Mission & Partnership
CESI / Misión ILAC
Our partner and host, Centro de Educacion para la Salud Integral (CESI), or Misión ILAC, is based outside of the city of Santiago, the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic.
A Dominican NGO founded in 1972, CESI is an international collaborative healthcare and educational organization that exists to promote the integral well-being and spiritual growth of all its participants. CESI works within a growing community network of 140 rural communities, or campos, to support rural communities in the northern regions in the Dominican Republic in areas of education, agriculture, health, and spirituality.
Check out 360° views of the ILAC/CESI Campus!
Cooperadores de Salud
Many Creighton-ILAC programs work closely with CESI’s rural health program and the Cooperadores de Salud, or rural health promoters. Beginning in 1982, CESI began working with rural communities surrounding Santiago to identify a cooperador in each community. The Rural Health Cooperador is a person chosen by each community, for their active participation and leadership, with the intention of coordinating the efforts intended to achieve improved health for the members of their respective communities. Cooperadores/as attend training at CESI in both health education and social sciences prepare them to better understand the community dynamics, and improve the ability of the communities to plan and respond to needs and emergencies. The Cooperadores Program represents a permanent commitment to healthcare and education in the Dominican Republic.
Today the network reaches 140 local communities with 160 representatives.
Cooperadores are integral links to the local campos during the ILAC Summer Health Program, and they are also responsible for screening patients for the various ILAC medical programs. The Cooperadores Program represents a permanent commitment to healthcare and education in the Dominican Republic.
To learn more about this program, visit CESI’s website.
ILAC/CESI Contact Info in DR
Radalme Peña, CESI Executive Director, radalme@hotmail.com
José Miguel Portes Arias, CESI Administrative Manager, jmportes20@hotmail.com
Centro de Educación para la Salud Integral (CESI)
Kilometro 7.5 Carretera Duarte
Licey al Medio, Santiago de los Caballeros
República Dominicana
ILAC Phone (International): 1-809-736-0095
ILAC Phone (US Number): 402-671-6437
Institute for Latin American Concern (ILAC)
Global Engagement Office, Creighton Hall, #334
Creighton University, 2500 California Plaza
Omaha, NE 68178, USA
ILAC Omaha Office: 402-280-3179