Throughout the world, children are born in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Basic opportunities, especially educational opportunities, are lacking. Because of this, children reach adulthood without the education necessary to be accepted to a good university, and without the vocational training necessary to obtain a skilled job.
These children then have no job or a low-paying unskilled job, turn to crime or prostitution to survive, have more children, and the dead-end cycle continues.
Outreach , the nonprofit organization I interned with, works to create choices for children in the developing world through the promotion of English, literacy, and community health. The organization was established in My internship with Outreach was definitely a life changing experience. My primary task in the organization was to teach English to Dominican children ranging from 2nd to 7th grade. I had visited the Dominican Republic prior to my internship as a tourist in Punta Cana in My experience with Dominicans, besides a guided tour off the grounds of the resort, was limited to that of a worker-client relationship.
Going to Jaibon and Monte Cristi on the northern side of island really opened my eyes to the life of most Dominicans. My first day in the D. I arrived in Santiago at 12 in the afternoon. Getting off the plane and leaving the airport, I was overwhelmed by the realization that I had travelled alone to a country where a majority of the people would not speak English. I met up with the program director, Tom, and another volunteer and began my three-hour drive to my job site, Monte Cristi.
Immediately I was thrown into a situation where I was packing scabies and gastrointestinal medication into a truck after learning that every Dominican has a bacterial infection which violent diarrhea. Thus I was informed that I could not drink or even brush my teeth with the water. Dominicans are affected by so many communicable diseases that health workers often treat one child and send them home to a family that is also infected.
