Creighton University

Q. What is the difference between the ILAC/CESI Center and the ILAC Office?

A. The ILAC (Institute for Latin American Concern) / CESI (Centro de Educacion para la Salud Integral) Center is located in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and is a non-profit Jesuit institution that houses volunteers to serve the rural areas of the Dominican Republic. The ILAC/CESI Center also has a church, and therefore it serves as the parish for the community around it. A separate ILAC Office is located at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. The ILAC Office is part of Creighton University's Ministry Department, and its purpose is to coordinate the groups of American student and professional volunteers that go to the ILAC/CESI Center in the Dominican Republic to serve the rural Dominicans and Haitians.

Q. What is ILAC/CESI’s affiliation with Creighton University?

A. ILAC/CESI is affiliated with Creighton University because in 1976 the two Cuban Jesuits that founded ILAC brought the program to Creighton. Since then, Creighton has been blessed by a special relationship with the people of the Dominican Republic through the work of the ILAC/CESI Mission. In 2002, an Affiliation Agreement was signed between the Center and Creighton University, committing both parties to continue to work together in the future.

Q. What is the ILAC chain of command?

A. In the Dominican Republic, Radalme Peña is the ILAC Center Executive Director, Fr. Patrick Malone, S.J. (Wisconsin Province) serves the spiritual needs of American student, professional and faculty volunteers, and Dominicans, as the Director of Pastoral Programs at the ILAC Center, and Jose Miguel Portes is the Operations Manager. In addition, there is a staff of approximately 30 Dominican employees who work at the Center, in the two satellite clinics, and outreach areas. At Creighton University, Jim Howell- Burke is the ILAC Director, Margarita Dubocq is the Program Coordinator, and Marlena Minshall is the Senior Administrative Specialist. The ILAC Center in Santiago has a Board of Directors comprised of Dominicans and Americans, including representation from Creighton University.

Q. What is ILAC’s Distinctive Philosophy?

A. All of the ILAC Programs strive to promote service-learning in a faith-based environment. ILAC believes in improving the quality of life of all people, in mind, body and spirit. All ILAC Programs are very respectful of the local culture of the Dominican Republic. ILAC volunteers are prepared with written materials from the ILAC Office based on Catholic Jesuit Values. Each program is a collaboration between the volunteers and those who are served so that both parties can benefit from working together and learning from each other. In essence, it is an exchange of gifts.

Q. What are the Creighton Programs?

(Summer Program, Encuentro Dominicano, PT, OT & School of Law)

A. Creighton University has five different programs housed at the ILAC Center. Its flag ship program is the Summer Program where Undergraduate, Nursing, Pharmacy, Medical and Dental students, along with Nursing, Pharmacy, Medical and Dental professionals work together to set up clinics in the rural areas of the Dominican Republic. The Semester Undergraduate Program is called “Encuentro Dominicano” (Dominican Encounter). This is a study abroad program which is coordinated by the Office of International Programs, in conjunction with Dr. Thomas Kelly, ED Academic Director, and Mr. Justin Lampe, ED Student Life Director. For more information, check out their website at http://www2.creighton.edu/encuentro/.

Two other long-standing programs are the School of Physical Therapy and the School of Occupational Therapy programs. They offer clinical rotations in the Dominican Republic every spring semester. In recent years, the School of Law began offering an annual Service Project Trip for their students, in addition to learning about the legal system of the Dominican Republic.

Q. What are the High Schools' Programs?

(Creighton Prep, Scotus, Marquette, Duchesne, Gonzaga, St. Albert’s, St. Ignatius, Marian & McQuaid)

A. The ILAC Center has also opened its doors to High School students across the United States that are interested in participating in a service-learning faith-based program. Most high school students build latrines in the rural areas of the Dominican Republic, but other groups perform other types of community service. These groups usually come over Spring Break/Easter Break and Summer. For more information on these programs or if you are interested in starting your own program, call the ILAC/Creighton University Office in Omaha, NE at (402)280-3179 or 1-800-343-3645.

Q. What are the Other Colleges/Universities' Programs?

(St. Joseph’s, Ithaca College & Loyola Chicago)

A. There are other colleges and universities that also partner with the ILAC Center's efforts. St. Joseph’s University and Ithaca College visit the Center for a cultural immersion faith-based program, whereas Loyola University Chicago's Medical School visits the Dominican Republic to set up clinics in the rural areas of the country. For more information on these programs or if you are interested in starting your own program, call the ILAC/Creighton University Office in Omaha, NE at (402)280-3179 or 1-800-343-3645.

Q. What are Professional Teams?

(Eye, Hernia and Orthopedic Surgeons, and VIDAS – Volunteers for Action and Service)

A. Aside from the students, there are professionals who volunteer their time and expertise to help the communities where ILAC works with the Cooperadores Program. There are teams from New York, Washington state and Creighton, accompanied by other physicians from as far away as Germany and Italy that go to the ILAC Center to perform eye, hernia and orthopedic surgeries. In addition to these specific surgery groups, there is an informal program called VIDAS (which means Lives in Spanish) – Volunteers for Action and Service that allows ILAC Alumni to come back to the Center to volunteer by themselves or in smaller groups with their family and friends. For more information on these programs or if you are interested in starting your own program, call the ILAC/Creighton University Office in Omaha, NE at (402)280-3179 or 1-800-343-3645.

Q. What are the CESI Programs?

(ILAC Health Center, Community Centers, Cooperadores de Salud, Organic Agriculture, Latrines, Water Purification, Abrazando el Futuro, and the Sovereign Order of Malta group)

A. The ILAC/CESI Center itself has other programs primarily led by Dominican staff. An outpatient facility was recently built adjacent to the ILAC Center where volunteer groups of physicians come to perform outpatient surgeries and other medical initiatives. There are also five community centers located in different rural communities that are staffed by ILAC, and that provide a wide array of services (including medical, dental and vocational training) to the people in their surrounding areas. In addition to these centers, ILAC runs the Cooperadores de Salud (Health Promoters) Program. Through this program, a leader is chosen to be ILAC’s link with the community, and to also be trained in basic first aid and other health issues to educate their community to improve their quality of living.

Another ILAC program teaches the rural Dominicans (campesinos) how to do organic agriculture, and to use their products for their own sustenance and also as a profit opportunity. Likewise, ILAC promotes the building of latrines for each house, either with the help of the high school volunteer groups or with the efforts of the communities on their own. In addition to these services, the campesinos have the opportunity to obtain water filters so that they can have purified water, and they are taught the importance of this service.

ILAC also has a program which assists some of the young campesinos to obtain a college education. This program is called Abrazando el Futuro (Embracing the Future), and it is completely sponsored through donations received by ILAC for this specific project.

Finally, there is a group of physicians from Florida named the Sovereign Order of Malta that work with ILAC to provide an array of medical services to the rural Dominicans on week-long medical operatives.

Q. What are the other uses of the ILAC Center in the Dominican Republic?

A. But, the ILAC/CESI Center doesn’t stop here! This very busy place serves as a community church, and a retreat and conference center for groups ranging from Dominican high schools to the Peace Corps. It also serves many other purposes, all aimed at benefiting those who most need it while teaching how to have a balanced and integrated life.