2020 - A YEAR WE WILL NEVER FORGET
As we close out 2020, a year like no-one expected, FDR is working hard to help impoverished Dominicans survive the Covid19 Pandemic we are all experiencing. We have provided help to Dominicans with the cooperation of several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), two created by former Volunteers, operating in the DR. We have also worked to help evacuated Volunteers (eRPCVs) get resettled in the US. While we expect to add more projects prior to the end of the year, here is what we have accomplished in 2020 so far:
The Community Challenge Fund has funded eight projects, including:
- Building a community Court for Kids in Las Rosas by providing materials, equipment, and professional masons worth $3,327.
- Helping NGO, Wine to Water, supply 75 handwashing stations and 50 home water filters in Espaillat Province, worth $5,000.
- Helping NGO, Puente International, add bathrooms through two separate grants to 35 houses in El Canal and Arroyo Arriba barrios worth $9,993
- Helping Wine to Water provide 51 handwashing stations at health facilities in Santiago, La Vega, San Cristobal, and Mao, worth $3,336
- Helping Puente International provide 380 handwashing stations through two separate grants in Constanza, worth $2,072
The Program Support Fund has funded the following projects in 2020:
- Provided $1,000 towards the yearly college scholarship for a selected graduate from the National Environmental College, in cooperation with Fondo Quisqueya, who provided the other $1,000.
- At the request of Peace Corps/DR, provided $3,000 for Youth Business Development Awards in the Construye Tus Suenos Youth program in cooperation with Fondo Quisqueya, who also contributed $3,000.
- Provided $3,000 for food and health kits for 250 poor Dominican families in cooperation with our NGO partner, TECHO.
- In cooperation with our NGO partner Rustic Pathways Foundation, provided community pandemic relief to 100 poor Dominican families in six Bateyes near Consuelo, San Pedro de Marcoris, worth $3,000.
- Supported the printing and distribution of the last edition of AplataNow, the Volunteer magazine, for evacuated Volunteers, worth $725.
The FDR
Growth-Professional Development Committee has produced six webinars for evacuated Volunteers and our members since June of 2018. These included:
- On September 16, 2020, a webinar on FDR’s Covid19 Humanitarian Response In Cooperation with Four NGO’s Working in the Dominican Republic: target="_blank">https://youtu.be/DkULCtvRGJo
- On September 2, 2020, a webinar on applying for work as a teacher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyvAUcOVkXE&feature=youtu.be
- On July 1, 2020, a webinar on working for a small Non-Governmental Organization (NGO): https://youtu.be/4uO9i-zW0gc
- On June 25, 2020, a webinar on working for a large Non-Governmental Organization (NGO): https://youtu.be/ttgHvnOykEA
- On April 9, 2020, a webinar on Apply to the Federal Government Using Noncompetitive Eligibility (NCE) for RPCV’s: https://youtu.be/yjz2Q193R4
- On June 18, 2019, a webinar on Applying to Graduate School: https://youtu.be/Vy_UcHWQN64
For information about upcoming webinars, watch the FDR Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/138204071776. In addition, the Growth-Professional Development Committee is re-establishing a
Mentoring Program for evacuated RPCVs to help them get re-established in a new career in the US. If you are interested in becoming a Mentor or working with a mentor, please send an email to:
growthandprofessionaldev@fotdr.org
We could not have accomplished all of this without your support!
We fundraise only once each year and now is the time for you to continue your support for Friends of the Dominican Republic. Please go to our webpage at:
www.fotdr.org/Donate and make your donation to continue FDR’s important work.
FRIENDS OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
“We connect our Peace corps community to promote appreciation of and service to the people of the Dominican Republic”
Friends of the Dominican Republic (FDR), is a non-profit group made up primarily of former Peace Corps Volunteers who have served in the Dominican Republic. Through two of our primary programs we provide small grants to support projects and programs involving current Peace Corps Volunteers and the Dominican people with whom they work. We do this through two FDR program funds- the Community Challenge Fund and the Program Support Fund- supported with donations from our members and others. Each fund has a different emphasis and they are designed to complement each other. A description of each program can be found under the “Programs” drop down tab above.
Read 2019 report here
Read 2018 report here
Read 2017 report here