Guest post by Antoine Belair, Operations Manager, Canadian Red Cross
In December 2013, a special “learning by doing” session took place in Pedro Santana, Dominican Republic, to train participants from across the Americas to better respond to emergencies. The 17-day Americas Field School immersed 54 trainees from 35 National Red Cross societies in real time emergency scenarios.
Participants also interacted with local residents, and assessed needs in communities. After assessing communities, participants came up with a plan of action.
The Dominican Red Cross chose to implement one component from the plan which focused on maternal, newborn and child health. Three years previously, UNICEF reported that the maternal mortality rate in the Dominican Republic was one of the highest in the region. The Dominican Red Cross, with support from the Canadian Red Cross, and coordinated by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, provided training sessions in vulnerable communities on improving maternal and reproductive health.
In October 2015, I went to Dominican Republic to visit the project. There, a young woman in the municipality of Bánica shared her experience with me.
Juana Maria Carvajal Colon, 21, who was eight- months pregnant at the time, lives with her husband and six-year-old daughter. Juana and her sister had recently participated in a Maternal, Newborn and Child Health training session organized by the Dominican Red Cross in her community.
Juana was especially interested to learn about protection from sexually transmitted infections, a topic she says is taboo in her community and rarely discussed. “It was a bit unusual for us to hear someone talk like this,” she says, but noted that once people were more comfortable everyone began to participate.
Juana Maria Carvajal Colon and her daughter in Bánica, Dominican Republic
Photo: Antoine Belair/Canadian Red Cross
Funding for this work was made possible through generous contributions from the Government of Canada, as well as from donations from the Canadian public.
In December 2013, a special “learning by doing” session took place in Pedro Santana, Dominican Republic, to train participants from across the Americas to better respond to emergencies. The 17-day Americas Field School immersed 54 trainees from 35 National Red Cross societies in real time emergency scenarios.
Participants also interacted with local residents, and assessed needs in communities. After assessing communities, participants came up with a plan of action.
The Dominican Red Cross chose to implement one component from the plan which focused on maternal, newborn and child health. Three years previously, UNICEF reported that the maternal mortality rate in the Dominican Republic was one of the highest in the region. The Dominican Red Cross, with support from the Canadian Red Cross, and coordinated by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, provided training sessions in vulnerable communities on improving maternal and reproductive health.
In October 2015, I went to Dominican Republic to visit the project. There, a young woman in the municipality of Bánica shared her experience with me.
Juana Maria Carvajal Colon, 21, who was eight- months pregnant at the time, lives with her husband and six-year-old daughter. Juana and her sister had recently participated in a Maternal, Newborn and Child Health training session organized by the Dominican Red Cross in her community.
Juana was especially interested to learn about protection from sexually transmitted infections, a topic she says is taboo in her community and rarely discussed. “It was a bit unusual for us to hear someone talk like this,” she says, but noted that once people were more comfortable everyone began to participate.
In the training session, information was also shared about ways to improve maternal health and the importance of breastfeeding. Juana hopes that the Red Cross will continue to work in her region, because she would like to see more people in surrounding communities also have access to this information.“The Red Cross represents something beautiful for me because I personally learned a lot of things I did not know before...I try to share the information I received with my neighbours and friends. When I see the Red Cross sign I know something good is happening in my community!” - Juana Maria Carvajal Colon
Juana Maria Carvajal Colon and her daughter in Bánica, Dominican Republic
Photo: Antoine Belair/Canadian Red Cross
Funding for this work was made possible through generous contributions from the Government of Canada, as well as from donations from the Canadian public.
