Parents from the Dominican Diaspora Visit GFDD Offices in New York

Wednesday July 13th a group of 16 parents attending the Social Justice Camp organized by Lidia Aguasanta, the Community School Parent Coordinator of The Children’s Aid Society’s Salomé Ureña de Henriquez Campus, visited the New York office of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD).

The parents were welcomed by Yamile Eusebio who introduced them to the foundation through the institution’s promotional video. This
activity is part of GFDD efforts to strengthen ties with the Dominican Diaspora in the United States. The visit was accompanied by the screening of the GFDD Production Garbage or Resource: A Dominican Republic Experience.

The screening was followed by an exchange of opinions with the attendees where Lidia Aguasantas commented that she had seen the short film in 2014 at the Dominican Book Fair in New York and how she believed it was of great importance for
parents of Dominican descent to learn about waste management in the homeland. “It shows the country’s current recycling programs, and raises awareness on how considering waste as a resource it’s a way of taking care of the planet”, said the Community School Parent Coordinator.

Misael García, a 25 years old parent of Dominican decent commented “I have been living in this country for 12 years now, since I was 13, and I
don’t know much about my homeland since I’ve only visited it once. Thanks to this video I understood the really good job that the Dominican Republic is doing, related to recycling”

To conclude the day, the parents were escorted by Marc Jourdan, GFDD UN Programs & Outreach Manager, and Gabriela Márquez, GFDD International Exchange Program Coordinator, to the United Nations Headquarters where a visit of the installations had been
planned for the attendees.