Blogging from the Dominican Republic: Sustainability

Sustainability. It’s the last word in the name of our project:  Student Organization for Medical Outreach and Sustainability. Our work is beginning to have the feeling of continuity, of persistence. We are returning for the fourth year to Paraiso, outside Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Again this year, we will operate a medical clinic and provide free medicine for a week. The team this year includes five physicians, two medical students, three pharmacists, a nurse, a “civilian” volunteer, thirteen undergraduates, and one professor. Mark Ryan, MD (’96 and one of the projects founding members) continues as medical director. I serve as academic and research director and, this year, witness the fourth year of participation of the project’s first freshman team member:  Katie Ball (’09; project co-leader).

We are well-prepared. We’ve done research in the community since the first year, returning each summer to conduct ethnographic studies to learn about health problems and health care needs, about social relationships and leadership in the community. Funded by small grants and summer research funds, students have spent from two to 10 weeks each summer doing research. The required first-semester seminar focuses on core concepts of community and a model of community building that honors local knowledge, customs, and agency. Students examine data from previous trips and summer research and learn basic ethnographic methods.

Our advance team arrived in Santo Domingo on December 28th. Veteran team members Irene Mathieu (senior and 3rd year), Mohammad Torabinejad (junior and third year), John Weeks (senior, 2nd year, project co-leader), and Jake Milnor (sophomore and 2nd year) have met with residents who we have identified as “enablers” of community action. Our focus this year is on Esfuerzo, a sub-barrio of Pariso del Altos. That portion of the community comprises about 90 houses, and we’ve done interviews with residents in all of them. The research has prepared us for our first community meeting. We’ll host a community meeting on Sunday afternoon in a broad roadway at the center of the area. Through our studies, we’ll know who is represented at the meeting and who doesn’t come. We know who is regarded as working on behalf of the community and who doesn’t trust much anyone. We will describe our research findings briefly and ask local residents to help us understand
better the most pressing health issues and how to address them. Our goal is to develop a collaborative project to address underlying health problems. We understand that, to succeed, the project must be fully owned and operated by the community. We’ll draw from our research and from the rich literature in community development to help community leaders mount strategies that have the best chances for success.

We depart at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 3rd, from National Airport. By Saturday night, we’ll be gathered in a local hostel, sorting, counting, and bagging medications that we’ll use to fill prescriptions.

Stay tuned. The good stuff is about to start.