto Crisálida aims at providing girls 10-15 with key components in their social, physical and academic development, whereas Proyecto Las Mariposas (Butterflies) seeks the same for girls 15-18.

Interns and volunteers work in all-female teams, providing workshops, camps and events targeted at each of the relevant areas of the programs. The summer offers special opportunities as many girls have basically nothing entertaining or productive to do, but all activities are meant to continue during the school year depending on the level of community support and resources (including interns and volunteers) that become available.

This project is very rewarding as the special attention, encouragement and investment that girls receive will enhance their self-esteem, will provide them with tools to avoid self-destructive behaviors and will give them reason to hope that their lives will be different--richer and more meaningful. This Proyecto Crisálida aims at providing them with social and recreational alternatives to doing nothing or to act destructively. Interns and volunteers will get the opportunity to see lives transform as they participate in the transformation of these girls from despair to hope.

Helping girls grow wholesomely is rewarding in itself. That the project takes place in one of the most beautiful places in the Caribbean is an added incentive. Las Terrenas in Samana Province, on the northeastern side of the Dominican Republic, is a community of 20,000 people almost equally divided between males and females. One third of its population is composed of children under 15 and one third of its entire population is totally illiterate. Previously a quaint fishermen's village, Las Terrenas has experienced explosive growth due to its increasing tourism industry.

Highlights: Las Terrenas is truly a paradise of natural wonders, surrounded by lush mountains, waterfalls, rivers and, quite possibly, some of the best beaches in the entire Caribbean. The area in and around Las Terrenas provide visitors with 20+ miles of beaches, most of them uninhabited.

There are many foreign communities in Las Terrenas, mostly composed of French, Italians, Germans and Spanish, but there are also Swiss, Belgians, Dutch, English, Yugoslavians, Canadians, Russians, a growing population of U.S. citizens and many from Eastern Europe and elsewhere. There are, of course, a few groups of Latin Americans and Haitians. There is a French Lyceum, three K-12 private schools, and large public school sustems K-12.

Alongside the illiterate persons there are those who speak 3-4 languages. Next to old dominican-style houses downtown you'll find mansions and fancy hotels. The town shows the best and the worst of any rapidly evolving community in which economic growth has come to many while poverty has stricken an equally large segment of the population. Those with poor educational and vocational skills are the most evident target audiences for personal and educational development. Problems with waste management, water supply and pollution endanger the future while creating opportunities for creative development and public policy.

Volunteers will get the chance to see first hand the realities of a two-thirds world country, will be presented with the great potential for doing good and will become change agents even as they themselves are transformed. The most successful volunteer will be resourceful, cross-culturally skillful, culturally respectful, hard working and focused. Self-starters, self-managed and team players are a plus, particularly if they want to make a contribution to organizational change, organizational learning and organizational growth. We can use all the help we can get!

The Fundacion Mahatma Gandhi is committed to sustainable and people-centered development and also to providing volunteers with the best possible experience.

Qualifications:
- A commitment to the wholesome (holistic, integral) development of girls 10-15 (Project Chrysalis) and 15-18 (Project The Butterflies)
- Experience working in girls camps is preferable
- Special skills desirable (counseling, listening, psychology, sports, recreation and academic skills)
- One month commitment preferable
- Conversational Spanish highly desirable
- Flexibility
- Cross-cultural experience in two-thirds world countries an asset

Minimum Education: Associates

Cost in US$: $200 program fee for volunteers staying two weeks or more, $100 for volunteers staying under 14 days. $8-15/day housing, $5-15/day food.

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: Resourceful, committed, culturally-respectful, focused yet flexible.

Age Range: 18 or older

This Program is open to American, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi, South African and Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Dominican Republic Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups of 2-5

Application Process Involves:

• Phone Interview
• Resume
• Written Application

Post Services Include:

• Exit Debriefing Abroad

Fundacion Mahatma Gandhi's Mission Statement: To enhance the quality of life of the people with whom we work, using suitable resources, in an authentic and continuous learning environment. [Mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas con quienes trabajamos, usando recursos idoneos, en un ambiente autentico y de aprendizaje constante.

Year Founded: 2005