AJWS Grantee UNIR Fights Exploitative Gold Mining in Haiti by Building Bridges across Latin America
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Finding hope and dignity after a decade of statelessness in the Dominican Republic
This month, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader won his re-election campaign, making headlines around the world. But activists on the ground say much of his popularity draws from Abinader’s support of the Caribbean Island nation’s open secret: the Dominican Republic is now over 10 years into a crisis that has kept more than 100,000 Dominicans …
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One barrio at a time, this AJWS grantee is transforming young people into community leaders in the Dominican Republic
“My neighborhood is known as the backyard — as in, the place where you throw the trash,” says Fernando Saint Hilaire of his barrio outside Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. “We are the other side of the tracks. But when you grow up living in poverty, you’re used to the misery. You don’t realize …
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Stories
Stitching together a strong sense of identity
The Muñecas Negras initiative brings together women and girls, largely from communities of Haitian descent, in rural areas across the Dominican Republic — giving them a safe space to connect, take pride in their identity and learn about their history, all while creating dolls that share their skin color. Below, step into Batey Carmona to …
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Across two generations — a family transformed
It was Yanilda Juan, 23, who brought her family to Muñecas Negras. Today, her sisters and their daughters joined: seven Juan women in all. “This project doesn’t just teach us to stitch dolls. It teaches us to love ourselves, our roots, our ancestors, our hair, our skin. To understand that everything we have is gold, …
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Kika’s journey from early marriage to college student
Juanita ‘Kika’ Antelis Juan is the oldest Juan sister, at 26. For Kika, Muñecas Negras inspired an extraordinary change in her life. She grew up in a family of 10 and was married when she turned 15 (In the Dominican Republic, marriage is often forced upon adolescent girls by families struggling financially, to lessen her …
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Marisol Baez
Aiding Haitian earthquake survivors
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Dominican-Haitian communities help earthquake survivors
Dominican-Haitian communities help earthquake survivors. In the wake of the 2010 earthquake, AJWS grantee Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico Haitiana (MUDHA) organized Haitian communities in the Dominican Republic to rapidly respond to the immediate needs of disaster victims across the border. Just 48 hours after the disaster, MUDHA mobilized Dominican-Haitian communities to assist people in some …
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