Gifts of Food and Education

From Heather Hall, DTP ‘11…

This morning I went to the open-air market to experience how the Dominican people buy necessities.  The fresh fruit and grains filled an entire city block and one of the streets overflowed with piles of shoes and clothes.  If you wanted to buy fresh meat, chopped goat, pork, and beef were available, as well as newly plucked whole chickens.  Clementine oranges grew to three times the size of the ones in the United States, and mangoes, papayas and bananas by the stalk spilled out of the booths.
The people were very gracious and let us take many pictures of them. Overall, today was spent getting a glimpse into the lives and livelihoods of the Dominican people, whose material lives may look different from ours, but whose hearts are filled with the same joys and personal struggles we know.

There was an overcast sky this morning, which is unusual for the Dominican Republic this time of year.  I knew today would be different from all the others.  Much of our day was spent at the local Christian school where many of the children are sponsored by individuals in the United States.  It is considered one of the best schools in the city, and students have gone on to become doctors, nurses, lawyers, and translators for the medical clinic.  Several of the individuals on this trip sponsor children at the school and hosted a party this evening to meet with them.  We were able to provide each family with food for more than a week, as well as several gifts for each child!

While we were at the school, we also had the opportunity to teach some of the staff therapeutic exercises and to talk with some of the students.  One of the high school students, Charlie, spent several minutes practicing his English and asking questions about us and our lives.  It was such a great experience to be able to spend time getting to know the students and nurture relationships that will hopefully last a lifetime!