Here's a quick update:
I booked an appointment today to get my inoculations for the Dominican Republic, and it looks like I won't have to get too many! YAY!
I am also applying for two financial awards for International Experiences through the University of Waterloo within the next few weeks, so I will keep you posted about those!
Today I want to share with you some information about the Dominican Republic, as well as some information about where and what my over seas volunteer placement will be.
First, I would like to share the link with you to the website for the Esperanza Project which is where I will be volunteering my time this summer:
This website really got me excited about my trip, especially after reading all the reviews about the project and how it is an amazing place to spend the summer! I am really pumped about going!
And now for the information about Dominican Republic. This information is for me and you, so that we can both know a little bit more about the country and what sort of history, present and future they have. I also want to learn about the government, economy, climate, environment, etc. so that I can best prepare myself for a three month stay.
All of the following information that I provide about the Dominican Republic has been obtained from the CIA World Fact book website:
This website provides accurate and reliable information obtain by the CIA about countries around the world.
The Dominican Republic has many names. The conventional long form is the Dominican Republic and the Dominican is the conventional short form. La Dominicana Republica is the local long form in Spanish and La Dominicana is the local short form in Spanish.
This is the Dominican Republic flag. The blue stands for liberty, white for salvation, and red for the blood of heroes. This flag is very important and has a significant meaning for the people as it marks their independence from Haiti in February 1844. However, since then they have had many troubles, mainly from the United States. But they have been working together to make changes to the government in order to keep Presidents in control for longer than one term.
The political system of the Dominican Republic is democratic republic, which is a state in which "the supreme
power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them" (CIA World Fact book, Definitions and Notes). The legal system is based on the French Legal System because of the influence that Haiti had over the Dominican Republic.The Dominican Republic has a population of 9, 823, 821 people as of 2010, on 48, 670 square kilometres of land. There are approximately 62, 000 people living with HIV/AIDS and approximately 4, 100 have died from it. The main concerns for diseases in the Dominican Republic are food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever; vector borne diseases: dengue fever and malaria; and water contact disease: leptospirosis. All of these diseases are high risk, meaning they are easily transmitted and caught and can be fatal (hence the requirement to obtain inoculations before I leave!)
The national language in the Dominican Republic is Spanish, due to the Spanish conquest in the 17th century. And 95% of the population is Roman Catholic, also due to the Spanish conquest.
I also thought it important to note the literacy rate since I will be working with children between the ages of 4-14 in a summer camp, teaching, learning and playing with them. The literacy rate is 15 years of age and older can read and write, 87% of the population compared to Canada with 99%. The average child spends 12 years in school between elementary and university compared to Canada with an average f 17 years in school. The reason this rate might be so low is because only 2.2% of the GDP is spent on education per year, compared to Canada spends 4.9% of the GDP on education. I give the comparisons to Canada so that you have some perspective of the poverty that the Dominican Republic suffers from.
The population below the poverty line is 42% which is extremely high, being almost half the population.The Dominican Republic has a lot of agricultural products including sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs. The economy is highly dependent on the US where almost 60% of its exports go. The US accounts for one tenth of the GDP. The US also accounts for three quarters of all tourism reciepts in the Dominican Republic.
In terms of the Dominican Republic's internation disputes and problems within the country, there are problems with Haitian migrant workers illegally come to the Dominican Republic to work, taking jobs away from Dominicans. There is also a huge issue with trafficking humans for sex trade in various countries including Western Europe, Australia, Central and South America. There is also a problem with illicit drugs traveling through the country, specifically from Columbia to places like Belguim and the Netherlands.
Now, all of this information may seem overwhelming and perhaps a bit boring to you, but I find it fascinating and I tried to leave out some of the more boring information. I find all of this information informative in terms of what sorts of issues to expect in the news and what sorts of things that the locals will be talking about. I want to make sure that I am informed and well read when I get to the Dominican Republic because I truly care about these aspects and issues and I want the people I am working with to know that I care about them and their country as well.
This is all for now, however I will post another blog about the Dominican Republic that has some more travel and touristy details and information about it.
Cheers!
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