It took a while to understand what was expected of me here. The SONRISAS office where I work is very laid-back and at first I found it stressful but now I realize that when the power goes out the coffee still works.
That being said, I do have a job here. I am developing a manual with charlas or chats on 10 different health-related themes. This manual will then be sent to each of SONRISAS’ 10 clinics throughout the country for use by the local educators. Educators give talks and workshops in the clinics but also in local schools. Some of the clinics are more like community centers, where computer classes and English classes are taught and people just hang out. Charlas are given in these community centers as well.
Like the restaurant business, education thrives on consistency. The manual I am working on will be useful because it will keep the talks consistent within SONRISAS and it will save the educators time as they will not need to do much of their own research.
I have now developed 6 of the health charlas including: basic nutrition, hygiene and habits, drugs, the environment, breastfeeding, and vaccinations. I am currently working on charlas for HIV/AIDS and adolescent sexuality. These are pretty hot topics whether you're in the DR or anywhere else. It has been a very interesting experience for me dealing with hot topics in a culture other than my own. Even if they don't like what I have to say about adolescent sexuality, they love my powerpoint presentations.
SONRISAS is an amazing organization. It was actually started by a Canadian dentist and now has 10 clinics throughout the country. Other than Alex (my supervisor), all of the employees are Dominican. Alex is from Thunder Bay (believe it or not) and came to the Dominican Republic 5 years ago as an intern just like me. He married Shamira, a Dominican, and is still here working with SONRISAS.
It is great to see a self-sustaining NGO that employes a staff of almost entirely locals. From what I understand SONRISAS fits in somewhere in between the private and public health care systems. They offer high quality dental care but at a price much cheaper than the private clinics. It is almost free for children to see a dentist. They will not turn anybody away (in other words you don’t have to be ‘poor’ to see a dentist at SONRISAS).
After spending most of my adult life studying the apparent futility of trying to save the wold, it is truly inspiring to be part of an organization that is succeeding in helping people. Maybe things aren't done the way I would do them, but Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.