Healthy Homes

So I´m starting a big, new, and exciting project and I need YOUR help! Here´s a copy of an email that I sent out explaining the project and how you can help.

Hello!

As some of you may know I am now volunteering with Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. I am a health volunteer and have been placed in a community in the eastern part of the country called Villa Hermosa. I still have more than a year left to my service, but it has been quite an experience already. Between learning Spanish, getting used to the food and heat, and adapting to a new culture, there have been many challenges. On the other hand, we have been able to form lasting connections in our community during our time here and through the projects that we´ve completed so far. So far, Trenita and I have formed an after-school program for the kids in our community, taught English classes, and taught a sex-ed class for teens, among other things.

Right now, I´m working on project called “Healthy Homes Villa Hermosa.” This project includes the construction of as many as 30 latrines the community of Villa Hermosa, as well as hygiene classes for the beneficiaries and other members of the community.For those of you who have never heard of a latrine, it is something like an outhouse. To build one, a whole is dug and cement is pored to line the whole, and as a foundation and platform for the latrine. Then, a wood and zinc structure is built around the whole for privacy purposes.

Villa Hermosa is a community where many people, who do not have indoor plumbing or toilets, depend on a latrine as a means to dispose of their waste. Many of these latrines are in very poor condition, old, and overflowing. Even worse, there are many people who can´t even afford a latrine at all and dispose of their waste in fields or behind their homes. Needless to say, this has caused an unhealthy and dangerous situation for the community. Worms, bacteria, and parasites are a few problems that this health issue has caused, and are most dangerous for the children who play in the areas where people leave their waste.

The good news is that there are means by which we can work with our community to fight this problem. The Peace Corps Partnership Program (PCPP) is a type of a grant system where volunteers like us can create a project along with our communities and get assistance to carry out that project from friends, families, and organizations back in the U.S. All donations are tax deductable, and be made either online on the Peace Corps website (faster and easier), or checks can be mailed to the Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C.

My project can be found at https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=517-317

Also, general information about the Peace Corps Partnership Program can be found at https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors

So, please donate, organize a fundraiser, or at least pass on the email. If there are any questions or if any of you have good ideas for fundraisers, (car washes, bake sales, etc.) feel free to call or email me. My phone number is 809-723-9881 and my email address is dbchilders08@yahoo.com.

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.

-Darryl