Chris Bush Project HOPESince last week, we’ve been busy with meeting more people and being exposed to a project that we’ll be working on while we’re in the Dominican Republic. Last Wednesday we attended a forum on preventing youth violence and delinquency in West Santo Domingo. The forum was organized to provide a platform that allowed the participating organizations to come together and meet while sharing their planning with the community. In some ways it was the initial community announcement of the plan, and the current state of youth violence in this part of the country. For example, there were three news networks cameras, the Chief of the National Police, and a representative/proxy of the Mayor of Santo Domingo in attendance. It was great because we were able to be a part and witness a group of community organizers owning their work and previewing what’s ahead. The rest of the week was spent alongside our preceptor, Teresa Narvaez, attending meetings via Skype and learning more about a grant project Project Hope is pursuing that would provide services to at-risk HIV populations (Transgender community, MSM, the gay/bisexual community, sex workers, etc.).