Reaching Communities Through Education
Working with the Dominican government, Catholic Relief Services is supporting an initiative to provide school meals to decrease school drop-out and absentee rates in the rural provinces of Hato Mayor and San Pedro de Macorís. Many families in these provinces are suffering from chronic food insecurity, and children must often sacrifice their education in order to work on the family farm. By combining the school food program with other initiatives such as Health and Agriculture education, CRS Dominican Republic has adopted a holistic approach to aiding communities in need.
A group of Dominican children benefiting from CRS' school breakfast program.
How Do We Do This Project and What Are Our Accomplishments To Date?
Through a process of community meetings and structural evaluations of primary schools, 20 rural communities where chosen to participate in this Global Food for Education Initiative project, which benefits an estimated 1,200 school aged children and their families. CRS is working closely with the government to support their school meals program, but has also initiated a series of community development projects that reach far beyond the classroom. These include:
- Supporting families by teaching them new agricultural techniques yields a larger harvest from the farmers' modest plots of land.
- Engaging mothers in early childhood disease prevention teaches families to incorporate healthy living practices into their lives.
- And educating all citizens on the proper use of water and latrine systems provides a healthier environment for the entire community.
"We are very careful to make all decisions with and through the community," says Miosotis, the CRS Project Manager for the Global Food for Education Initiative project. "This way we can ensure that they know that they own the project, are invested in the process, and can be proud of its successes."
Although the initiative didn't begun until the summer preceding school, 12 primary schools have already been refurbished, one school is being built, and all of the participating schools are offering meals to students. Additionally, the communities have chosen members to serve as health promoters and their training has begun.
Recently, two additional communities not included in the original assessment heard of the successes of the initiative and approached one of CRS' partners to request assistance for their schools. Proposal development is underway to expand the scope of the project to reach these and other interested communities.
Background of the Project
"It is a proven fact that children who are hungry cannot achieve their highest potential in school. Our challenge was to find a way to combat this phenomenon which is so prevalent in the rural areas," says Miosotis. This project was begun to decrease school drop-out and absentee rates in the Dominican Republic's rural provinces of Hato Mayor and San Pedro de Macorís.
