Peace Corps Dominican Republic

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Peace Corps Dominican Republic

• Healthy Families Project

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How was the Project Developed ?

• FACTORS
• Peace Corps involvement in the health sector
  began in 1982 when, at request of the Ministry of
  Health, the volunteers started assisting the
  Nutrition Recuperation Centers administered by
  their Department of Nutrition.
• Changes in the public sector priorities and high
  turn over rate in project partners encouraged
  Peace Corps to cut down the level of assistance
  to the Ministry of Health and to respond to the
  assistance solicited by Non-Government and
  community-based Organizations.
• The project plan is based in 3 main
  interventions a) Reproductive Health, b) Child
  Health and c)Prevention of HIV/AIDS.

• PARTNERS
• Ministry of Public Health
• Ministry of Youth
• MUDE
• CE-Mujer
• IDAC
• Batey Relief Alliance
• Community Based organizations

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Snapshot View of Health in the DR

• 24 of the population lives below the poverty
  line
• Under 5 mortality rate 47/1000
• Maternal mortality rate 110/100,000
• Prevalence of malnutrition in children under 5
  5
• Life Expectancy 66.7 years
• 130,000 people living with HIV/AIDS
• Public expenditure in health 6.5 of GDP

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• Healthy Families
• PROJECT PLAN

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Project Purpose

• Low-income families living in the rural and
  marginal urban communities of the Dominican
  Republic will have increased health education
  opportunities and access to resources that will
  result in healthier lives .

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Project Goals

• GOAL 1 Promoting healthy decisions by
  youth
• GOAL 2 Improved nutritional practices
• GOAL 3 Improved reproductive health
  practices

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GOAL 1Young people will be empowered to make
healthy decisions about their sexual and overall
health.

• Objective 1 By 2006, 72 PCVs and Project
  Partners will have trained 6,000 youth in making
  healthy lifestyle decisions and preventing STDs .
• Objective 2 By 2006, 72 PCVs and Project
  Partners will have organized and trained 72
  Healthy Choice student groups in local high
  schools and trained them on a variety of health
  issues including STD prevention and peer
  education .

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GOAL 2Mothers will improve nutritional
practices that reduce malnutrition among children
under 5 years of age.

• Objective 1 By 2006, 72 PCVs and Project
  Partners will have trained 1800 mothers in
  improved nutrition practices.
• Objective 2 By 2006, 72 PCVs and Project
  Partners will have trained 1800 mothers to
  establish small-scale food production units.

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GOAL 3 Women will improve reproductive health
practices that reduce the occurrence of breast
and cervical-uterine cancer.

• Objective 1 By 2006, 72 PCVs and Project
  Partners will have trained 1,800 women to mothers
  to carryout periodic self-exams and access other
  exams of their reproductive health .
• Objective 2 By 2006, 72 PCVs and Project
  Partners will assist 1,800 rural women to access
  low cost reproductive health services through
  information sharing.

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Typical Volunteer Cycle

• Pre-Service Training (12 weeks including CBT)
• Months 0-3 Community Diagnostic and Relation
  Building
• 3 Month IST Diagnostic Report and Start the 1st
  Year Project Planning Process
• Months 3-12 Complete Project Plan, Implement,
  and Monitor project
• 12 Month IST Evaluate 1st year progress and Plan
  2nd Year
• Months 12-24 Reformulate, Implement, Monitor,
  and Evaluate project
• Months 21-24 Begin transition process
• Pre, 3, 12 month Site Visits
• Close of Service Conference

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Top Ten Activities in the Healthy Families Sector

• HIV / AIDS Prevention Youth Groups
• Organic gardening and nutrition
• Latrine construction and hygiene
• Small animal production
• Womans reproductive health groups
• Ceramic Stoves
• Girls groups
• Womens banking groups
• Libraries
• Youth sports leagues

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Success Stories Ann Smyntek

• Ann Smyntek (2002-Present) lives in the rural
  community of Mena Abajo, in the southwestern zone
  of the Dominican Republic, from November of the
  2002. Her main project consists of working with
  MUDE (Mujeres en Desarrollo, Inc.), a Dominican
  NGO, in their HIV/AIDS/STD prevention project
  with youth. Ann works with young people of 12
  communities of the area of Tamayo, preparing them
  to be peer educators in their respective
  communities. Ann facilitates monthly workshops
  with these 33 youth people and then she visits
  them in their communities when they present their
  charlas.

In October 2003, Ann initiated a home gardens
project in Mena Abajo. During the first stage of
this project, 12 patios were fenced with
galvanized hen house wire and planted with common
vegetables. In January 2004, nutrition training
was delivered to the community, focusing on the
prevention of malnutrition, diarrhea and
dehydration, especially in children under five
years of age. This course will also be open to
the community women who do not have home gardens,
and when finished, 15 additional fences will be
built to plant more home gardens.
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Being a Volunteer is

• A Unique Experience
• A Challenging Experience
• A Growing Experience
• A Sharing Experience
• An Unforgettable Experience
• IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU DECIDE IT WILL BE!

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Peace Corps Dominican Republic

• Are you ready for the challenge?
• Welcome to the
• Healthy Families Project