In honor of the International Day of the Girl held on October 11, the United States Embassy in Santo Domingo announced the launch of project “Building Life Projects of Girls”, which will focus on reducing the incidence of domestic violence, teenage pregnancy and school dropout through workshops and career counseling. This project will address 500 underserved girls of Santo Domingo Norte.
Building Life Projects of Girls was developed in collaboration with the NGO Mujeres en Desarrollo (MUDE), an institution that works for the overall development of rural women and their families in 18 provinces of the Dominican Republic, through their social and economic development programs.
“The winning proposal Building Life Projects of Girls is an example of what we want to achieve through equal access and opportunity for all. This project directly supports the expansion and growth of social equity and access to essential social services, which are key objectives of the United States Embassy” said the Ambassador of the United States, James W. Brewster.
Ambassador Brewster also pointed that “Our alumni are ensuring that children are valued equally. No society can achieve its potential if half of the population is marginalized, and working towards equal opportunity for all is a key goal of the Obama Administration and therefore, of the Embassy of the United States of America in Santo Domingo”.
This is the third consecutive time that alumni of the United States Embassy in Santo Domingo are funded through the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) of the Department of State of the United States of America. Each year, the AEIF provides up to $ 25,000 US dollars to groups of alumni worldwide. This year, over a thousand groups submitted proposals to the contest and only sixty teams won.
The winning project Building Life Projects for Girls, will be developed by a team of fifteen people led by former fellow Indhira Bobadilla. During the event Mrs. Sarah Julia Jorge, Executive Director of MOVE, recalled MUDE’s 35th Anniversary on October this year.
