“Liderazgo, Hoy y Para Siempre”
Joanne and I just returned from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, where we were able to participate in a phenomenal humanitarian/education visit in support of the Dominican Starfish Foundation.
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| Darrel, Joanne, and Louise ZoBell |
Over the past several years, the Dominican Starfish Foundation has built or renovated over 160 homes in the Puerto Plata area. They have also renovated a school and helped numerous families by providing clothes, shoes, food, playground equipment, and so many other items.
Recently, they built an education center in the community of Javillar to begin offering a cadre of educational services and providing places for dentists, doctors, and chiropractors to provide medical and dental services to those most in need.
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| Education Center in Javillar |
At the end of 2021, I met with their board of directors and help develop a strategic plan for them to build capacity and enhance what the Foundation was doing.
After several conversations, Louise and I decided it would be wonderful to initiate educational offerings by providing a leadership workshop to emerging and future leaders in Javillar and Puerto Plata.
I contacted the Foundation’s Dominican director, Amarilis Ureña, and others about the training. They were ecstatic about the potential of having leadership seminars. So many people were instrumental in planning and developing the training. Many thanks to Amarilis and her amazing equipo (team), Louise, Lorenzo Castillo, Eddy Morrobel, and Immanuel Rosario.
After several conversations, Louise and I decided it would be wonderful to initiate educational offerings by providing a leadership workshop to emerging and future leaders in Javillar and Puerto Plata.
I contacted the Foundation’s Dominican director, Amarilis Ureña, and others about the training. They were ecstatic about the potential of having leadership seminars. So many people were instrumental in planning and developing the training. Many thanks to Amarilis and her amazing equipo (team), Louise, Lorenzo Castillo, Eddy Morrobel, and Immanuel Rosario.
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| Graduation time |
For our first class at the Foundation’s Education Center on March 22, 2022, over 40 participants participated in “Liderazgo, Hoy y Para Siempre” (“Leadership: Today and Forever”). We discussed leadership on the fundamental levels, what a leader is or should be, the role of a leader, leadership styles and characteristics, values, and principles of leadership.
On the second day of the class, we developed a plan of action as to what they were going to do to implement the principles we had discussed in the class. I was impressed by how excited they were to complete this task. They worked diligently by themselves and in groups to develop their “Plan de Acción.” (“Plan of Action”).
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| Class members engaged in group discussion |
One particular company had sent five of its employees to participate and learn. They went away with both a personal plan and a plan to help the company.
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| These five young men came from their association to learn about leadership |
At the end of the leadership training, the Dominican Starfish Foundation and I had prepared a certificate to give each participant who completed the two-day event. It was patterned after a graduation ceremony, with each person coming forward, receiving their certificate, and having their picture taken.
I thoroughly enjoyed being there with them and teaching them the fundamentals and principles of leadership—all in Spanish, which was a joy! Probably the most fun was taking pictures with all of the participants. So many of them wanted group pictures with various students and me. How can you say no to that?
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| Certificates for everyone who participated in the two-day seminar |
Also, I did an evening truncated version of the two-day leadership seminar with a group of 90 people—members of our church, community members, and city leaders. It was an incredible three hours of conversation, questions, learning, sharing, and preparing their own plans of action.
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| The group at the stake center |
Again, we had a graduation ceremony and gave a certificate to each person who had participated. So many of them came forward and thanked me for the training they had received.
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| Darrel, a city leader and her husband, and Lorenzo Castillo |
Joanne and I thoroughly enjoyed our time there with our Dominican friends, new and old. There is something about sharing leadership principles and values with others and seeing them grab hold of them and instilling them into their lives. We will be having Zoom follow-up conversations with the participants—at their request.
If any of you reading this would like to participate in a humanitarian/education experience in the Dominican Republic with the Dominican Starfish Foundation, please contact Louise ZoBell at dominicanstarfish@gmail.com or me at darrel.hammon@gmail.com. Your expertise will be well received by these emerging leaders and so many others. If you are wondering what is needed, please contact me to discuss potential educational needs.
For more information about the Dominican Starfish Foundation, please go to their website: www.dominicanstarfish.org.
