Friends and Neighbors
Lives of Other PCVs
Dominican Republic
Editor’s note: We asked Ali Bujanovich, a PCV in the
Dominican Republic, to give us a glimpse into her
service there. She sent us this dispatch.
Secrets to My Success: Opinions from a PCV Living in the Caribbean
The bulla (noise) of the Dominican
Republic
has
captured
my
unwavering attention for the past
two years and after all this time I
have realized…I have finally gone
sorda (deaf)! But for those of you
continuing to coger la lucha (fight
the fight), let me share with you a
few of the secrets to my success, so
you too can become sordo to forces
that destroy—Apatia…Violencia…
Discriminacion—and learn to filter
Ali with some of the youth she in those that build up—Amor…
Paz…Paciencia…Tolerancia.
works with
Hearing aids can be costly in a
country with poor medical care, so listen up and learn some
preventive methods to cuidar your salud (save your health)!
be the pied piper! You have a captive audience…what will you
tell them?
1. Smile: It is the simplest and easiest way to plant positive seeds
in the environment around you which will later flourish into the
support system for your entire project.
5. Create leaders: My most successful project while in the
Dominican Republic has been helping to foster a small group
of youth leaders as they prepare to be peer educators in hopes
of changing their community. Maybe the numbers in my classes
weren’t as high as I would have liked, but I know it made a
difference in the life of at least one teenager. I may not be able
to impact everybody, but I know the great impact I have on a
few. Whoever said “quality not quantity” was on to something.
We cannot judge “success” by what is in front of us today, but
like ripples of water one life affected can spread out touching
millions in its wake and affect
many generations to come.
Empieza con solo una gotita
(begin with just one drop) and
before you know it you’ll be
making waves.
2. Invest in people, not things: If you were to take a guess between
four hours spent working on the computers in my lab or four
hours spent talking in the home of my Dona Natividad, which
activity would you think produced more results? If you guessed
Naty’s house, you’re right. Although talking sounds inefficient,
human resources truly do win out every time. Without realizing
it, those four hours spent just earned you an extra mom to come
make you oregano tea when you’re sick beyond belief, as well
as a community organizer for an ally who has the contacts to get
everyone on board with your project. Four hours in a computer
lab? Yeah, nothing a group of mischievous muchachos can’t
mess up in a few minutes and stolen batteries can’t render null
and void…believe me I know.
3. Adopt the children: Become the madre or padre you never
knew you wanted to be. Invite in all the little ones because
children are the future, and who are we kidding, they´ll come
in anyway! Believe in them, be available to them, truly pay
attention to them. It’s as easy as inviting them in to read books
and draw pictures; discover your inner kid again. Remember,
it’s in the early years that confidence and self esteem are born,
and for perhaps the first time in your life you get the chance to
?
4. Widen the scope: One of the hardest things about Peace Corps
service is living in places where people often have a narrow
view of the world. Many are raised this way, and as it is the
only world many of them have ever known try not to place fault
and understand that there will be frustrations. For example,
when I tell someone here in the DR that I travelled a really far
distance to get here, they might think a long car ride. They have
no concept of crossing oceans to arrive at airports to then drive
further distances in busses, cars and motorcycles. Nor does it
sink in that their entire country is smaller than most states in
ours. Thus begins the process of opening their eyes to the world.
Take them to youth conferences, talk to them about culture in
other countries, hit on geography, show pictures, and above all
make their learning meaningful.
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