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The Dominican Foundation and
IDDI are dedicated to
improving access to primary
school education and
literacy in the rural
communities of the Dominican
Republic.
Our partners IDDI are
dedicated to increasing the
quality and access to
education for the children
throughout the
provinces of
the Dominican
Republic |
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Currently, there are
numerous projects; however,
two areas of focus are in
the rural communities
surrounding the sugar mills
of Angelina and Cristóbal
Colon, and the Monte Plata
Province.
The goal is to reduce the
educational disparities in
these children, avoid
dropouts that will include
teacher and family
participation to integrate
the community in the
teaching process.
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Specifically, the main
goals are:
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The educational
reinforcement of the
children
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Educating the parents,
concentrating in
literacy
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Teach the importance of
education as a resource
to get out of poverty
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Strengthen the volunteer
promoter network that
resides in the impacted
area
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Providing the educators
additional skills to
elevate their
educational levels
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Seek out students in an
area, providing them
support to become future
educators.
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Past/Current
Initiatives:
Angelina and Cristobal Colon
This project focuses on
seven rural communities
surrounding the sugar mills
of Angelina and Cristóbal
Colon: Ingenio Angelina,
Batey La Laura, Cañada del
Negro, Ingenio Cristóbal
Colón, Batey Contador, Batey
Copellito and Batey Dos
Hermanos.
The goal of the project is
geared towards the people
surrounding the sugar mills
Angelina, and Cristóbal
Colon, in the province of
San Pedro de Macorís,
totaling 3,890 people.
Most
of the population in the
sugar cane area are
Dominican-Haitian,
which means born in
the Dominican Republic with
Haitian ancestry. |
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59.5%
of the houses are in poverty
conditions. The poverty in
these rural communities
reaches up to 88.7% of the
population.
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A significant number of Haitians,
born in Haiti, and Dominicans
descendants lived in this area
before the sugar mills were
installed.
The main economic activity in the
area is the sugar cane; other main
activities are cement and free zone
industries. Those that are not
linked to these jobs do odd jobs or
sell anything they can.
According to the study
"Focalización de la Pobreza en la
República Dominicana" or
"Poverty in Focus in the Dominican
Republic," (ONAPLAN, July 2003),
the province of San Pedro de
Macorís, 59.5% of the houses are in
poverty conditions. The poverty in
these rural communities reaches up
to 88.7% of the population.
Problem or necessity that will be
broached:
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Only 36% of the teachers have a
college degree
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Absentees and dropouts are not
seen as a problem
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The incentive to go to school is
for the breakfast
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The parents send the children to
tend other tasks such as burn
carbon, tending cows, and
cutting sugar canes during
school hours.
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The cost of high school is too
high and not easily accessible.
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The overall education quality is
at a very low level
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32% of the parent do not have
any level of education
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There is a strong lack of
educational resources,
equipments, technology and
furniture for the schools.
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The courses most frequently
given are: electricity, home
economics, farming, etc.
Monte
Plata Province
The Dominican Foundation’s and
IDDI's goal is to improve access to
education for children between the
ages 3 to 5 years in the poor rural
communities of Mata Santiago de
Mena, Sierra del Agua, Comatillo and
Platanal, in the Bayaguana
municipal, Monte Plata province.
One of the challenges facing
improving education in these
communities is the large school
absenteeism. The primary cause
of these school absences is the
state of poverty these families
face, Second there is a scarcity of
teachers to be found in this area.
And finally, little importance is
placed on education by the parents
due to their own illiteracy and lack
of knowledge.
The project’s goal is to develop
educational activities that
stimulate the integral development
of these children and involve their
parents and relatives participation,
including:
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Strengthen the community’s
organizations that focus on
education.
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Train community promoters and
teachers
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Reconstruction and equipping
classrooms
If you would like
to know about other primary
education and literacy projects the
Dominican Foundation, and its
partners IDDI, are involved in,
please contact us at
info@dominicanfoundation.org |
