GIRLS FOR
MARIPOSA CENTER THE
Come visit our home here in Cabarete! The Mariposa Center for Girls, located right here in Cabarete, is a unique, international learning institution where girls, families, educators, activists, volunteers and girl champions come to co-develop creative solutions to serve girls here in the Dominican Republic. With wraparound services for girls, benefits for the entire family, partnerships with local businesses, and a robust service-learning program to engage the international community, Mariposa has developed a formula that is changing the game across the globe. Educating and empowering girls is the most effective way to end generational poverty. With the potential to bring their families and future generations along with them as they rise above the conditions they were born into, girls are the single most powerful force to affect positive change. Girls who were once seen as only domestic laborers, caretakers of younger siblings and financial burdens on their families, are now reading, surfing, swimming, going to high school, graduating, earning income and following their passions. They are the untapped talent pool for economic reform and the mothers of our future.
We are not just a charity. We are an innovative learning institution at the forefront of international development.
Poverty is cyclical. The key indicator for determining if a child will end up in poverty is if his or her parents live in poverty. When a family lives in a crowded home in extreme poverty, each day it is a challenge to put food on the table, wash the one school uniform allocated for each child, care for the sick and maintain the home, and much of this responsibility will fall on girls at a very young age. Sexual and reproductive health information, products and services are not made easily accessible for girls and the combination of poor quality public health services and low quality education that fails to educate the public is what is keeping communities poor. Major contributors to the cycle of poverty in the Dominican Republic are adolescent pregnancy and child marriage; over 40% of girls become mothers as teens and 28% of girls aged 11 – 15 have had at least one unwanted pregnancy.
The Dominican Republic is ranked 19th in the world for highest rate of child marriage with a rate of 41%*. If girls are given a fair shot – access to quality education, health care, job and life skills training and social emotional support – they will marry later, have fewer, healthier children, earn income and invest it back into their family, breaking the persistent cycle of generational poverty. If there ever was a silver bullet, this is it. *In Latin America informal unions—or cohabitation—are extremely common. In the DR and many other countries this helps mask the problem, as these unions often are not counted as “marriages.”
L
ola joined Mariposa programs at 12 years
old, when we only had a dozen girls that would meet up for ice cream or to go horseback riding. We worked diligently to make sure all of our girls were in school and often had to call their parents or go to homes to negotiate for them to come to programs instead of doing domestic chores. Impoverished Dominican and Haitian girls work an average of 15,000 hours doing domestic chores before they turn 18, the equivalent of 7 years of full-time work with no vacation. Despite all of the challenges she faced, Lola is trilingual, an incredible musician, and artist. She got all A’s in school and won many awards. She is a leader, an environmentalist, an activist, and in many ways just a girl. We know that one day when she has her own children, she will ensure that they have the same opportunities she has had, and even more.
She and her children will break the cycle of generational poverty.
Our passion to bring
real and notable change to the lives of our girls and their families is what inspires people young and old to come back year after year. We understand how to balance work and play while taking advantage of our surrounding natural resources to create a classroom like no other in the world. We are realists who are not afraid to dream big. We look for solutions to what seem like unsolvable problems. We listen to our visitors, our girls and their families. We are not afraid to make mistakes if it means it will get us closer to ending generational poverty, and consequently we have had tremendous success.
Our energy is contagious, because it is shared by all who meet our girls and learn that they are the most powerful force for change. “Mariposa gives us opportunities to achieve our goals and dreams. I gained so much new knowledge in my job training internship as the office secretary. It guides us and teaches us to see what we really want in our future.� YAnaira
Mariposa Graduate & Secretary at The Mariposa Center for Girls Number of years in Mariposa: 7
Together we will create a model for the world. Working with girls is both challenging and rewarding. We know that our investment in girls is closing the gap on generational poverty. There’s still more work and more learning to do. We have already engaged thousands of dedicated volunteers, donors, educators and partners. Now is the time to build upon these relationships, create new ones, and share best practices. We believe our campus is the ideal place to do just that.
How can you help?
The Mariposa DR Foundation is a US 501(c)(3)
Follow us!
Send a check in the attached envelope to our US office:
Visit our donation page at:
The Mariposa DR Foundation 421 North Aurora Street Ithaca, NY 14850
www.mariposadrfoundation.org
Call us at
809 571 0610
to arrange a visit and learn what items are on our wish list or drop off the attached envelope with a gift!
“I am so thankful that Mariposa has given me the opportunity to further my knowledge and to accomplish my goals so that I can achieve my dreams. I have to thank them also for being patient and supportive of me, even in my worst moments. Thank you, Mariposa.” viviana, number of years in Mariposa: 8