Learning Together in the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is plagued with a rise in school dropout rates and a high incidence of child labor. These factors increase social risks such as drug use, teenage pregnancy, commercial sex exploitation and HIV. In order to address the problem, Catholic Relief Services and five local partners are carrying out Aprendiendo Juntos (Learning Together), a project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. We work with children and youth who live and work in the street to provide them with quality care, protection and support in the hopes that they will stay in school.

One of our partner organizations, Acción Callejera (Street Action), works with young people in the Dominican Republic's second-largest city, Santiago. The Acción Callejera staff provides instruction, art activities, health care, recreational activities and meals. The organization's work has helped to reintegrate many young boys into the public school system.

Robinson Martinez is one such boy: When he first arrived at Acción Callejera, he was so full of anger that he was given the nickname "Zero Tolerance." The most minor slight would send him into a violent rage. After a year with Acción Callejera, Robinson has been transformed. Now a well-mannered and soft-spoken teenager, he is back in school. The other children even look to him as a role model.

Background

Many impoverished street children in the Dominican Republic are in harm's way. They are at great risk of succumbing to disease, child labor and exploitation.