Send me mail!

The mail service in the Dominican Republic is not as efficient as that of the U.S. It can take up to three weeks for mail to arrive in the DR, and it might take about a month for mail to arrive in the US from my volunteer site. Please do not send many large packages because there are high customs taxes, and the postal staff aren't very trustworthy and might open them and steal things. For that reason it is recommended that packages be sent in padded envelopes. Even postcards should be sent inside an envelope; otherwise, they might end up on the wall of the local post office!

My mailing address while I am in Santo Domingo is:
Lauren Ramsey, PCV
Cuerpo de Paz
Avenida Bolivar 451, Gazcue
Apartado 1412
Santo Domingo
Dominican Republic

After I have been in the country for three months and move to a different site, I may have an additional post office box that is closer to where I live. But I will always be able to get mail at the Santo Domingo address whenever I visit the city.

Please send me lots and lots of mail!

"The toughest job you'll ever love"

Youth, Families and Community Development volunteer

As in many developing countries, the population in the Dominican Republic is young with 34% of the population under 15 and 54% under the age of 25. Some of the key challenges faced by the youth in this country include: interfamily violence, family disintegration, unemployment and social exclusion (which in turn lead to low motivation and indifference), early sexual initiation, teenage pregnancy, school desertion, HIV/AIDS infection and drug/alcohol use.

Launched in 2002, the youth, families and community development program is relatively new in the Dominican Republic. The program seeks to empower youth by increasing knowledge and skills, promoting positive decision making and enhancing positive family relationships. Working with community leaders, I will design and implement a variety of activities to empower the youth in the Dominican Republic. A general goal of these activities is to increase the kids' personal development skills, such as self esteem, gender awareness, leadership abilities, communication skills and conflict resolution. These activities include:

• Supervised sports and arts activities, including sports events and summer camps
• Voluntary projects such as community clean ups, registration of non documented children and environmental activities
• Literacy programs and libraries
• Vocational training including English and computer skills

This job requires me to be on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I get two days of vacation time per month that the Peace Corps recommends I use to travel throughout the Dominican Republic so that I can really get to better know the culture that I will be living and working in.

What is the Peace Corps, and why did I join?

A few excerpts from the Peace Corps Web site:

"The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. From that inspiration grew an agency of the federal government devoted to world peace and friendship.

Since that time, more than 182,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have been invited by host countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation."

Put simply, the idea is to go to developing countries and help out at a grassroots level, aiding the citizens but also empowering them to make positive changes within their countries. Another goal is to forge healthy relationships between citizens of the U.S. and other countries.

A lot of people have asked me why I chose to join the Peace Corps. I have been thinking about joining since my freshman year of college. It is something I feel called to do and something that I think will help me learn more about myself and the world outside North Carolina.

The Peace Corps, however, is not a free vacation or independent cultural study. I won't be making more than what I need to live, won't be able to save money and will be living in a developing country in the same conditions as its citizens, who have a much lower living standard than we do in the U.S. (meaning frequent community power outages and possibly no running water inside my house). But that is the less glorified part of the experience- the true beauty is that I am blessed with the opportunity to help other people and hopefully make an impact. I can't wait to see what happens!

Fast facts:
Where? Dominican Republic
What? Youth Development Volunteer
When? Miami: August 19 - 21, then to the DR
How long? 27 months (2 years of service + 3 months pre-service training)... I'll be back October 29, 2010!