Day 5

Hola Mis Amigos,

This is the day that the LORD has made, rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalms 118:24) We have done just that; today was another remarkable day of engagement and intensity. The weather was beautiful with a slight overcast. Camp began at 8:30 AM, and once again, we were greeted by each child’s contagious smile. Today’s camp was similar to yesterday in that it was run by Deportes Para La Vida. Although, there were some faces that we did not see today, we had a lot of new kids, which means that they heard how fun the camp was from their friends yesterday.

Victor, a DPV entrenador (trainer), help
leads the Tree of Transmission game.

As usual, we started the camp off with a simple “ dynamica” to get all of the kids excited for all of the knowledge and fun that they would receive today. All of the children split into two smaller groups and stayed in those specific groups all day. I have enjoyed all games, but one of the games that we played today impacted me the most - it was called Tree of Transmission. We formed a big circle, and there were two individuals in the middle. The first individual represented the human body and the second individual represented the immune system. It was then our goal on the outside of the circle to try to hit the human body with the ball softly (suave). Surprisingly, the immune system protected the human body very well and she received no attacks (hits from the ball). Then we added another person to the circle that represented HIV. HIV held the immune system's hands back while trying to protect the human body, and we found that it was so much harder for the immune system to protect the human body. Finally we added an anti-retroviral drug to the middle, and it didn’t cure the human body, but it aided the body. After the game, we came back and Cayla, Peace Corps Volunteer, explained the importance of the game to the children. This was a great message for the kids to understand and apply as they continue throughout life.

At the end of each game, DPV leads a Q&A time, connecting
 the games to health/sex education objectives.

Yesterday, at the beginning of the camp, the children were asked to take a 10-question quiz to see what previous knowledge they had about HIV/AIDs. Many of the kids only got two or three questions right, but today the kids took the quiz again to see how they improved. The majority of the group enhanced by answering 7 and 8 questions correct. This warmed my heart immensely and validated that the work and educational games that DPV implemented were effective. For the past two days, I have been extremely impressed with the educational programs that DPV have put on and how they positively reach the kids of Veron. Even though we are 5 days into our time here in Punta Cana, it blows my mind to see a diverse group of young children so determined, engaged, and willing to better themselves and their education.

Bria, Kelly, Michael, Cayla
(Peace Corps), and Trey watching
DPV introduce a game

The camp finally ended at 4pm and the bus came to take all the children home. At the end of the day, all the VT Students, Peace Corp Volunteers, and DPV guys gathered to talk about how the day went and to share comments and questions. We then had some free time to hang out at the Ecological Foundation. At 6pm, we had dinner at Franco Pizzeria and ended the day with class poolside. We discussed all of the different values that mattered to us and the importance of putting these values to practice because ultimately, you can’t be a leader until you know your own values.

Well, tomorrow is the first day of the VT student athlete run sports camps. For the first day we will be playing soccer. The camp will be ran by Shannon, Jared, Kelly, and Ashley, and I am excited to see how the intensity and enthusiasm will increase.

Hasta Manana,

Bria Fletcher