Jump to Project: HOMES, Villa Guerrero: / COMMUNITY CENTER, Tierra Blanca / RUNNING WATER, Los Mangos and Agua Larga / CLASSROOM & LIBRARY, Los Conocones

HOMES, Villa Guerrero: With a population of 3,000 families, Villa Guerrero is a tightly knit community located in the province of El Seibo, northeast of Santo Domingo. There are many needs in this impoverished but resilient community: a preschool, a medical clinic, and, most importantly, homes. One B3 team built 3 homes from the ground up for families in the most desperate need. In order to be eligible for the program participating families must be selected by a local co-op group based on need, commitment to education, and involvement in their community. Laboring alongside local volunteers, the team worked long days in the hot sun, mixing cement, building walls and pouring floors. The houses are simple and modest, but a great improvement from previous living conditions (replacing wooden shacks that were destroyed recent tropical storms), and will provide a secure and safe home for these multi-generational families. Together with B3, this village of enthusiastic and compelling families worked to construct not only the physical homes but also relationships that forever changed the lines of everyone involved.

COMMUNITY CENTER, Tierra Blanca: Tierra Blanca is located near the city of Cabral, west of Santo Domingo in the Southwestern province of Barahona. During B3’s initial site-inspection trip, it was clear that Tierra Blanca was a community of big dreams and open hearts. Among the people we met were members of a highly motivated and active youth group whose mission is to support the town’s infants and their parents. The youth group was among many dedicated local groups hoping to expand their membership and capabilities in a new facility.

Three B3 teams worked in stages to build a multipurpose community center to serve as a safe haven during tropical storms and hurricanes, a small preschool, and central meeting area for local committees (including the youth group and a micro-credit savings and loan project). The facility also included bathrooms and a small kitchen. The local community joined B3 on the worksite everyday, providing support through both labor and inspiration. This new facility is now open and offering new opportunities to this vibrant village and its active programs. The local micro financing project is an interesting insight into this forward thinking community: each member donates 50 Dominican pesos (about $1.50) each week to sustain the fund, and a volunteer from Plan International is helping them learn about investments, training, and development of business plans for viable programs. Members are able to take loans to finance small stores, repair shops, etc. The Community Center built by our B3 teams is home to this project as well. There was an outpouring of enthusiasm and hospitality in this community that will not soon be forgotten by B3.

RUNNING WATER, Los Mangos and Agua Larga: The pueblos of Los Mangos and Agua Larga are located near the town of Alta Mira in the province of Santiago in northern Dominican Republic. Both are very poor towns (100-150 people) with no running water or electricity. B3, along with two Peace Corps volunteers and the communities, provided something so valuable and essential to these remote villages: water. In both communities, B3 provided the materials and labor for 5km of buried PVC pipes and connections to 30 tap stands in each village. The systems are gravity fed, and employ a simple design to minimize repairs and expenses. To provide an invaluable element of sustainability, each town has formed committees to develop statutes for all members using the water: all must pay a small stipend to use the tap, agree to work a certain amount of days on the pipeline, and cannot use water for animals or farms. The days were long and the work was strenuous as the pipes needed to be buried about 1 meter deep to protect the tubes from damage. There was more work than any of the teams imagined! B3 teams painted the water tanks with true B3 flair–the tank in Aqua Larga sits at the entrance to the village and has become a landmark in the region. On our last day when the first tap was turned on, there was not a dry-eye among the B3 team or the community!

In addition to providing these communities with running water, B3 addressed two other issues: the lack of electricity and a refuse collection service. Each home, thanks to the generosity of B3, now has a small solar panel that will provide about 3-4 hours of electricity every day. And thanks to a donation of garbage containers and the participation of the local governor, these communities can begin to combat pollution by properly disposing of waste. Providing water, electricity and trash removal were fundamental lessons for both the students and adults on our teams, and proved to be a great opportunity to really make a difference in the world.

CLASSROOM & LIBRARY, Los Conocones: Los Conocones is located southwest of Cotui, near Hernando Alonzo on the Presa de Haitilla, a dam northwest of Santiago. There are approximately 600 people in this community where education has finally become a priority for these families. The small local school was in desperate need of help; there were only 2 classrooms for grades 1-6 and a third makeshift classroom (a roof extended over a patio) that had existed until it was destroyed in a tropical storm. In addition to repairing and re-constructing the damaged classroom, B3 built an additional classroom and a library that now houses 6 donated computers as well as many books; a rarity in this area of the Dominican Republic.

A Peace Corps health volunteer acted as the coordinator for this project, working with B3 and the local director of the local primary school. This project was of great importance to the community as the students were squeezed into a small space not conducive to teaching or learning. The director was committed to the project, guaranteeing B3 that local parents, friends, and, without question, the students would be working alongside us. Between the location and the community, this project offered a unique opportunity for B3 students to make a major impact on the lives of so many, and to gain insight into the people and culture of Dominican Republic. It was an experience that we will not soon forget.