Community Program Development Volunteers

  Dominican Republic

Las Terrenas

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, throughout the year.

Description: Short-term and long-term Volunteer/Partners are needed in education, the environment, youth, health, economic development and cultural development. VPs may work one on one or in group settings, facilitating training and educational activities, and/or coordinating programs and activities.

Long-Term and short-term Volunteers help achieve program goals and objectives by working with community partners, managing service areas for targeted audiences in the community and seeking out funds and resources to make the program sustainable and effective.

Program descriptions are as follows:
- Education programs provide support to existing educational institutions and aim at broadening the educational scope of what's present in the community, in areas such as computer literacy, environmental education, geography competencies, life skills, leadership development, academic support for K-12 learners (literacy, math, sciences), literacy for adults, personal hygiene and personal growth.
- Environmental programs help produce change in three areas of personal development: a) preservation, b) behavioral change, c) action. Monthly and annual events help keep a presence in the community as connections are built between daily personal life and the life of the earth in a variety of settings.
- Youth programs help equip audiences with basic life-giving and life-enhancing tools and knowledge, particularly in regard to personal health, social skills, leadership and civic involvement and responsibility. Programs are developmental, with emphasis on hands on practices and with a focus on activities that are age-relevant and psychologically attractive.
- Health programs seek to provide support in specific life-cycle areas such as pregnancy and maternal care, personal hygiene, HIV/AIDS/STD education, diet, family dynamics and holistic medicine.
- Economic development programs provide participants with basic knowledge and skills in budgeting, economic planning, small business development, and skill-building around specific crafts and skills.
- Cultural programs seek to benefit the community through cross-cultural activities, multicultural development and global outlooks. Social and educational programs help enhance the global and the local. Study abroad, international interns and educational exchanges are long-term objectives.
- Technical support. The Foundation could benefit from assistance in Web development, fundraising, recruitment of Volunteers, public relations, digital media production (flash, video, audio), radio, TV, newspapers, etc.

SHORT TERM VPs work a year or less (1-week minimum), delivering short-term components of any of the above programs. They may also participate in any of the following activities:
- Tutoring and Advance Literacy (in Spanish). Assist with academic development in specific subject areas for K-12; help adults learn to read and write; support library program training youth and adults on reading comprehension and reading/writing skills.
- Tutoring and advance literacy (in English) support English learning programs in private and public schools, providing support to English curriculum, conducting support activities, enhancing language acquisition, helping completiong of homework.
- Conversational English (all academic levels and adults) conduct tutorials and conversational groups for children, youth and adults; enhance conversational English skills for tour guides, tourist guides, hotel employees, citizens in general with an interest in learning the language.
- Children and youth programs--summer camps, spring camps, winter camps, start and upkeep hiking trails, create/organize/arrange for youth activities, teaching kids how to swim, doing crafts, camps, team building, sports, caring for the environment, home garden projects as well as school garden projects, teaching specific crafts and manual skills (boys and girls), teaching the use of musical instruments
- Health basic health training for mothers, single mothers, and parents in general; diet training, cooking schools, general hygiene workshops and training.
- Professional skills helping young adults and young professionals on basic skills such as customer service, basic clerical skills, basic accounting, basic budgeting, program planning and implementation, leadership for clubs and community organizations, multicultural leadership, lifeguard training, CPR/first aid training, fire department training, police training, waiter/waitress skills and training
- Life skills training personal habits, personal hygiene, basic academic skills, learning how to learn, HIV/AIDS, STD training and protection, learning a trade or craft
- Landscaping and the environment designing, creating and establishing landscaping projects around town, particularly flower gardens, reforestation, composting and home gardening (vegetables).
- Technical support Web development, fundraising, recruitment of Volunteers, public relations, digital media production (flash, video, audio), radio, TV, newspapers, etc.

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, a growing population of U.S. citizens and many from Eastern Europe and elsewhere. There are, of course, a few Latin Americans including a large group of Haitians and a growing group of Ecuadorians from Otavalo. There is a fully-accredited French Lyceum, three K-12 private schools, a night public secondary school and a large public basic school (K-8).

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: Volunteers will do best if they have intermediate level Spanish, have had some experience traveling, working or volunteering overseas, are creative and/or are willing to take risks, and are flexible. In addition, it helps a lot to have a positive attitude, to be culturally respectful and to be committed to service. Living in a developing country can be challenging because of how different life styles and living conditions can be. We seek volunteers that have some experience in program development, who have worked with groups and are willing to be a team player. Time and work pace are different in our midst and flexibility is a must in order to adjust well. We are a small organization, without an office, staff or finances, so we depend on our ingenuity, good will and volunteer efforts from the community and from those that come from overseas. When you come you do so as a partner in community service and we are very grateful for your willingness to work with us on behalf of the community.

Cost in US$: $200 program fee, plus room and board.

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: College student or graduate, but we've had younger and older.

Age Range: 18-70

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Dominican Republic Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Other
• Phone Interview
• Resume

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