This week, we have been working on conducting a census for a small squatter community in Villa Altagracia. For those of you just tuning in, Villa Altagracia is where Lighthouse Projects has expanded into. You can read more about that in past blog posts! :)
The information we gather will allow Lighthouse Projects and iTeams Canada to know what the community members want to see change, what they desire to see change. Our census will also allow both organizations to gain a basic understanding of the demographics of the community. We begin by asking some basic demographic informational questions, then we added these questions as well:
1) What do you want to learn? What do you want your children and grandchildren to learn? 2) What change do you wish to see happen in this community?
Many times, people see a community or see poverty and try to apply what they think the community needs - without listening to the community members. It easy to assume (and I think it is ok to assume to an extent) that those living in some form of poverty need more education, resources, or hospitals (in fact, many of the community members told me those were the needs in the community). But it is important to work alongside the community, to listen to their needs and have them participate in the change.
For me, it was really profound to hear people's stories and dreams for the community of Villa Altagracia. Although they may be living in financial poverty, they are not poor in their vision for what could be - for the potential the community has to decrease crime rates and unemployment rates, to see young adults going to vocational school and obtaining jobs.
I want to share some of the responses we got from our first day conducting this mini-census.
Senora Saintma:
She came to Villa Altagracia from Haiti after the earthquake in 2010. Her and her two children live here and she proudly called herself the "town laundromat lady"! She works to provide for her family by washing clothes for people. Growing up, she never went to school. She dreams of learning to read and write; therefore, she would love to see more schools in the community for adults - as well as for her children.
(currently there is one school that is full in the community and only goes up to Gr. 6).
Senora Carmona
This elderly lady welcomed us into her home with a smile (although it is not pictured, it was beautiful and she smiled through her eyes). She was just so happy to chat with us for a while. She lives with two grandchildren. When asked what she would like to learn - she replied with a laugh and said: "Me? I am too old to learn anything new"... to which I responded "you are never too old", yet that didn't get much more of a response. Oh well! But, when asked what she would like to see change in the community, she said there is lots of crime so having a police stations would be helpful. As well as smoother streets with street lights to allow her grandchild to walk around safe.
Senora Camilis
She was born and raised in Villa Altagracia, and lives with her husband and 3 young children. We asked what she wanted to see change in the community she said the streets need to be better - the road ways always flood, there is no dry place to walk when it rains (no sidewalks) and there are no street lights so going out at nighttime is very dangerous. She said she would love to see the crime go down for her children's sake.
You can see her joy and optimism in her smile - she said if she could have the opportunity, she would love to learn English in a school.
Senor Feliz-Michelle!
This man moved to Villa Altagracia in 1969 when the Dominican government was looking for workers to harvest the sugar cane fields in the community. Now that those fields are no longer, he works as an artisan, selling his handmade baskets to make an income. He said that the community needs more opportunities for young people to work, there is a lot of unemployment and young people need the skills in order to get jobs.
A vocational school that teaches trades would help the unemployment, and subsequently the crime rates, to go down. Lighthouse Project is in the process of beginning to build on as funds come in! How exciting!
There was a repetition of these answers throughout our morning of talking to 30 different families. The community members told us the need for better streets, street lights - these were the two most common responses. Followed by more schools, including trades school, police stations and hospitals was said over and over again.
Organizations and programs like the Lighthouse can assist in seeing these changes happen! Lighthouse is working alongside the community to improve the streets, schools, education and job opportunities! Through building the water purification system, basic health will be improved. Through building a vocational school, it will allow those who are unemployed and lacking education to receive education and then job opportunities. And through having short-terms teams visit, construction of sidewalks/curbs and streets can be done!
Please join me in supporting the continuation of these programs, the continuation of change and improvement of quality of life, by donating to iTeams - which works right alongside Lighthouse Project in seeing these changes happen!
give.iteams.ca/forgeshantelle