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Improving The World -
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WHAT WE DO
Soy niña, soy importante is an initiative developed by Fundación Tropicalia in 2013, and supports at-risk girls with a simple mission: protect their childhood, guide them in making timely life choices, and educate them and their community regarding their rights.
Soy niña, soy importante fulfills its mission via different action areas, including a summer camp, an at-home program, teen empowerment, and activism, which consists of communication campaigns and civic participation, all which are implemented in the Dominican Republic, with a geographic focus on the municipality of Miches in the province of El Seibo.
The Soy niña, soy importante summer camp has been our flagship program since 2013, where the girls of Miches access a fun and safe space where they can simply be girls and dream up their future. Camp activities are recreational and contain transformational messages that challenge girls to believe in themselves, and hone in on their potential, map out a life plan and make timely choices.
The summer camp is held every year during the months of July and August in different schools of the Miches School District 12-04.
SNSI in a Box is a program that delivers the transformational messaging of Soy niña, soy importante directly to our girls’ homes by packaging fun, educational activities in a box.
The thematic boxes contain guides, didactic materials, snacks and surprises so that they can learn while playing from the comfort of their homes. Upon delivering boxes, families and girls receive a brief introduction to its contents, encouraging the participation of the entire family in their girl’s experience.
Our Teen Empowerment initiatives support 13-15 year old girls as they enter the height of their adolescence. We build partnerships and bring resources to Miches that continue to develop girls’ knowledge about their reproductive health, educational opportunities and future planning so that they make timely decisions, like postponing pregnancy or early unions. Most of the girls that participate in our Teen Empowerment initiatives are graduates of our SNSI Camp or SNSI in a Box programs.
Through the Soy niña, soy importante platform, Fundación Tropicalia launches various communications campaigns and encourages civic participation in efforts to: raise awareness regarding the plight of the Dominican girl and woman; actively contribute to the elimination of gender violence and child abuse; and, promote more inclusive communities, in which children, adolescents and women can grow and empower themselves without fear.
In partnership with our allies, our awareness and activism campaigns are centered around calls to action, in which each individual plays a role in protecting women and girls’ rights.
"One of my goals as a volunteer is to empower girls to become go-getters, to have a healthy self-esteem, to love themselves, to value themselves, to accept themselves, so that together we can produce the tools they will need to become the empowered women of tomorrow.
Noemi Espinal
SNSI 2015 Volunteer, Lucas Guibbes"Soy niña, soy importante teaches girls to dream, and also provides a space where they receive tools to build that dream.
Leticia López
SNSI 2015 Volunteer, La Gina"Having a life project is a kind of coal that fuels the fire, the purpose and passion to achieve some goal, a profession. When we support a girl, who will later be a woman in society, we are opening a channel to help her entire family.
