VCU Social Work students and faculty help to build school in the Dominican Republic

By Malorie Burkett

A group of students and faculty from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Social Work recently returned from a volunteer community project in the Dominican Republic.

VCU’s School of Social Work and PeaceWork Inc. offered an opportunity in which students could work with a local non governmental organization (NGO) and assist in providing services to Haitian and Dominican sugar cane cutters and their families.

"It takes a certain kind of student to step out of his comfort level and travel to a developing country to do physically demanding work in a hot climate," said Randi Buerlein, director of student services for VCU’s School of Social Work and one of two faculty members who made the trip.

Buerlein, Bob Peay, assistant professor in the School of Social Work and 16 students spent 10 days in the Dominican Republic working with local families to help build a school. The construction took place in Palamara, a small work camp community known as a batey, where many families live in sub basic conditions and are plagued by poverty, disease and lack of medical and educational services.

Buerlein and Peay’s connection to Palamara began with Dr. Joseph Cherubin, director of an NGO agency in the Dominican Republic that addresses health concerns and other issues for batey communities. Cherubin was aware of the work needed in Palamara and worked with VCU and PeaceWork to organize the project.

Before they left the United States, the students held several fundraisers to help pay for construction materials they would need and to help defray their travel costs. Fundraising activities included bagging groceries, working at King’s Dominion and holding a benefit concert.

A typical day for the group consisted of traveling by bus from the capital city of Santo Domingo to the batey. Work began at 7 a.m., and concluded around 2 p.m. At the end of each workday, the locals happily shared traditions with their guests, such as dancing and socializing. The VCU group learned different dances and also taught traditional games of their own to the children, such as duck-duck-goose and red-light, green-light.

"What impacted me the most was realizing that I connected with people in the community regardless of language," said Tamara Walker, a second year graduate student in the School of Social Work.

Spanish is the main language for the people of Palamara, and one member from the VCU group who knew Spanish was able to assist with the communication.

The VCU students took advantage of the cultural exchange. They took part in helping to build a school, but more importantly gained the experience of forming relationships with people despite language barriers.

"It’s a wonderful cross-cultural experience that enables two very different cultures to come together and find out how much they have in common," said Peay.

PeaceWork is an organization that arranges challenging and rewarding international volunteer service projects around the world for colleges, universities and service organizations. PeaceWork programs provide the opportunity for individuals to gain insight into other countries and learn about different cultures and customs while they help meet the critical needs of marginalized communities in developing areas.

The recent trip to the Dominican Republic was VCU’s second visit to the country and fifth trip since the program began in 1999. Past trips have included Belize and Guyana.

VCU’s School of Social Work offers this international volunteer opportunity once a year. Plans for next year’s venture to Ghana are already in the works and will officially be announced at the end of this semester.