Ok so some of you have been asking me what exactly I do for work… I don’t write a lot about work in my blog posts because as of right now it hasn’t really changed too much, and therefore my posts would be very repetitive. However, I will dedicate this entire post to enlightening y’all about what exactly I do here down in the Caribbean.
My Job Description:
I am a Community Health Extensionist working in the Healthy Communities sector. This was the job description given to me when I started…
Goal 1: Low-Income youth and young adults (18-24 years) living in rural communities will make healthy decisions in their sexual lives
* Objective 1.1- Youth will be trained promoters to lead youth groups in the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (HIV) and adolescent pregnancy as peer educators
* Objective 1.2- Rural youth will have received basic orientation in the prevention of STIs and unwanted adolescent pregnancy
Goal 2: Low-income mothers living in rural communities will adopt improved health practicies
*Objective 2.1- Community members will be trained as rural health promoters
*Objective 2.2- Rural mothers will have received instruction that will assist them in improving their health and the health of their families
*Objective 2.3- Families who have participated in the family nutrition program will establish a family-scale food production unit
Goal 3: Low-income mothers living in rural communities will adopt improved reproductive health practices
*Objective 3.1- Community members will be trained as reproductive health promoters
* Objective 3.2- Rural mothers will receive instruction that will assist them in improving their reproductive health knowledge and practice
What does this mean???
The two main health iniciatives in the Dominican Republic are Hogares Saludables (Healthy Homes) and Escojo Mi Vida (I choose my life). Health volunteers are also allowed to do anything they feel their community needs (more education courses, building latrines, water filters, stoves etc.).
Hogares Saludables is an educational course to inform women in rural communities about healthy practices (maternal health, child health, family health, nutrition, reproductive health, mental health etc.). We also train women to be local health promoters.
Escojo Mi Vida is a course for teenagers, and it concentrates on reproductive health, STIs and HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, and how to make good decisions. We also train teenagers to be peer educators.
What am I ACTUALLY doing???
In my rural community I have started an Escojo Mi Vida group, a nutrition course, and I am working with an existing Hogares Saludables group.
1. Escojo Mi Vida- We are currently doing the coursework for Escojo Mi Vida because the group was just formed. This means that once a week we meet for 1-2 hours and I teach the teenagers about reproductive health. Once we are finished with the course I will train a few of the students to be peer educators, and we will then start new Escojo Mi Vida groups in neighboring campos. We also have regional and national conferences for the group members.
 |
| Example of an Escojo charla. |
 |
| example of an escojo charla |
 |
| example of an escojo charla |
 |
| example of my beautiful drawings... i draw penises and vaginas all day. |
 |
| My escojo boys preparing a "drama" to teach the girls about teen pregnancy |
 |
| the escojo girls preparing a drama to teach the boys about teen pregnancy |
 |
| the escojo boys explaining to the girls why dominican teens end up with unwanted pregnancies (social/familial pressures etc.) |
2. Nutrition Course- I started a nutrition course in order to get to know some of the women in my community a little better. We meet once a week for 1-2 hours and I teach them about nutrition. When we are done with the classroom portion we then go and cook a healthy meal together. The women LOVE this. We decide the week before what we are making so that each woman can bring one of the ingredients.
 |
| Cooking with lots of hojas verdes! |
 |
| Reviewing the activity I just had the women do to help them learn about vitamins and minerals |
 |
| My nutrition group |
 |
| Locrio with hojas verdes. I try to choose foods that are similar to the food they eat on a daily basis and spice them up by adding lots of veggies! |
 |
| Enjoying the yummy/healthy food they just made! |
3. Hogares Saludables- There is a group of women who have already completed the Hogares Saludables course with another volunteer who lives a few campos over. Therefore they are in the “house visits” phase. This means that they have all learned the information in the course and are now going around in the community house to house. They talk to the women of each house about specific health themes, and when they feel that the woman of the house knows how to run a “healthy home” we certify the house and give them a sticker. I have taken over this group for the other volunteer so I go on all the house visits with them. We also have regional and national conferences for the group members.
 |
| We have our hogares group in the clinic because it is an empty building (it is not functioning/doesnt have any equipment) |
 |
| My project partner (left) and some of the women from my community at a Hogares Saludables Regional conference. |
4. I am also currently working on an application for a big PEPFAR grant. The money will go towards starting 10 new Hogares Saludables groups and 10 new Escojo Mi Vida groups in my area. (I just turned in the application... YIPPEEE)
5. I would like to integrate the Escojo Mi Vida curriculum into the local high schools because they do not have a very thorough health curriculum. I am thinking about doing one class every week for two grades at a time (so each student would see me every other week). I am still negotiating with the director of the school in my area, and once I get approval I will either include the program on my current grant application or do a completely different grant application.
6. While doing my community diagnostic (it ended up being 20 pages in Spanish…. Yikes) I noticed that my community has a really big problem with hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. I am thinking that for my thesis project I will do an integrated nutrition and exercise course. I want to set the course up as a competition (like The Biggest Loser) and during the course I will monitor fasting blood sugar levels, blood pressure, weight, and body fat. I also plan on helping each participant to start an organic vegetable garden in their yard (availability of vegetables is an issue here).
That is all I have planned so far, but I am sure more projects will pop up down the road J
 |
| This is my friend Estrella. I was helping her get ready for her Model UN competition in Puerto Plata. I taught her the few Swahili phrases I remembered so she could use them in her intro, and helped her prepare. She won! and now she gets to go to the capital to compete! |
