After
spending exactly 2 weeks in San Pedro de Macorís in the Dominican Republic (DR)
I can say that I finally feel integrated into the society. I no longer feel like an outsider but rather a
citizen because I know about the society in which I live. I am working through an organization called
Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH), which stands for Our Little Brothers and Sisters
where we serve orphaned and abandoned children in different capacities. Father Wasson started this program in 1954 when
a young boy in Mexico stole money from a collect plate in a Catholic
Church. Father Wasson decided to take
the boy in and help him since he knew there had to be a reason that the boy
stole the money. Shortly there after
Father Wasson was sent 15 boys to look after and from there NPH was born. It has since grown and we have homes in 9
different countries to include: Honduras, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Haiti,
Guatemala, Perú, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Bolivia. I work in the school in the DR as a geography
teacher during the summer and will be working as a tutor of mathematics and
Spanish during the school year. Our
program contains 12 houses where the kids in our program live. The ages of our kids range 2-20, in each
house the kids are separated by age and gender.
After a student graduates from high school with NPH they must dedicate a
year of service to the program and after their service they may attend college. On NPH grounds it is as if we have created
our own society and inside these gates only members of NPH and occasional visitors
may enter.
I work in
the house called Santa Clara with girls from ages 8-11. I eat with them everyday for lunch and
dinner. Each house also has an "ayudante" or helper that helps the "tías" or the aunts of the house. The "tías" serve as the guardians of each house
and are the caregivers for each of the children. I feel that their jobs are the most
challenging because they must work with the girls and boys around the clock
cooking for them, cleaning, doing their hair and so much more. I have the most respect for them especially
because they sacrifice spending time with their families to work with the
children of NPH daily. My first day here
my "ayudante" immediately feel in love with me and I instantly felt welcome and
right at home. As for the kids it took
them a little more time to warm up to me.
One of the funniest things that happened during the first week was when
my volunteer coordinator would introduce me to the kids and they would always
ask “Does she even know how to speak Spanish?”
It was so funny because they have no idea that I live to speak
Spanish. I mean sometimes I can be a
little self-conscious about my speaking but I really am determined to get better
and to speak fluently. As the kids have
started to warm up to us they now call my name in the streets and run up and
hug me, which makes me feel so good. As
for teaching them in the school it is awesome but definitely can be challenging
sometimes. My hat is off to every teacher out there, you all are simply AMAZING!
To have to plan a lesson plan for each day is a huge challenge and then
trying to keep the kids intrigued and interested in the lesson can be hard sometimes
too. Since I am a geography teacher, the
most rewarding moment for me is when my students walk up to other volunteers
and are able to tell them their country of origin! It is so rewarding to know that they have
learned something from the lesson. So far I have one week of the summer program
down only three more to go. I’m enjoying
every moment of it!
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