Cooking up healthy change

When the family of Paul Pink wanted to visit him during the holiday

season, they had to travel to a poverty-stricken area of the

Dominican Republic.

Pink -- who graduated with honors from Laguna Beach High School in

1997 -- is a Peace Corps volunteer.

Pink majored in international relations, with a minor in history,

at George Washington University, and has traveled extensively and

lived abroad for a year in Japan.

As a health advocate educator for the Peace Corps, Pink finds ways

to improve the lives of some of the poorest people in the world by

teaching them about nutrition, HIV and AIDS, disease prevention, and

how to become financially secure.

Sometimes it is a matter of giving them a better way to cook.

The residents of Arroyo Cana live in primitive conditions, with no

running water, no electricity, and they use crude outdoor stoves to

cook their meals.

The “stove” consists of a large metal can, about two feet in

diameter, which sits on an open fire fueled by wood. A lot of wood is

used during cooking, generating large amounts of smoke, which cause

serious health problems, including lung and eye conditions, for those

using them -- mostly women.

The need for wood has also contributed to the deforestation of the

region.

To remedy these ills, Pink and other volunteers are working to

replace the metal cans with more efficient ceramic stoves. The

program, called the Healthy Family Stove Project, allows the

residents to use less firewood, causing less smoke, and the new

stoves also cook faster, healthier meals. The ceramic stoves -- which

have chimneys that direct smoke away -- also allow the residents to

bake and grill.

To obtain a new stove, the families must contribute 900 pesos

(about $33, which takes them about six months to save) and take a

class. They then make their stove with the help of Pink, who also

must raise money to purchase the materials.

In November, Pink’s mother, brother and sister visited him, an

experience that touched them deeply.

“We saw first-hand the extensive poverty that riddles the

country,” said Teri Iannetti, Pink’s mother. “The families of the

campo were so warm and their hospitality unmatched. They fed our

family of five -- at their insistence -- their very best meal of

black beans, white rice and avocado, which quite possibly could have

been their only meal of the day.

“These families are very proud and grateful for what little they

have and will share all of it without hesitation. The village elder

told me that ‘Paul gives us hope.’”

The Peace Corps is seeking contributions to the Healthy Family

Stove Project as well as other programs around the world.

For more information, go to https://www.peacecorps.gov.