Kelcie: The Dominican Culture
We are now in the three-week section of preparation for our upcoming trip (less than a month away!) to the Dominican Republic. The education team and nursing team are now joined in one class to study the culture and economy of the Dominican, and so far it has been very enlightening reading about these topics, but quite shocking and disheartening at times. It is sad to see the poverty level that exists where we will be traveling to and the economy that has drove people to this way of life. Women (and sometimes men) resort to prostitution to provide for their children because most jobs that are available to them are back-breaking and do not pay enough to sustain their families. Reading stories about the native people of Boca Chica being mistreated by their own government saddens me and makes me hope that someday this will be changed. It also makes me excited for Hiram’s trip there and the impact that I know we are all hoping to make in the lives of the people and children associated with Caminante. Reading about the culture in the Dominican is preparing me for a much more fruitful experience than I could have ever hoped for, and I’m ready to land on the island and get to work!
