Foundation: Building a Sustainable Future

FOUNDATION

Inspired by The Batey Rehab Project Non-profit Special Thanks to Katie M Godkin Morales

FOUNDATION Building a Sustainable Future

Design for Sustainability MA Final Project APRIL LEE|MA FINAL PROJECT | SPRING 2015| PROFESSOR SCOTT BOYLSTON

Batey Altagracia

CONTENTS

Introduction Batey Rehab Project (BRP) BRP Venture Trip 03 BRP Venture Trip 04 BRP Venture Trip 05 Dominican Republic Government: Unmet Promises The Batey People: Designing in Third World Countries Conclusion Dedication Page to Katie and Johnathan Morales

Barahona, Dominican Republic

INTRODUCTION Statement of Inspiration Project Statement Research Targets

STATEMENT OF INSPIRATION

The Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti to the west. Though known for its pristine beaches, all-inclusive resorts and golfing, that’s only half of the reality of the country. In June and November of 2014, I was fortunate enough to travel the Dominican Republic with the nonprofit organization, Batey Rehab Project. Our main focus was to aid individuals and families in the Batey communities with sustainable housing, housing repairs, and knowledge of building on a sustainable future through design. Even though the Batey communities are stricken by poverty, the spirit and faith displayed by the residents there is fascinating. The Human Centered Design toolkit was a strong influence behind my MA final project.

Human-centered design is a process used across industries and sectors. It’s inspired by behaviors rather than demographics, takes place in natural contexts versus controlled settings, and relies on dynamic conversations rather than scripted interviews. Ultimately, it is a process that helps teams transform difficult challenges into desirable solutions—all through design.

PROJECTSTATEMENT

Families within the Dominican Republic Batey communities are accustomed to generational, traditional living. The pursuit to enhance the living conditions of those living in the Batey by offering newly built homes is aligned with complex cultural challenges and obstacles. One major challenge is providing a space that can be integrated with their traditional cultural. The local governmental effort to provide modernized homes is disconnected from the reality in which homes are traditionally occupied in the Batey community.

The Batey Rehab Project is a non-profit that largely works to provide housing for deserving families and break down these cultural barriers.

Overlapping the differences between the two approaches can create room for opportunity and improvement for future developmental housing.

RESEARCHTARGETS

THE BATEY PEOPLE

BATEY REHAB PROJECT

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC GOVERNMENT

THE BATEY PEOPLE

Values: Religion Family Occupants Per Home: Average 6 Some homes inhabit 8-9 family members Average 3-4 people in one day LIVING CONDITIONS: No or poor roofing Poor flooring No electricity/ Water NEEDS: Safety Peace of mind Adequate Space Medical concerns to design for VIEWS TOWARDS GOVERNMENT: Not trustworthy Unconcerned Self-motivated VIEWS TOWARDS NONPROFITS: Inspiring Empathic Trustworthy Caring

BATEY REHAB PROJECT

VALUES: People Trust Education Quality Community Building

OFFERING: Safety/Peace of mind Something they call their own Education An experience A real home

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC GOVERNMENT

VALUES: Political standing within the communities Campaigns Votes OFFERING: Modernized homes Basketball courts Community Center

THE BATEY REHAB PROJECT

Batey Milton

THE BATEY PEOPLE

BATEY REHAB PROJECT

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC GOVERNMENT

Volcano Mines, Dominican Republic

BA TE PR Y REH OJ EC AB T

How did the organization begin?

I began my research phase by interviewing Katie M Godkin Morales, founder & executive director of the Batey Rehab Project. I wanted to understand her motivation for working in a third world country, specifically the Dominican Republic, and take a deeper look into the personal challenges and obstacles she faced while living there.

BATEY REHAB PROJECT

Katie M Godkin Morales Founder & Executive director

Katie is a alumna of the Savannah College of Art and Design, (SCAD) in the master of architecture program. While attending SCAD her interest was sparked into pursue non-profit community improvements in third world countries. Over the course of a few months, Katie and I engaged in several interviews. Through this section I will provide you with interview questions and insights into our interviews.

Interview Question: How did you first become interested in the Dominican Republic’s Batey community?

KM: During my first few years at SCAD I decided to become more actively involved with community work and mission trips that were organized by SCAD faculty. I found a love for helping others and also for why I felt I was becoming an architect and how my designs could impact people’s lives rather than people’s pockets.

After graduating with my bachelors degree I went to my family’s beach house and started to think immediately about my masters thesis. I knew my goal was to do a big project as real life as possible and that required me starting now and being ready with my ideas for the fall. I went on Facebook and started messaging friends who had worked in Africa and other places where there was a great need for social designers.

I then came across the Facebook page of my high school history teacher who was working in the Dominican Republic. I had never really heard of the country before or the fact that it was a Hispanic and Afro American island with a long history of political and cultural corruption. I decided I needed to go and experience what this work was all about and in July right after my graduation I headed over.

My immediate love and connection with the people was apparent and I was hooked.

I did not initially connect just with the Bateyes,

“It wasn’t until I returned in 2011 to live in Batey Bombita and spent the year building relationships and identifying the needs of the Bateyes that I realized this where my work needed to begin and be centered.”

but the people and the country in general. It wasn’t until I returned in 2011 to live in Batey Bombita and spent the year building relationships and identifying the needs of the Bateyes that I realized this is where my work needed to begin and be centered.

Of course trying to integrate within another culture whether you’re doing it as an individual or an organization is never a seamless process. The Dominican/ Haitian culture is one of strength and love for one another and their heritage.

And as an outsider it can be challenging for them to let you in, without building a bond of trust first. So naturally I wondered how did Katie manage to become such an influence and inspiration among the families living in the Batey communities.

Interview Question: When you first started your non-profit was it hard

to gain the trust of the families in the Batey communities? How did you gain it?

KM: Before I even began thinking about starting my own nonprofit I had been working in the region of Barahona with numerous nonprofits for a four years. Over the course of that time and my research conducted for my thesis I began to take many visual notes and spend time focusing on the relationships I was working to build within the Dominican Republic. It is all too often that the villagers put on a facade with nonprofits and sometimes the families who really need the aid never receive it because the family’s who are good with “putting on a show” may receive aid first. I saw this first hand when I lived in Batey Bombita and I truly recognized how blessed I was not to have that relationship with people. I had always prided myself upon honesty and respect, and no matter my religious beliefs or personal beliefs everyone knew that I was 100% committed to my people.

I tell my volunteers never to make promises and this is for such a good reason. I did make promises over the years and I also kept every single one.

This is how I was able to gain the deep rooted trust from my people that many may never have the opportunity to build even after many years.

I make sure the first questions I ask are about the family on a personal level, because I care and BRP does not simply just hand out aid. This is not a sustainable method in response to aiding in a third world country. Anyone can drop money and buy things, but what about education and creating a sustainable living within the communities.

My people strive to learn and to be challenged, and this furthermore strengthens their trust because they know I am dedicated and focused on them as an individual and how I can truly impact their

life. Trust is also something you do not gain and keep, you have to constantly work to retain the trust and sometimes you may loose relationships because people are simply not invested in themselves.

There is only so much you can do to help someone, before they also have to want to help themselves.

Unlike most individuals or organizations Katie built BRP on the values that are truly centered around the needs of the people in the community. From her experiences living in Batey Bombita, and studying their way of living gave way for the Batey Rehab Project to become such a influence in their culture.

Designing in the Bateyes The mission of the Batey Rehab Project is to mobilize a movement of people to aid in the deliverance of knowledge, thus creating a shift of thinking towards international projects and programs integrated within Batey communities in the Dominican Republic.

I was fortunate enough to volunteer with BRP twice in June and November of 2014, and both times providing me with life changing insight into the true meaning of user centered design. Initially I wanted to volunteer for a second time to gather research for my Final MA project, but I gained much more. Returning to the Dominican Republic and getting a chance to reconnect with the kids, BRP staff, and the culture was an amazing experience.

Returning to one of the villages where we did work previously was an unreal feeling.

I was beyond grateful to have another opportunity to be immersed in the culture, and return to the laughter and smiles of the children. In the next section I will share three prominent venture trips for BRP and the people in the Bateyes where we worked.

Batey Bombita

VENTURETRIP03

Batey Altagracia

Romelina’s Home

BUILDING A HOME FOR ROMELINA

My first experience constructing a home from the ground up was in Batey Altagracia. The goal for visiting that particular village was to respond to an emergency that Katie learned of, with two homes in that village. One was a complete rebuild for a house that had recently caught fire, and the other was a replacement of the flooring, siding, and roofing of a home that was crumbling.

Single mother Romelina, was the grateful recipient of the full build home for herself and her five children. Day one of rebuilding her home for the volunteers consisted of clearing out the home site to prepare for building the foundation at the same time learning native construction methods.

To give a little more context the volunteers on the construction site that are actively involved in the building process are free from smart-phones, cameras, tablets, and

notebooks so there is no physical way of recording the construction methods that we are learning, and also capture all the small valuable pieces of knowledge that are being conveyed around us.

As a new volunteer and visitor to the Dominican Republic, the language barrier presented itself as a challenge. There was always one or two translators on site at all times, but bits and pieces of information always seemed to be lost or miscommunicated during translation.

Over the course of a couple of days the volunteers, BRP staff, and helping hands from the community managed to finish laying the foundation, and posting the sides of the house and the roofing. In the beginning and during the construction process, Romelina was involved and free to voice her opinion on the design of the house inside and out.

Based upon the expressed needs of Romelina and her family the floor plan and certain design elements were altered and refined. For example, she is a single mother of five, so living space, sleeping space, and security were three major factors that we had to design for.

After four days of construction, Romelina’s home was complete and move-in ready. One major insight from this design experience for BRP was we originally thought we designed the floor plan to best suite the needs of her and her family, but a few months later Katie returned in the Dominican Republic for an

update on the family and their new home.

The floor plan since has been completely rearranged and the double doors have been removed. In this situation I believe it was case of miscommunication of what she really wanted verses what we thought was needed in the space. This insight has led to the conclusion that there has to be another level layer of co-design between BRP and the Batey residents.

TRIP TAKEAWAYS • Involve the family in more hands on design activities to better figure out how they want their space to be designed.

• Consider a change in floor plan layout to save on cost of materials.

• Communication tools for the volunteers can be helpful to effectively design for the user.

TOTAL FUNDS RAISED: $1,985.55 Completed June 2014

Batey Milton

R U T VEN

4 0 P I ETR

Santa’s Home

Do you feel your home is safe for you?

It protects me from the rain, but I feel like it could fall.

BUILDING A HOME FOR SANTA

November of 2014 began BRP’s fourth venture trip, and another opportunity for me to help provide a deserving family with a home they can truly call their own.

Santa is a single mother of five, who solely cares for the safety of her children within their living space. Prior to the Batey Rehab Project arriving in November, Santa’s house was in poor and inhabitable living conditions.

During an interview I conducted with Katie I asked her how she determines who’s deserving enough of a new home, roofing, and/or flooring. I asked this question to better understand the BRP process, and also to take a deeper look into the people who I am aiming to help.

“How do you choose which families you want to build a house or redo the flooring for?”

KM: When we first started working in Bombita I had just left a full time position living and working in the village and doing some minor construction projects. When I decided to leave my position at the nonprofit I was working for I noted a few homes that were in major need of aid. I had no idea what I was going to do in order to aid these homes or families, but I took dimensions, photos and made an initial list.

This was based off my discussions in the community with certain pastors and leaders who had nominated these families as having the greatest need. When I returned for the first time on the first BRP Venture trip we rebuilt 6 homes in 7 days with myself, my husband, and a photographer!

After we had completed these homes, I felt that the necessary way to continue was to build an international board and have these members nominate families who they believed were in most need. We also implemented rules, so one family could only request one project. For example if a

Santa’s Children

family needed a roof and floor they had to choose and any home that did not have a roof could not be petitioned for a floor.

As the projects continued over the next year Bombita also gained a lot of aid from outside government agencies and nonprofits. We decided to complete the most needy families on the list and then terminate our future projects. You could find something to build or rebuild in every single home if you looked, so having the mindset to determine when a Batey is past its need of continued aid is very important.

Now that does not allow Bombita families to apply for aid to the church, which is how our nominations work now. Last year we developed a little more complex scenario for the choosing of homes. We decided to move into new Bateyes and build a relationship with one church and one pastor.

Each church would be our home base within the community and our foundation for our work.

Partnership with a church creates a stable and safe environment in which we can work successfully.

Each pastor whom is selected then becomes our Director of the Batey and sits upon our international board.

We want to encourage teamwork between the Bateyes and also communication so that we can work together not just for their own Batey, but for others also. At present time, the church is receiving request for aid, and if applicable once a year the church will submit these families to be reviewed

by BRP. We then visit the family and home and complete a thorough evaluation. This will include if they are employed, how much money they make, how big their family is, what medical needs they may have, what other factors strongly affect their lives.

This along with the home construction evaluation will determine if the family will receive aid, in which order on the yearly list and what type of construction aid. Not every home is a design build.

In fact, when homes only have a floor or roof, we can aid more families in one week than just building one home, but of course some homes are beyond being re-build able.

One more important aspect we have added to the process is a formal contract that every family must sign. This contract states the rules of BRP and what the families have to abide by. I also have an on line form we fill out for evaluation, which they sign that we do not promise the project and only when we have the money can the project be completed.

The process that Katie has now enforced is effective in many ways including saving on cost, materials, and most importantly designing for a specific needs of the individual or family deserving of aid.

Connecting with the churches and community leaders in the villages that BRP visits has proven to be an effective

method of gaining the trust of the people in the Bateyes. A key component in human centered design, is understanding and having empathy for the person or people we design for.

Santa and her family live in Batey Milton, where Katie’s new method of making a local church the home base was also implemented. Similar to Venture trip 03, our first construction day consisted of tearing down Santa’s deteriorating home and clear out the land for foundation.

The difference between this project and Romelina’s home is the enhanced design layout of home to better fit the needs of a single mother who has five children.

In Romelina’s home we tried to provide adequate space for sleeping, living, and a kitchen area but ultimately Romelina ended up rearranging the layout to better fit the way she used the space.

Human-centered design begins from a deep understanding of the needs and motivations of people—the parents, neighbors, children, colleagues, and strangers who make up a community.

Learning from that project, Katie and her design team revised the floor plan and decided to add a second level dedicated to sleeping space for the children. The new and improved layout created extra space for a larger dinning area, and a separate space for Santa to sleep.

Throughout the design/construction phase Santa and her family were on site and involved in the whole process just as much as the volunteers or BRP staff. Katie wanted to make sure that BRP accounted for their specific wants and needs in the space, also at the same time producing a well designed and livable space. From my perspective as a second time volunteer, with familiarity of the Dominican culture and language, communication between the natives and BRP volunteers seemed to flow a lot smoother. Team work was definitely the key to the success on this venture trip.

In the end Santa was overly grateful to finally have a stable environment for herself and her family, that they can truly call their own. Along with creating lasting memories of collaboration with a nonprofit, displaying human centered design.

Santa, and her family currently living in the space exactly to how we designed it.

Batey Milton

TRIP TAKEAWAYS • There is opportunity for the next venture trip to save on material usage.

• The limited square footage of the existing floor plan can be utilized by a two story loft design.

• Downstairs layout can be improved for a more effective use of space.

• Santa now has a safe environment for her family.

TOTAL FUNDS RAISED: $3,660.02 Completed November 2014

V

U T EN

R T RE

5 0 IP

BUILDING A HOME FOR YESENIA

The beginning of every venture trip is the start of another opportunity to improve upon the last construction project, building upon the success of the previous trip to better fit the needs of the ones we aim to serve.

etc. Medical issues was the primary challenge for Yeseniah’s family. One of her granddaughters’ suffers from epilepsy, so the design of the home had to be centered around the comfort and safety of all the children in case of an emergency situation.

The construction goal for Venture trip 05 was to rebuild a home for Yeseniah, and her three grandchildren. The construction for her home was inspired by Santa’s home from the previous trip. Although that project was successful in many ways, BRP looked for more ways to build a cost effective sustainable home for Yeseniah, that also included more features within the space.

Home Design The home is a 12’ x 24’ modular design, that includes a built-in kitchen area downstairs, living space, two beds downstairs and upstairs. Vented windows and flow spaces on the roof, were also included for cross ventilation throughout the home. This home compared to the two previously built, more developed design wise, and also covers less ground.

One main focus for all design/build projects are the specific needs of the families ranging from medical issues, dynamics of family members, how many people are living in the space, income,

Challenges Challenges that arose on this venture trip were more centered around the unity among the volunteers. While working in another country, it is easy to loose sight

of your personal purpose and the overall goal of the organization. The Batey Rehab Project values genuine relationships amongst the families in the communities in which they work, but also amongst the SCAD students that volunteer. BRP is a family built upon love, compassion, and creativity. In order to design effectively, everyone involved has to embody the same passion and represent the mission of BRP. Part one of my final design solution will be catered to the mission of BRP, and emphasize the purpose of each volunteer.

Accomplishments The greatest accomplishment from this venture trip was providing Yeseniah’s family with a home designed exactly to their needs. At the end of every construction project it’s always rewarding to see the joyful expressions on the faces of the families. Definitely an emotional,

and worth while experience. The Batey Rehab Project differs from other nonprofits simply because of the foundation which it was built. An organization that truly designs for the user.

Yeseniah’s Home

TRIP TAKEAWAYS • Unity among the volunteers is just as important as unity between BRP and the Batey communities. Tools that build this collaboration component are essential.

• Improvements to the floor plan was successful for the deserving family, but the next home will have a more developed interior design modular layout.

TOTAL FUNDS RAISED: $2,970 Completed March 2015

Batey Milton’s Church

THE BATEY PEOPLE

BATEY REHAB PROJECT

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC GOVERNMENT

Dominican Republic Government: Unmet Promises

. t D.R men n r ove

G

Martries Perez Batey Altagracia Resident

Motivations behind the Dominican Republic Government

While volunteering during the June Venture trip 03 last year, I noticed that there were beautifully designed homes sitting vacant outside of Batey Bombita. Naturally, I was curious to the reason why people weren’t living in those homes. Later I found out that the housing was built by the local government in the Dominican Republic.

In the beginning of my research, I asked Katie about the government housing to get her perspective. But I also wanted the perspective from an individual who lives in the Batey communities give their opinion on the government’s presence in the community. I was fortunate enough to interview, Martries Perez, a young man who lives in Batey Altagracia.

Has the government tried to provide or build houses for the people in your village?

MP: The government doesn’t help our community to build houses. They only use us to vote for them. They tried to promise

that they will help and build, but they never make real their promises.”

Bateyes Bombita and Altagracia, are two communities in which the government has made their presence known, but have neglected to find out about and provide for the true needs of the communities. During one of my interviews with Katie I received her opinion of the government housing outside of Batey Bombita.

I noticed there was government housing sitting vacant on the Venture 03 trip outside of Bombita. Do you happen to know why? Did something go wrong?

KM: Specifically in Batey Bombita there was a huge increase in the Government building projects, such as basketball court, baseball fields, homes, a community center etc. This is typically done when you have political supporters in a community and at the beginning of elections political leaders may also give construction projects as a gift

“The government doesn’t help our community to build houses. They only use us to vote for them. They tried to promise that they will help and build, but they never make real their promises.”

to win the hearts of the Bateyes and attain votes.

The government builds quite a few block homes in Bombita which are very nice.

They are CMU block constructed homes with metal roofing, electricity, bathrooms and water. This is very rare in the Bateyes and I had taken the opportunity one day to visit a home where a man lived. The home was completely empty except for a mattress laying on the floor in the living room.

This is a perfect example of aid that is implemented without any social research or knowledge of whom they are building for.

I am unsure of how much each of these homes cost to build, but I am sure it is probably around $6,000-8000 US Dollars.

BRP builds homes for about $2500-3000.

This is including the homes with the new second floor, which increases your square footage by 50%. This gives the home extra

sleeping space for the children. Each home we build is based on a modular design, but designed for the family.”

In both villages the motivation behind the government appears to be to gain votes for political elections. The purpose behind finding out more about their local government’s motivations was to reveal that there is opportunity for improvement.

The Batey Rehab Project has been successful thus far in the Bateyes, my final design solution can also be a tool that could be shared by BRP with government leaders to inspire a change of approach towards the Batey communities. Ultimately, the government has the potential to provide sustainable housing for the specific needs of the people living in the Bateyes.

: e l p o e P d r y i e h t T a B n i e Th gning ries t i n s De d Cou l r Wo

THE BATEY PEOPLE

BATEY REHAB PROJECT

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC GOVERNMENT

Y TE BA E E TH EOPL P

Building Relationships within the Batey Communities

Working with BRP last year taught me that understanding exactly who your user is the most important aspect to designing for any individual or group. The Haitian culture is a very strong, passionate, loving and religious driven group of people.

Did you see something special in the Dominican Republic that you have not seen in other third world countries?

KM: The Dominican Republic is an island with such an amazing history. Racism is still hugely at large in a sense that we don’t even imagine here in the USA. Dominicans are judged by the color of their skin and not by where they were born and who they are.

But despite all the terrible conditions, the social, cultural, political corruption these families and people are beautiful inside and out. For me it was a connection on a level where I found myself within these people. For the first time in my life I

identified with the person I was deep down inside and the person I had never felt comfortable to be in the USA. I found my faith, I found love, I found compassion and all of this came from these people.

I don’t know if I can compare with other countries but I can compare with volunteer work I have done all my life and there is no comparison. They have absolutely nothing but god and love for themselves and each other. This is my personal special feelings on this country.

Without the personal experiences Katie had prior to starting her non-profit, BRP probably wouldn’t be as successful as it is today. She understands the culture in away that you can only experience while living there day-to-day.

Involving the families within the BRP design process is another key to its success. Collaboration yields the most creative and effective outcome, and also

one of the most important attributes to Human Centered Design. BRP has had a positive effect so far on the people in all villages they have worked in, because they collaborate with the people from beginning to end.

Their Perspective From my perspective as a volunteer I could see the affect that we were having, but I wanted to pose the question Martries, an Dominican Republic and a resident of Batey Altagracia.

How do you feel about non-profits organizations helping out your community?

Tell me about your experience working with BRP. MC: To me it was the best, because I learned so many things, I could see that BRP loves to help poor families, and that impacted my life. And I valued that I had the opportunity to meet great people with a pure heart and live to serve.

BRP has proven that building relationships with the people in the Batey communities is the key to successful human centered design. There is an opportunity for the Batey Rehab Project to share its methods with local government leaders to facilitate real change in the Bateyes, while continuing to build upon their success, and inspiring the world to innovate with a purpose.

MC: That is the best that it has happened because we really need it. We feel too happy, we feel alive when those organizations are helping.

Human Centered Design.

Several great minds are always stronger than just one. Human-centered design benefits greatly from the views of multiple perspectives, and others’ creativity bolstering your own.

CONCLUSION

Handbook Cover

Building a Sustainable Future The final design solution influenced by the research targets: the Batey People, The Batey Rehab Project, and the Dominican Republic government is an interactive tool which prompts collaboration, purposeful design, teamwork, and inspiration.

This interactive tool is designed in a handbook layout that will be given to every student volunteer upon arrival in the Dominican Republic for each venture trip. Broken into two parts, part one is consisted of the Batey Rehab Project mission statement, volunteer purpose, and reflections from past volunteers about their experiences.

Part two is consisted of collaborative co-design components included blank floor plans and a symbol legend that will creative opportunities for volunteers and Batey community member to co-design.

Part-two also includes a note taking section

to capture valuable interactions within the Bateyes. This tool has the potential to improve construction projects provides

by BRP and local government leaders, enhance communication on building sites, and inspire the student volunteers to value each second while serving in the Dominican Republic.

Johnathan and Katie Morales The actions that Katie and her husband Johnathan are taking in the Batey communities are truly uplifting. I have forever been inspired by their passion and drive to create real change. This book is a dedication to their efforts and passion to improve the lives of those living in the Dominican Republic. Thank you for an everlasting life changing experience.

What is it about your non-profit organization that is different from others?

“I think one of the biggest reasons why I started my own nonprofit organization is because of the simply fact that the majority of organizations today do not directly aid the people like they say they do. It seems most organizations are so hugely focused on religion that they don’t stop to think what the needs of these people are and who they are. I don’t think many organizations take the time to visit their families, get to know their families or have a direct impact on a family’s life.

I believe that to work effectively within a third world country the concept of sustainability and teaching the people how to live and work more efficiently is extremely important.

Going into a community and just taking over and ignoring their thoughts, input and designs is pure ignorance and I would say 75% of organizations do exactly that. It is unfortunate because thousands of dollars are spent on projects that are not implemented properly and with education therefore they become a standing piece in the village that is never used. Another aspect of BRP that I believe makes us truly unique is our work with the SCAD students. We do not affiliate with the church in the USA for a reason because we are simply not governed by religion.

We are governed by passion, inspiration, creation, love, design and teamwork. I think it is crucial for a young design student to experience first hand what it is to design and build their own ideas.

Not only does this help a student have something amazing to put on their resume, but it may ultimately impact their future career. We need more designers who will dedicate their lives to improving the status and situations existing within third world countries.”

Katie M Godkin Morales Founder & Executive director

SOURCES Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 25 May 2015.

“An Introduction to Human-Centered Design.” Web. 25 May 2015. <http:// plusacumen.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Class_1_readings.pdf>.

Morales, Katie. “BRP Interview.” E-mail interview. 8 Apr. 2015.

Perez, Martries. “Batey People.” Online interview. 7 Apr. 2015.

Foundation Cover Page. Digital image. ©2013 -2015 Batey Rehab Project Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photography by Sam Cataldo. Web. Morales, Katie. “Housing Projects.” The Batey Rehab Project. Web. 25 May 2015.

Venture Trip 05. Digital image. ©2013 -2015 Batey Rehab Project Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photography by Misha Merino. Web.

THANK YOU.

"It requires seeing reality through others' eyes so that you can better understand what might be holding them and you back from building more open and truly productive partnerships."

The Necessary Revolution