90 Students Climb the Highest Mountain in the Caribbean in the 12th Educational Expedition to Pico Duarte

Participants Travel a Total of 60 Kilometers During Five Days in the Heart of the Dominican Cordillera Central as part of the program RDescubre

The 12th Educational Expedition to Pico Duarte, part of the initiatives of the RDescubre program, was successfully held when 90 students from various schools in the Dominican Republic had the opportunity to climb Pico Duarte, the highest mountain in the Caribbean. The event,
organized by Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode) in collaboration with Siempre Más Foundation, took place from February 18th to the 22nd.

The alpinist Karim Mella, President of Siempre Más Foundation, coordinated the expedition, which was also supported by twelve team members of Siempre Más, as well as students from past expeditions, which
have been identified by their leadership attributes.

As part of the event, participants of the Politécnico Ann & Ted Kheel of Verón, La Altagracia; Politécnico Femenino Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, and Liceo Hermano Miguel, Santiago, made various environmental activities including a cleanup in the Tetero Valley, where they removed about 300 pounds of waste, with the help of the mules of the expedition.

Students developed several presentations for their schools, where they discussed the symbolic parallels between climbing Pico Duarte and their
personal goals and achievements, among other environmental projects that they plan to do when they return from the trip. Students also received seminars by experts in environmental conservation from Armando Bermúdez National Park, this in order to create a greater understanding of the geography of the Cordillera, flora and fauna, climate, conservation environmental, forest fires and reforestation, among other topics.

Karim Mella, first Dominican to climb Mount Everest,
explained that the expedition traveled a total of 60 kilometers in the heart of the Dominican mountain range, on a journey that took five days. Mella said that "the trail was quite difficult because it rained for two days, so the pathways of the journey became muddy".

This initiative has been made possible by the support of GFDD and the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF), which sponsors several expeditions a year and organizes
activities with the intention of bringing together participants and reinforce the values learned during the trip.

The Educational Expeditions to Pico Duarte reflect the overall mission of the DREFF to interact with leading figures in the environmental community by promoting the participation of young students and encouraging change. Since the first expedition on March 2012 hundreds of students across the country have had the opportunity to participate in this adventure
that changes their lives.

More information www.dreff.org