Life Stories - Ordinary People Who Choose To Do Extraordinary Things

Regina Cruz, daughter of Mike and Susan Halverson, started her Peace Corps service in November of 2008.  She worked with the Youth Family and Community Development program for two years. Ms. Cruz lived in a little town called Matancitas which is located just a mile and a half east of Nagua on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic. Regina was fortunate enough to live on the beach, which was beautiful, but was very muggy and had lots of mosquitoes.  Regina lived with a host family for 5.5 months and then moved into her own house. She quickly learned how to cook different Dominican dishes which included: rice, seasoned chicken, fried fish, Russian salad, etc.; but often time cooked easy noodle dishes or sandwiches from the United States. Regina spoke Spanish her entire service which was not always easy considering the Dominicans have a ton of Spanish slang that is hard to understand. Some of the projects Ms. Cruz worked on during her service included:

Youth and Health Initiative called “Escojo Mi Vida” (I choose my life)
Ms. Cruz recruited and trained youth ages 12-18 in healthy sexual decision making and HIV/AIDS prevention. She trained two groups of 12 youth peer educators in health topics such as:  self-esteem, values, leadership and teamwork skills, HIV/AIDS and STI prevention, family planning methods, abstinence and proper use of condoms, prevention of unwanted teen pregnancy and communication. Regina organized and hosted a regional exchange between five “Escojo Mi Vida” youth groups in May, 2009. She really enjoyed teaching this course to the youth because it is such important information for the youth to know and she knew that the majority of the parents would never talk to their children about these topics until it was too late.

Gender and Development
Ms. Cruz held a girls’ group in her house on a weekly basis.  The girls learned about gender development, leadership, team building activities, self-confidence, and women’s health issues amongst other topics. In February, 2010 Regina planned a three-day girls’ camp where 20 teens ages 12-17 attended. The camp focused on inner and outer beauty and self confidence. In May, 2010 she also organized a day of activities for 35 girls where the focus was “planning for your future.” She was heavily involved in girls’ initiative planning throughout the 2 years she served as a volunteer. Regina also designed a women’s day event in March, 2010 to celebrate International Women’s Day which is held every year on March 8^th. The women remembered famous Dominican women who paved the way for future women’s rights and marched around the town to advocate women’s rights. It was a fabulous celebration!

Birth Certificates
Regina assisted 6 adults in declaring their children so they would receive their much needed birth certificate. The process for declaring someone in the DR is rather lengthy. A person has to speak with various government officials in order to receive proper documentation. Birth certificates allow a person to attend high school and a university, open a bank account, receive their driver’s license, get married and receive a social security number.

Health/Fitness Dance Class
Ms. Cruz taught a Dance/Fitness class for 16 women ages 15-55. The women were able to exercise through dance and movement. They were able to connect to their spirit and feel their bodies move in a unique and different way. The women also had a “biggest loser” contest which was fun to see the women lose weight.

Medical Missions
Regina participated in two medical missions. Ms. Cruz translated between Southern Main University nursing students and their patients. The medical mission treated patients for general health care issues.  Regina felt so good helping out so many people during those medical missions. She can see why people want to become doctors and nurses!

There are so many stories a Peace Corps volunteer can tell but one would have to write a book in order to tell all of them. Regina’s experience was life changing, challenging and rewarding. If you would like to ask Regina specific questions relating to her experience or just find out more about what Peace Corps is all about, please contact her at: cruzerespana@hotmail.com . Keep serving!!