Our co-workers and associates in Dominica were devastated by Hurricane Maria September 20.
Hurricane Maria intensified to a vicious Category 5 storm just as it slammed in the picturesque island of Dominica.
The lush green landscape is now brown. The rainforest trees and all trees are now stripped bare. Landslides and flooding have collapsed roads and villages. Read more
It’s time to think about water. Our Southeastern streams dried up during this drought and many communities were on severe water restrictions. Our mountains burned. We are so thankful for these first rainy days in months, but our need to protect our water will never end. Will you help? Read more
Today is Giving Tuesday. Please consider the Caribbean SEA and TenneSEA Kids 4 Clean Water in your charitable giving plans.
During the busy holiday season, please consider helping Caribbean and TenneSEA provide programs for Students and Communities to better protect and restore our precious water. From rain gardens at schools in Tennessee to constructed wetlands and latrines in under developed countries, our kids are leading the way to better water (and learning Science and Engineering at the same time)!
There are 3 ways you can help!
Although we mostly focus on environmental education, there are many issues out there that are close to our heart. In Juancho, where we work in the Dominican Republic, there are over 50 kids who are considered “invisible”. These kids are unacknowledged by the government – they have no papers, which means that they have no chance of ever going to school, getting a drivers license, or getting a job. Catherine Colby, who is our liason for our work in Juancho, has worked out a deal with the local elementary school so that these children may attend through 4th grade, but they must have uniforms! Catherine goes to the Dominican Republic monthly and is collecting long khaki pants and light blue polo shirts (thats the local uniform), packs of socks and underwear (boys and girls), and outgrown sneakers (sizes 5-12 boys and girls). She will be leaving November 10th, so if you or anyone you know can donate any of these items (new or used), please let us know! You may email Maria@Caribbean-sea.org for more info or to find out how to donate.
Come see what we’ve done in the DR!
Now now now, just because I haven’t been blogging doesn’t mean that we haven’t been working!
One of the projects that we’ve been doing the last couple of weeks has been in the small town of Juancho in the Dominican Republic. We have been working closely with E.G.E. Haina, which is an energy generating company in the DR. For a little bit of history, E.G.E. Haina has built a windpark near Juancho, but since the windpark doesn’t create jobs, they’ve decided to help the community in other ways, which is where we come into the picture. Mary Beth has taught several health and sanitation classes in the area and has worked with teachers there too. There are other projects in the works too that include artificial wetlands, protected marine areas and ecotourism.
When I went down there in August with Mary Beth, we were getting certified for Reef Check, which creates a baseline assessment of the status of the reefs. Let’s be honest though, as much as I would LOVE to keep going back and doing Reef Check, it’s not exactly feasible or ideal for a bunch of us to travel to Jauncho every year to dive, which is what a proper Reef Check site needs. So, we have 2 of the local fishermen that have been selected from their local cooperative to be SCUBA certified!! These fishermen (whom I know and can personally vouch for – they are two great guys!) will be Reef Check trained and have other diving related responsibilities too that will ultimately benefit the whole community.
However, as any diver knows, getting certified is not cheap even in the US, which doesn’t have the kinds of import fees that the DR has… we have to raise about $500 to get them through the classes… and believe it or not, I’m not asking you for money (though of course if you want to donate to this cause, it would be GREATLY appreciated), but ideas! How can we raise $500 relatively quickly?
boating in the bay at Juancho
