Coming here to the Dominican Republic and Haiti has given me a roller coaster of emotions, the least of these, laughter. Seeing how a lot of these people live just makes me so greatful that I am from Canada. We have so much and they have so little. In Canada there are all kinds of safety nets to help you get by when things get bad. Here theres practically nothing for a lot of the population.
During our first week here we were involved in a feeding program. Now that is a sight to see. Food is cooked in two big pots and served first to the elderly and pregnant women. Then the children are let in ten at a time to recieve a meal. With their meal, they are given only water to drink. There is not much food left in the bowls when they are finished. As we were nearing the end of the food supply for the day, I motioned to the man at the gate that we could feed one more. A little boy squeezed in and the gate was shut. Whoever was outside had to go away hungry. Anyway I had placed the bowl of food on the table to my left. The little boy sat at the table to my right. I went over and not knowing the language gestured for him to move off the bench. He started to cry. Thinking there was no food, he headed for the door. We stopped him and brought him back to where a bowl was waiting for him. The relief and joy on his face was awesome. I can only try to imagine the agony that the people in charge of the feeding program go through as they turn people away because there is no food left. "Take a look in your fridge and cupboards and be very greatful".
Then there was our trip to Haiti. We went to Cap Haition, a city of 1.2 million people. The devastation in that city is beyond description. The city hasn't had garbage collection in years. Everywhere you look, there is garbage. Raw sewage runs through the streets and in a lot of cases that is where the children play. It was in Cap Haition we met a guy named Franso who became our guide. He took us to an area up in the mountains to meet some people whom he tries to help. We met in one home no bigger than 10 x 14 feet. The floor was solid rock and not that smooth. Here lived a couple with five children. The father of the children had an accident four years ago and was paralized from the waist down. His bed was two pieces of carpet layed on the rock and his pillow was a piece of wood. On our way across the boarder we passed a truck full of mattresses. I knew at that moment that I would be coming up this mountain again today if at all possible. I told our guide my intentions and he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He told me later that of all the groups that he had shown around we were the first ones to offer any financial help. We decended the mountains and we walked around the city until we found a store that sold mattresses and pillows. We paid for the mattress and pillow, I took the mattress and Rana took the pillow and we started our climb. Climbing a mountain at 37 degree temperature, carrying a 36 inch mattress was hot work but the end result was worth it. We went to his home and thought the interpreter told them what we wanted to do. They were elated. We moved the crippled man from his rock and carpet, laid down the mattress and pillow and then we put him back on the mattress: If I never knew the meaning of joy and fulfillment before, I felt it that day. I can honestly say that I felt like I floated off that mountain.
Seeing so many needs with a limited amount of resources makes a person feel a little helpless but we are not here to change the world but we can change one persons world. Doing so feels so good.

Gilbert

a silent cry for help

After a good night's rest, we were up bright and early to meet our translator, Jorge and his team in the foyer of our hotel. We began our tour of Cape Haitian with a long trek up a mountain to visit some families living there. It was quite the experience! The stairs seemed never-ending and the sun was out in full force blasting down on us, but we made it to the top! Such a relief!

Danielle and I managed to sneak a few picstures here and there of different things along the way..the Haitian people are much more reluctant of photo-taking than people from the DR..so we had to be pretty discreet. We did manage to get a few nice shots though which we will share with you on facebook when we arrive back on the rock! :)

We began our descent down the mountain when we were called into a small scrap hut to visit a middle-aged man who was paralyzed 4 years ago and has not gotten out of bed since. First of all, you have to imagine living on the side of this mountain with no running water, open sewages everywhere you turn, and homes crammed together so tightly that they were almost on top of one another with virtually no privacy..even if the family had enough money for medical attention and a wheel chair for him, how could he ever operate it up there? It is truly impossible. Because he has been in bed for so long, imagine the sores all over his body? We decided to form a line by holding hands and we prayed the God would heal him..now we are beliving for a miracle!!

Our tour then led us to the city centre and around the edge of town along the beach. The beach was littered with garbage and we could see that the water was filthy as well. We came across a little boy who was sitting underneath a rag held up by two sticks. He had a rubber duckie with him and a few dishes. I wondered to myself if this was home to this sweet little boy! It definitely tugged on my heartstrings..where were his parents, brothers, sisters, or did he even have any? Two of his friends came along and we quickly divided up the only granola bar we were carrying..even for that one little piece, he was so grateful!

Our journey ended with a stop at Jorge's children's program. They sang songs and played a couple of games for us. Then we handed out some treats and water to them along with school supplies to each child! I have never seen more happier faces! They were quite pleased.

I don't think I have ever walked so much in my life and in such intense heat! I was extremely tired by the end of it, but as I sat down and reflected upon my day..I began to think of all the things I would have missed had we toured the city any other way. I saw row after row of old, run-down buildings, sewage running down the sides of every dirt road, garbage that occupied almost every square inch of ground. There were no tv's blaring or stereos blasting. And the people, they just stared at us. And in their eyes I could see their hurt, their pain, their hunger..their silent cries of help were deafening..and it broke my heart to think that I could literally give everything I had and it still would not be enough..


Danielle Pollard.

Free Trade Fridays

August 21st, 2009

We were fortunate enough to get into Haiti after all! We had temporarily postponed our trip because of the hurricane warnings, but managed to plan a shorter trip for the weekend. Friday was filled with bus rides (and sleeping for some of us). We had a 2 hour ride to Santiago, grabbed some lunch, then boarded the bus headed for Haiti. It was about a 4 hour ride with a stop at the border, which normally isn`t bad at all, but when the dirt roads have potholes and speed bumps, it`s rockier than out around the bay when the eastwinds come in! Praise the Lord!
We got to witness Free Trade Friday: the Dominican-Haiti border is opened up and anyone can cross over to buy goods and return home. It was quite maggoty at the border, and I`ve never seen so much macaroni and rice in my life! Every single person had bags of food and goods to bring home to their family. It was quite amazing to watch.
We got in Haiti safe and sound, and after getting our hotel figured out, we settled away for some fast food and a good night`s rest!

Sneek-peak for Monday: We truly witnessed a miracle!

Keep praying for us!
Sarah

It will never be just a plastic bottle again

It is so hard to believe that my trip is coming to a end and that next time this week I will be on my way back to Canada. When I look back at all the things that God has done in the life of the people around me and myself it blows my mind.

I think today was the most eye opening day in my life. We teamed up with a another team from hero holiday and went to the garbage dump. While we where driving to the dump I had both really excited and scared about the unknown. When we got to the dump we all got out of our cars and where given a bag and one of the guys brought us down to the dump and told us what kinds plastic bottles and bags that they collect. While walking through the dump for the plastic it was so hard to wrap my mind around the fact that these people do this everyday of their life and it is all because of where they where born. While I looked around some of the things that I can not leave my mind. Most if not all of these people have no other source of income but the money that they make at the dump and the things that they find, because of this many of these people get there food,cloths and water by the things they find in the dump. Watching the people go though the garbage bags for these things broke my heart. We saw may people find bread, fruit and things like that and put it in their pockets so that they family their family could have food. One of the best feelings today was being able to help the people find more bottle so that they will make a little more money today. The amount of work that they do for such a small amount of money blows my mind, when they fill a bag taller then me and they only get about 80 cent Canadian which at home can not even buy a small coffee at tims.

Another highlight of my day was when we where leaving most of us gave our shoes away. Watching them try on our shoes blow my mind because it was like we gave them a million dollars. Some of the kids said that they where about to go to school now becuase they have shoes .

After today I will never look at a plastic bottle again

-Joslyn

Listen to my story....

Although I have visited the Dominican Republic five times, each year I am amazed by how life perservers even through the greatest of challenges. Often without even a conversation I can learn about their hardships. Their eyes tell a wordless story of watching their children grow up without an education and watching them grow sicker as medicine becomes harder and harder to provide. Their strong callused hands tell a story of working endless hours in the garbage dump or sugarcane fields to earn only a few pesos. A few pesos that bought the food that the callused hands had to give to only some of their children, as there was not enough for everyone. And a story is told by their shoeless feet that has walked over rocks and mud and scampered into the darkness with sex tourist that visit Sosua, Dominican Republic every night.

A few days ago I was told an all too familiar story as I visited my friend Luis. Luis is a teenager I met last year at the garbage dump. He has a friendly smile, loves to sing and needed some help collecting bottles. As I helped him organize the bottles into piles he asked me if I would be going to his village with the group and if I would come to his house to help him learn English. I returned many days last year to the little house that he shared with his grandparents to teach him English. When I returned to his house this year it was exactly how I remembered it to be from last year. The house is one large room that is divided by bedsheets that are used as curtains. The walls have gaps between the boards and the roof has large holes that would easily allow rain in. Luis and his grandmother offered us a seat on their two chairs that basically only consisted of its metal frame. Their simple seats were formed by upside down empty buckets. As I looked around the house it was almost completely empty. There was nothing. I began to talk with Luis about his past year and how things were. I heard of how his grandfather passed away, how he lost his job that provided about $17 a month, and how someone stole his prize possession.... sneakers. Why? Simply because of where he was born and the situation into which he was born. Luis is stateless and therefore he does not have a birth certificate. Therefore, he can not go to public school, he can not get proper medical attention and can not apply to most jobs. Simply because where he was born.
Luis is only one story of thousands and thousands of stateless people in the Dominican Republic. Refugees International estimates that there is about 12 million stateless people in the world. It is up to us to work together to give these people a new story. A story of humility, fairness and hope.


-Rana Saunders

Not just a game of soccer

Tuesday Aug. 18
It is hard to believe that another week has past and i am writing this again. This trip has been even better then i have every thought that it would be It is great to see the Dominican more then just a place to relax and forget the problem of the world. Each day that goes by i learn new things about the people of the Dominican. It was crazy to think about all the project and the people that we had a chance from working in a feeding program, a village clinic, working with the street boys you never know what to expect next.

Yesterday was no exception, we had the chance to team up with the hero holiday and run a sports camp in the village of the people that works in the dump. After we got there we where sent off in to the village to find some kids. Walking thought it was hard to believe this was where people where living but as we walk though everyone was excited that we where there and with in 15 minutes we has about 50-60 and we where off to start our sport camp.We played soccer for about a hour in the heat and we could not take it any more we so we just sat a played with the kids. Ever time we have the chance to do this i love it. One little girl stuck out to me she was no more then 2 year old (if she was that old) and we stuck to me like glue every time i would try to put her down she would run after me and jump up in my arms. It is crazy how much a little love can touch a child life.

It is crazy to think that i am heading in to my last week here in the Dominican but i am super excited about what God got in store for us.

Jessica : )

Sin titulo

Ok, so apparently I'm really bad at writing any sort of blog or journal. I have fallen behind in my own personal journal and with this online blog. I just always forget or other things get in the way! This blog was intended for Monday, Aug 17th for all you lovelies who are following our Dominican Adventures! I always have such high hopes of keeping track of my daily activities, but I'm always let down my crazy procrastination!

So, Monday wasn't that eventful for me and Danielle P; however, the others spent the day busying around at the clinic in Nazaret. Danielle and I spent the day at home, in Sosua preparing for our teacher workshop that we're putting off on Aug 24 and 25th. It's been pretty difficult to prepare for this workshop due to lack of readily available resources. We're going to be delivering this workshop in a classroom that probably looks similar to those of the 19th century. There are a few desks, and a chalkboard. There is no powerpoint, computers, or smartboards, so we've had to simplify things, which is difficult for us who are used to such fancy technology at home. It's also been difficult for us since we're not veteran teachers by any stretch- I haven't even started my teaching career yet, so it's all a little bit intimidating! I'm sure it will turn out fine and that the teachers here will be thankful for any help that they can get.

So, that was basically it for my day. Oh, yesterday Gilbert and Yvette arrived. They had a pretty smooth flight and were happy to be there. It was so good to see some familiar faces. They're really looking forward to getting their feet wet and hands dirty. We've got lots of stuff to tell them and definitely lots to show them about this culture. I know their hearts will be touched and their thankfulness for the life we've been given in Canada will be strengthened, just as we've all experienced since being here.

I will never be able to look at the Dominican Republic in the same way ever again. I wrote about that in my article to the Nor Wester- how outside the resort doors exists a whole new world. It's a world that's filled with poverty, prostitution, drugs, alcohol, and abuse of every kind. It's a world filled with children who need to be held, sung to, rocked to sleep, fed. It's a world filled with hungry moms and dads, grandmothers, grandfathers, brothers and sisters. It's a world that needs hands a feet; a world that is in desperate need of help and love.

I have been enjoying my trip very much. This experience has put a lot of things into perspective for me, and I needed that. I can't believe we're starting the third week now! Time is beginning to fly! I'm looking forward to this week and what is has in store for us.

Hasta Luego (for all you English speakers, that means see you later!)

Danielle Chatman