During this Spring semester, I will be completing an internship with Community Service Alliance (CSA). CSA is a nonprofit organization located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The organization was founded in 2004 by Rigil Ballester and Elizabeth Conkin, they were committed to empowering groups within the community that lacked funding from the normal large donors. The mission of CSA is to channel human and financial resources to communities in the Dominican Republic to respond to key development challenges, while also facilitating international education experiences and service learning. CSA specifically focuses on education, health and youth. They have created a school for low-income children who were excluded from public school due to their lack of official paperwork. From the beginning CSA welcomed the opportunity of international volunteer teams, interns, and fellows to bring their skills and abilities to the local communities. By using service learning as a mutually- beneficial way of facilitating learning for both the community and volunteers.

Interns with CSA gain first-hand experience working in rural Dominican communities, working alongside the local people. There is a unique opportunity to develop and improve your Spanish skills while also developing professionally. There are internships for social work students, like me, education students, and medical students. Education students can gain teaching experience or teach ESL and medical students in their third or fourth year can participate in a medical rotation in a rural clinic. As a social work intern there are many opportunities that include: working alongside a school psychologist, working with the community to enhance their skills, help tutor students with their English, run community groups, and improve with parent-child interactions.

I personally, will have the opportunity to volunteer at a school in Batey Lecheria, a region in the country’s central highlands, northwest of Santo Domingo. The area is densely populated and was originally built around a sugar cane field. The people of Batey Lecheria experience extreme poverty which lead the community to face multi-level adversities. Which is why it is important for CSA’s volunteers to follow their mission that values safety and inclusivity.

In addition to volunteering at the school I will be working with a group of students one day a week and helping them with their English, emotional development and problem-solving skills. Another day of the week I will be working with a volunteer group Cafe con Leche to help run a physical education class to get the students and community moving. As well as working with an identified groups of families to help their parent-child relationships.