TEE-AHNA
Elementary Education |
TEE-AHNA
Elementary Education |
Muchacha Power means Girl Power. The first time I visited The Mariposa Foundation I fell in love with the work that they do. We received a tour of the Mariposa Foundation which is located in Cabarete (the same area we stay currently) and met the girls for the first time which was truly such an empowering experience. The name Mariposa means butterfly, and butterflies represent transformation. The Mariposa foundation uses the butterfly as a symbol for transition, freedom and peace. The name Mariposa was not only chosen because of its powerful message, but because of its historically rooted importance to the Dominican Republic. Mariposa was a code word used by the four Dominican Mirabal Sisters who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo and were involved in underground activities against his regime. Three of the sisters were assassinated on November 25th 1960 which is now a designated day declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999 International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to stop gender-based violence. To be completing service work in a place that honors these 4 women is truly a remarkable opportunity. I was blown away by the strides this foundation is making which is why I decided to focus my research on the foundation and the positive impact it has made in the girls lives short term and long term. These women risked their lives for their country’s independence and women to be able to educate. These women are a role model for change, feminism, and bravery because their efforts has influenced millions across the world. Women are some of the most underrepresented and unvalued in the world which is why this foundation focuses solely on females in poverty. The Mariposa foundation mission which is to educate and empower girls to create sustainable solutions to end generational poverty. The Mariposa Foundation believes investing in access to health care, safety, education, and foundational skills for these girls so it will have a tremendous impact on not only themselves but the family members that come after them to stop generations of poverty from continuing. It’s common that females in the Dominican Republic are pregnant before the age of 16 which causes those to either not finish school or rear towards the wrong path of violence, disease, child marriage, and prostitution just to support their families. If the girls are invested in early before age 12, they are at a higher risk of being successful in life. Their mission aligns with my role on Buffalo State campus both academically and socially. Having a minor in Urban Civic engagement and being the current executive board Community Service Chair of P.U.L.S.E Powerful United Ladies Striving to Elevate our ultimate goal on Buffalo State Campus and the community is to educate, elevate and empower. I felt as if all the stars were aligned perfectly for me to be a part of this movement because this is what I have a passion for. Being an African American female in education is uncommon in most schools and my passion for education stems from that underrepresentation. I want to be that bridge for students of color and students living in poverty who are at risk for many educational, social, physical and emotional disadvantages. I want to be a positive role model for women, which the Mariposa Foundation ultimately strives to do. My minor has shown me how to work with students in poverty as I completed several community service projects and courses on diversity and sociology. I am truly grateful to further my education at the Mariposa Foundation and while being here I know I can make a huge impact even if it’s just one girl. I want to take the things I learned in the Dominican Republic to Buffalo and spread the mission of the Mariposa Foundation through my work with P.U.L.S.E. The Mariposa Foundation hopes this model for education and empowerment of women can be replicated around the world not just in the Dominican Republic. What I found cool about the Mariposa Foundation is that it doesn’t solely focus on education. It always strides to make learning fun in all means and teaching girls lifelong skills they can use daily or down the road. The foundation tries to tap into the girl’s talents and dreams and give them a voice to educate others and most importantly believe in themselves. The girls who attend the foundation are given a scholarship to attend Private School which is incredible! The Mariposa Foundation has become so popular in the last few years that there is a waiting list. They also have a rule which guarantees the sibling of the current girl’s membership once they turn 7 or 8 up until they are 18 years old. While on the tour of Mariposa we were shown different rooms where volunteers and staff educate the girls. Some things that really caught my attention was the dedication each individual room had to a particular female in history who was either Dominican, Haitian and even some from the states who made an impact for women. This gives students the motivation to be like those powerful women and shows them that they are the change. I loved the artwork on the walls, some of which some of the students assisted with during art class as a project. Students actually can walk the halls and say “I drew that” or “I painted this”. I felt the foundation was like a home for these girls and everyone felt comfortable. Each room also had its own purpose. There was a young adult and children’s library filled with bilingual books for the girls to learn English. There was also a heath room where girls learn about HIV/AIDS, proper cleanness, personal hygiene and health. The Mariposa Foundation believes this is important because some girls aren’t receiving this care and education at home. The girls brush their teeth at the foundation every day before lunch and go to the dentist free of charge once and/or twice a year. That is an amazing opportunity for them and they are getting properly taken care of which helps with their overall growth developmentally and confidence physically. The girls also have swimming lessons, where some compete in surfing competitions once they become really advanced! The Mariposa Foundation makes a statement every year of being one of the only Dominican group of girls to compete and that’s something to be proud of. The foundation also conducts cycling lessons, music classes, vocal, dance, instrument, video production etc. The foundation involves parents and teachers as well in making things to sell at the gift shop they have. People sell organic made peanut butter, handmade jewelry, wallets and more! The foundation also provides cooking lessons using some of the foods they grow right in their garden! Girls learn how to harvest and grow things like, fruits, vegetables and nuts then learn by a nutrition how to create a healthy meal that is still delicious! The programs that this foundation offers are limitless, did I mention some students took circus classes and actually performed it in front of family and friends!? The opportunities grow as the foundation grows and more talents are being discovered. It keeps getting larger as more volunteers bring their talents. It’s remarkable to see the girls have something to look forward to and learn. If you would like to learn more about the Mariposa Foundation and its mission please click on the link below and watch the video. http://www.mariposadrfoundation.org/ Imagine yourself playing a game of taboo or charades…it’s fun at first but then becomes frustrating because you can’t find the words to describe what you are thinking. Well that’s how second language learners feel when in the States trying to learn English…that is now how internationally trying to learn Spanish at The Mariposa Foundation. Part of our time at the Mariposa Foundation also involves Spanish classes. The older girls at the foundation (13 and up) have the opportunity to teach us Spanish while we teach them some English. It is more difficult than I thought to try and decipher what someone from another language is saying along with trying to figure out how to correctly respond. I realized my brain needed thinking time to translate. The first icebreaker we played was an introduction game of just Me Llamo (name) and a Spanish word that describes your first name with a motion. I said “Me llamo Tee-Ahna, telefono” This was actually really cool because even if I didn’t know the word someone was saying I knew the motion and I knew the first letter which made it easier to understand. Learning another language is like a constant guessing game, I have to always be attentive and observing. Mary Jane who is my Spanish teacher does an excellent job of speaking slowly and using gestures which helps a lot. Mary Jane told us that the fastest way to learn Spanish is to fully be spoken to in Spanish often because you are immersing yourself in language rather than what you’re comfortable with. It is very difficult and frustrating at times but I understand her theory and for the most part I think it works out because she is a great teacher and very creative! She made sure we understood along the way by checking for comprehension. We played games to learn Spanish such as steal the bacon and man overboard which we are familiar with in the States. Mary Jane added a spin on it which I think was incredible! For example for steal the bacon she gave everyone a number in Spanish and when your number was called you and the opponent would run up to the basket, grab and index card with a word on it and translate the word or fill in the blank on a white board. I must admit I sucked at this game because I haven’t taken Spanish since high school so it was more of a refresher for me lol. Man overboard was really fun though. We were told to walk around the room and when a word was called in Spanish we had to do the motion with a partner that goes with the word. I liked this game better because we only had a few words to remember. Some were Pero en casa (dog in house), un bebe (baby) or mochila (backpack) and they were repeated so it was like practice for me. I remember the motion for mochila was a piggy back ride and one of the Mariposa girls jumped on my back unexpectedly but I caught her and then we both started laughing. In the end we got a chance to reflect on the activities and I thought that it was a great way to learn! Although I wasn’t the winner of a game or completely fluent I still understood the basics and had fun. As a future educator I understand how important it is to be active while learning. Students retain information better when it being done in a form of a fun activity rather than a lecture; especially when it comes to ENL (English as a new Language Learners). I loved getting involved with the girls because they all had such playful personalities and sass I can’t wait to take more Spanish classes to try to get to know them better.
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AuthorHey everyone! My name is Tee-Ahna Gilmore and I am a senior at Buffalo State College majoring in Childhood Education and English with a minor in Urban Civic Education. I am super exicited to be going on this journey with IPDS-Dominican Republic 2017. Fun fact about me...this is my first ever international and plane experience! My main passion for this international experience stems from the positive impact I can make on the lives of young girls at the Mariposa DR Foundation. Giving back what has been given to me and enhancing my overall development educationally, emotionally, culturally, lingustically and socially motivates me. Hope my journey excites you! ArchivesCategories |