Dominican Republic: Spring Break Global Health Initiative™
Highlights
Meaningful service. Tropical countryside. This is Spring Break off the beaten path.
- Shadow local medical professionals and lend a hand on public health projects in the community
- Explore freshwater lagoons and underwater caverns
- Snorkel over coral reefs
- Learn to dance merengue and bachata
Please Note: Global Leadership Adventures will be running separately operated sessions for participants ages 14-19 and ages 18-24. Some minor changes may be implemented for the 18-24 sessions. However, most activities will be the same as described below.
On This Program you will...
Have the opportunity to see beyond the Dominican Republic’s well-known tourist destinations and work directly with rural communities. Learn how sanitation is a crucial piece to the public health puzzle – many homes in the Dominican Republic are susceptible to disease and illness as a result of living on dirt floors and having limited access to proper toilets or running water. Through evening lectures, dive deep into the complexity of relations between the DR and neighboring Haiti, and how political issues play into the quality of life for many residents.
Program Type:
Public Health & Medicine
Your Adventure is Just Around the Corner!
Community Service
Visit a number of community projects that will expose you to healthcare implementation in developing countries. Gain field experience by helping set up a rural pop-up clinic, where community members can go to have various health checkups and assessments done. Learn how to take vital signs at a skills training session and work to construct latrines out of recycled plastic bottles for families in a rural community to help improve sanitation and health of community members.
Immersive Learning
The Dominican Republic has a rich culture that combines African, indigenous and European traditions. Learn about the vibrant Dominican culture through interactions with its lively merengue and bachata music and various cultural workshops. In addition, through service and evening seminars, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how health, environmental and community insecurities intersect.
Adventure
Glide over crystal blue water via boat, dive into the sea, and snorkel over multicolored coral and fish. You’ll also visit a beautiful ecological park, where you can explore mystical blue cenotes and swim in a natural cave. Spend an afternoon on a secluded tropical beach, a prime location for enjoying the sand and sun; shop for souvenirs from local craftsmen.
Lodging
Home Base is a rustic ecolodge built from local materials in the style of the Taíno people. The beach is just a short walk away, and students have access to a swimming pool onsite. Students will share rooms with roommates, and have shared bathrooms with cold-water showers. Food will be healthy and locally sourced, including meats, beans, rice, vegetables and fresh fruit.
Program Type
Are you passionate about making a difference in the health of families living in remote areas of the world?
- Discover the unique challenges of providing adequate medical care in rural communities while contributing to this cause
- Build facilities that directly improve the health of the community
- Learn what it’s like to be a doctor, nurse or global health worker in a developing country
- Go beyond typical public health mission trips for teens, and compare the healthcare practices of the western world with traditional medicine from the region
Dates & Tuition
Dominican Republic
Spring Break Global Health Initiative™
8-Day Program
Ages 14-19
| 2021 Dates |
|---|
| March 27 – April 3, 2021 |
| April 3 – April 10, 2021 |
8-Day Program
Ages 18-24
| 2021 Dates |
|---|
| March 27 – April 3, 2021 |
| April 3 – April 10, 2021 |
More Information
Fundraising
Tips to raise funds for your trip
Tuition Includes All In-Country Expenses Including:
- All educational materials
- Lodging
- 3 meals per day
- All in-country transportation
- Airport pick-up/drop-off
- Professional full-time staff and experts
- 24/7 Parent Support Hotline during the program
- Secondary Medical and Evacuation Insurance
- All cultural activities, lectures and weekend excursions
- Pre-departure materials and support
Chat with Past Participants on Facebook
Custom Group Travel Option
Global Leadership Adventures offers open enrollment on this program to any high school student who wishes to join any of the summer session dates listed above. Students will meet other teens from around the country and the world who sign up for the same program dates and destination.
Alternatively, this program is also available as an option for custom group travel any time of the year for those looking to put together their own group trip.
GLA Custom Group Travel works with educators, group leaders, or self-led students to create a tailored experience for their specific group of 12 or more students. Select a pre-designed itinerary or select your own countries, themes, and learning objectives. GLA’s service-learning methodology is the vehicle through which students learn, grow and challenge themselves and their fellow travelers; our host communities welcome students’ energy and helping hands.
Leadership and personal growth are the core components of all of our programs, regardless of duration, destination or theme type and can be woven throughout every aspect of the experience through our intentional design as desired by the group leader. Our programs aim to ignite participants to become inspired to be the change.
The GLA Community
