Frequently Asked Questions

Who are GP Participants?

The youth selected to participate in Global Potential are from families who are seeking to provide their children with a better future, a global and high quality education, and access to opportunities that will keep their children on a path to a meaningful life with a meaningful job.

By giving them the chance to exercise their power as change-makers and resources for their communities, Global Potential hopes to improve the lives of not only the youth, but of their families and their communities.

Our selected youth contribute their unique perspectives as youth who believe in the power of dialogue, participation, and transformation at the personal level they will inform and influence the process of community development.

The youth selected since 2007 are students in New York and Boston, many from the International High School @ Prospect Heights, the Bushwick Academy of Urban Planning, the Bronx Guild, the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers, and the John D. O’Bryant School of Math and Science. In 2011, we have opened up our application to several more cities in the US and youth programs worldwide. Full profiles of our youth in 2011 can be found on the Global Potential website at http://global-potential.org/Summer-2011/

What is the GP Training?
As a part of Global Potential’s mission to empower youth to create positive socio-economic change in their own communities within Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Boston, throughout the six-month period before departing for the field, students attend weekly training sessions designed to prepare them for the challenges they would face in the rural communities, and also to get them to start thinking of innovative ways to address some of the social issues they identified within their own communities. The youth participate in sessions in which they learn how to design, write, and present their own Action Plan for a social venture of their choosing. The students are divided into groups based upon their interests and passions.

The staff of Global Potential is also involved in preparing the youth for their summer program through in-depth discussions and skills-building activities held during the weekly sessions. Topics included the history of the Dominican Republic, cross cultural competence, issues in community health, life skills, questions of sustainability and international development, ethnography, conflict resolution, safety and security, budgeting and time management.

We encourage questions, concerns, worries, and doubts from parents. You are our greatest allies in this work of turning your kids into leaders, locally and globally, and for us the best parent is an informed parent and a concerned parent. So, the more questions you have, the better! GP recognizes and honors the powerful role that a youth’s family has in their life. Mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, cousins and any other significant people in the lives of our youth whom they consider part of their family.

What forms does my child need?
Your child will need a copy of a passport valid for 6 months from the date of entry to the county, and a signed Waiver, Medical Form (by doctor), Media Release, and Behavior Contract. Later, we will ask you for a notarized form to allow your child to board a plane.

How are they prepared for the trip?
Leadership training sessions run every week for 1.5-2 hours. The sessions prepare the youth for some of the challenges they may face in the summer. We discuss topics such as development, human rights, global poverty, racism, conflict resolution. Students also do team building activities and learn to work together for a common goal.

How do you select the home-stay families?
This is very important to us. We want only the best and safest homes for our youth, where they will be happy. Usually, the home-stay is the biggest worry for students prior to departure, but becomes their favorite part of the international trip, and the thing they will miss most. Each family is selected through an extensive process with the local village leadership council. They apply to express their interest, and are then chosen based on their trustworthiness, family composition, and ability to host a youth there. Each youth stays with their own host family, must have their own bed and mosquito net, and preferably their own room, although some students who are comfortable doing so have shared rooms with a ‘host-brother’ or ‘host-sister’. There can be no use of drugs or excessive alcohol, or gambling, or any other illegal activity in the home. No female student will be placed in a home where there is a male other than the father over the age of 10, and vice-versa for male students. To date, we have never had to change a student’s host family because they were not satisfied, and we have never had to remove a student from a family due to safety issues in the home. However, in the case that a student is uncomfortable in the home-stay, we will address the issue or remove the student immediately to an alternative home, or to stay with the staff for a day or two if necessary.

Do they stay on their own? Why?
Yes. Each student has an immersive, individualized experience with a local family, with very powerful positive results. This allows them to learn more about local culture and language, and about themselves.

How do you select the villages that you go to?
Our partner community must meet the following criteria: 1) is located in an economically marginalized and underserved rural areas (in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua or Haiti), 2) the community demonstrates enthusiasm for the program and is willing to host the participants in their homes and incorporate them into community life, and 3) is relatively isolated but within a reasonable distance of a hospital, phone/internet facilities, and other amenities deemed necessary for the safety of the participants.

Why can my son/daughter only communicate with us 1 time per week?
As hard as this is for EVERYONE, however, from both our experience and research in the field supports that this is the best method. If students are communicating with home, it will be hard for them to adjust to the local experience. It may seem strange, but actually the best way for them to get over their homesickness (which almost everyone has) is for them to have limited contact with friends and family at home. This is an IMMERSIVE LIVING EXPERIENCE that is only truly possible if the youth are able to dive into the village life and culture, and step out of their comfort zone. And you will be talking to them once per week! And all of the youth write on blogs, which is a great way for you to share their experience. Finally, in the case of any emergency, you will be able to reach us, through the New York and Boston-based support teams, on call 24-7. They will be in regular touch with us, and although we may not have phone reception, they will be able to let you know where we are at and what is happening, and to pass any urgent messages. If you are interested to talk to any other parents as to how they have managed this aspect, we will be happy to connect you with them!

Can my child visit family while they are with GP?
While we have been able to arrange this in the past, in general we say NO. Unless there is a way that the whole group can make a field trip of it as we have done previously, this is very difficult.

Can family or friends go and visit my child when they are in the village?
In the past, students have been able to arrange to have their families visit them in the villages where we work. However, this is not guaranteed and should not be the reason you join the program. If you want this to happen, you will need to discuss with both the Director and the field staff, and note that if family is showing up and bringing food or treats for one individual, to be fair we ask that they bring for everyone in the GP group, so that others don’t feel left out. We have also had families meet us in the past when we go on Sunday trips.

What is the ratio of adults to students?
GP staff accompany the students on the trip abroad and live in the village with the students. Our ratio is typically 4 staff to 9 students. This normally includes 1 post-graduate level staff, 2 graduate level staff (social workers, educators, etc.), and 1 college-level junior staff. Most are fluent in Spanish and have significant experience working with youth and communities.

What are the expectations for my child when they come home in August?
Stay in touch with their new friends/’family’ abroad by phone/email/Facebook.
Do better in school. Become more involved in their communities. Recruit new GP youth. Apply to and get into university. GP only finishes the following June so there is a lot of time together as a family to continue the great work and apply the new knowledge back into their communities!

How much does it cost?
There is no cost to participate in the program, all of their costs, including transportation, meals, and lodging is covered. The total cost of the program is $2000, and GP writes grants and gets donations to cover this cost, and make this SCHOLARSHIP available to the youth we select. However, we do ask that students fundraise $300; we work together with them on fundraising strategies. The purpose of this is to build their investment in the program, and to develop this important life skill. We do recommend that each student brings $100-$200 with them in cash or at least $50 in cash and the rest available on an international bank card or travelers checks. This is for: extra snacks that they may want, souvenirs to bring back home, using the internet and phone, and any other unanticipated extras.

Can my child bring their iPod?
We discourage students from bringing electronics and valuable items (other than cameras). The community where we work is very poor and there is no need for expensive items. We want the students to have an immersive experience where they learn to live like the locals. We want them to take advantage of the opportunity to exchange knowledge, culture, and ideas with the local community members. Without the distraction of modern technology, there is more time for students to form relationships with local community members, learn about the local music, and have more conversations with the locals.

How do you know it is safe?
A safe, educational, mutually beneficial and fun experience is our #1 priority. GP has strong links and trust with the communities we work in. We take all safety precautions. Anywhere that you go, there are risks, even if you stay at home in the US this summer. It is our job to be experts in understanding those risks, and doing everything possible to prepare for them, and to make sure that the students are prepared for them. We are also very lucky that the communities we work in take great care of us and look out for the safety of our participants.

What does my son/daughter get out of participating in this program?
Our alumni typically have higher graduation and college entry rates than their peers. They meet their community service requirements with us, and write about GP on their winning college applications. They tend to return with a broader sense of the world and their place in it, and are better able to solve problems, be resourceful, have confidence, and they have lots of new friends!

What do they DO all summer?
While abroad, youth work together on community development projects such as construction, goat farming, trash clean-up, tree planting and gardening, community discussions, and children’s camps. Students also have an internship in the community working in the local health clinic, in the school teaching literacy, or in the city council office. GP youth hold discussions, workshops, and groundbreaking Open Space youth conferences on gender, racism, migration, poverty, and sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, and learn Spanish and Creole. Over the last four summers GP Youth have:

• Taught over 500 hours of English classes,300 hours of Literacy classes, and 550 hours of fun and educational day camp programs, for over 800 local children.
• Collected census data from over 2000 community members
• Built 300 meters of an irrigation canal essential for the community’s health and safety,
• Painted murals
• Served over 2000 hours in the local health clinics to benefit over 650 community members,
• Dedicated over 5000 hours total to community clean-up.
• Created family biographies and portraits for each of their host families, and
• Conceived and produced 11 documentary films.
• Weekly Blogging

How do the local Community Members feel about us living in their villages?
Community Members in the villages that hosted our groups felt powerfully impacted, stating that: “We learned to take initiative and not wait until people from foreign countries come to fix their problems”, “It was a beautiful experience, it made me proud to say that I was hosting a youth”, “I have learned to value myself. I see the energy they [GP youth] have to move forward, and they are students like myself. ”, “I learned that we cannot give up, we have to keep moving forward”, “They supported me very much and motivate me…I learned to value more of what I have…life changed here. They filled me with much happiness and support. They motivated people to value what there is here. And they learned to value what they have there [in the US]”, “We felt that we had known each other all of our lives. They taught us that in working together, we would always triumph.”

Where do GP youth travel to?

THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: In the DR we work in BARAHONA: a three-hour drive southwest of Santo Domingo. The incredible natural environment includes mountains, lakes, interesting vegetation, and gorgeous coastline. The region is also full of ‘Batey’ communities, historically neglected rural villages. Our Partner Agencies In the DR include Instituto Dominicano de Desarrollo Integral (IDDI) and the Center for Sustainable Development (CEDESO), Municipal Governments, youth groups, women’s associations, World Vision, the Peace Corps, Cooperazione Italiani, and others. What is a Batey? GP partners with Batey communities, generally very poor villages of migrant workers and their families who harvest, or harvested, sugarcane. Conditions in Haiti are often so difficult that many of these workers and their families prefer the Bateys, but still struggle for basic human rights like health care, water, food, and education. The great majority of Batey inhabitants are 2nd or 3rd or even 4th generation Haitians or Haitian-Dominicans born in the Dominican Republic, but they are frequently denied documentation (papers) and therefore lack legal rights, health care, and education opportunities. Women, children and the elderly are especially vulnerable due to the lack of work and options for survival. Many people in Batey 8 live on less than $47 a month. Most of the population speaks Creole (80%) and Spanish (85%) both. The families in the communities are excited to meet us and look forward to working together on many helpful projects. We should all expect to see people who are struggling very hard to survive and yet prosper in very challenging conditions. Racism continues to be a huge problem throughout the DR, and many Dominicans of Haitian ancestry suffer discrimination. Despite challenges, the communities remain vibrant and filled with hope for the future.

HAITI: GP visited over a dozen possible villages in 2009, 2010 and 2011 before selecting our current partners: Cité Soleil and Bas Gormand, in La Plaine, near Tommazzeau, halfway between Croix-de-Bouquets and the DR Border. Bas Gormand is a rural village primarily focused on agriculture, without electricity or running water. The locals all speak Creole, and most speak at least some French as well. In 2010 we ran a wonderful youth conference in Bas Gormand with over 60 youth leaders from the village and around Haiti and Dominican Republic.

NICARAGUA: In 2009 and 2010 we carried out over 30 site visits in Nicaragua to identify our first host community there, and 2010 was our first year, working in the community of El Hatillo de Sebaco. Our National Coordinator in Nicaragua, Jessica Salazar, has worked with GP for two of its Dominican Republic trips and is very familiar with our policies, mission and vision. We are working very close to the Municipality of Sebaco, in the Department of Matagalpa. We have some exciting partnerships with the following organizations: Amycos, Junta de Castilla y Leon, Habitat for Humanity, World Vision, Fundenuse, Movimiento Comunal Nicaraguense, Prodesa, the Mayor’s office in Matagalpa, Fadese, Fibrese, Instituto Nicaraguense de Promocion Humana, Fundacion NicaFrance, American Nicaraguan Foundation. In 2011 we continued the work in El Hatillo and explored new villages too to work in partnership with in 2012: Rama Cay (RAAS), Nagarote (near Leon) and many more.

In 2012, we are planning to expand to a few other countries and will kee you abreast of this in November 2011.

What are the villages like?
Each village is unique and special and we love them all, but here is an example. Batey Cuchilla is a small community of about 800 residents, surrounded by sugarcane fields on all sides. Most residents are grandchildren or children of Haitian immigrants who came to work in the sugarcane fields, or were born in Haiti themselves. The economy of Batey Cuchilla is based primarily on sugarcane. Additionally, some people work in other sectors of agriculture and raising livestock. There is a high rate of unemployment, illiteracy, and child labor. Forty percent of children in Cuchilla do not have a birth certificate, and therefore cannot continue their studies past the 8th grade. In Cuchilla, there is a community center and a baseball field. There is a four-room school that serves children up to fifth grade. There are four churches, five stores, two hair salons, two bars. There are no paved roads. The majority of houses are made of wood or cement with dirt floors and outdoor bathrooms. Running water and electricity are intermittent, and the community shares around 20 latrines. There are two health clinics in Bateys 6 and 8 nearby. During heavy rains, the community is often cut off from the outside due to roads being washed away or flooded. In 2009, GP’s advocacy work and meetings with the sugarcane company and the municipal government led to over 50 dumptruck loads of material to repair the entranceway to the community, but there remains much work to be done on the road. Locals enjoy sports, going to church, and visiting with friends. There is an organized youth group, and a number of incredible youth leaders. An informal baseball team of men aged 18-26 meets weekly to play against other communities.

Other Questions??? PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US! info@global-potential.org