Project Launch:

The “Bateys” are communities in the southern region of the Dominican Republic that were originally designed to provide residency to migrant sugar cane workers from Haiti. In modern times, the sugar cane industry has greatly declined, leaving many of these people unemployed and often undocumented despite their birth in the Dominican Republic. A lack of knowledge and understanding of the process, fear of government officials, and expenses keep families from documenting their children. Without documentation, a person cannot travel, pursue an education, gain access to healthcare or vote. Through the “Documentation Promotores Programa” project, community leaders will accompany families through the legal system by implementing a series of workshops aimed at educating women and young people about human rights and Dominican laws.

 

Project Update:

As a result of this project, 22 community members completed and graduated from the course, which included participating in workshops and completing homework assignments to become documentation promoters. Each participant received training on public speaking and made a presentation about the program and what they learned in front of a group of their fellow community members. Each of the 22 individuals assisted at least one individual from their community through the documentation process, which was a requirement to graduate. To date, over 30 individuals have been guided through the documentation process and at least 15 are on the way to winning their documentation. By cultivating leadership within the communities, awareness about rights is spreading and fear of the legal system is diminishing. Expansion of this project will lead to far fewer undocumented people, an increase in access to education, healthcare and travel, and a radically new course of life for the people of the Bateys.

 

Testimonials

"I've seen the project in action in my community. It has already led to the discernment of much needed information about the Documentation process here in the Dominican Republic. I believe in it's potential to be a great and sustainable project." - Susan Stasney, Peace Corps Volunteer
"Before, when we started this project, most of the participants knew very little about human rights, or how to begin working on this grave issue in our communities. After graduation, they all had a great knowledge of the process, and were better able to share the information with their communities." - Jairo D'Polo, 25, Project Leader
"I had a great time getting to know other leaders in other communities. We now have a much stronger network, and have been able to help many people with information, and support for gaining their papers." - Kelvin Medina Cuevas, 24, local resident
"We have already been able to help one family obtain their documents after the course. It helped motivate people who only needed some information and a push." - Estefanie Feliz Perez, 23, local resident
"The program was excellent. I think it helped us learn about what our rights are and why we should fight. This is going to help many people because we can now teach others, how to teach others." - Alta Gracia Medina, 54, local resident