The document discusses the Dominican Republic, including its history, culture, exports, education system, and volunteer work. It mentions cigars as an export and non-profit girls' schools, special education, and public schools in Santo Domingo. It also describes volunteer projects like fixing and painting at schools, preparing and completing a mural, building latrines, and home repairs as part of an international practicum in 2014.
At the CSA office – learning about what will happen during the next 3 weeks and meeting the staff
The Dominican Republic has seen a huge growth in tobacco cultivation in the last 25 years, and several major cigar producers have been attracted to the region not only for its climate and soil but also because of the more recent stable economic and political situation. The Dominican Republic now exports over 350 million cigars each year.
Garbage can be seen on streets in the cities and towns.Car/trucks are either well cared for expansive cars or those that are falling apart
There areprivate schools, public schools, non profit schools in the DRThe primary language of instruction in public schools in the Dominican Republic is Spanish. There are generally not enough teachers, facilities or funding to meet the demands of the unusually large Dominican school-age population. Many private and religious schools supplement the state-financed schools. Children aged 7 to 14 years are required to attend, and almost every large community has elementary and secondary schools.Primary education is officially free and compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 14, although those who live in isolated areas have limited access to schooling. Primary schooling is followed by a two-year intermediate school and a four-year secondary course, after which a diploma called the bachillerato (high school diploma) is awarded. Relatively few lower-income students succeed in reaching this level, due to financial hardships and limitation due to location. Most of the wealthier students attend private schools, which are frequently sponsored by religious institutions. Some public and private vocational schools are available, particularly in the field of agriculture, but this too reaches only a tiny percentage of the population