Accounts of Dominican Republic by a missionary newbie - Part 2 of 3

Most people go to Puerto Plata for its tropical weather, sandy beaches, and low cost of living. However, 20 minutes from the all-inclusive resorts, a very different reality exists. Dominican Republic (DR) shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Years of civil unrest in Haiti results in a large number of Haitian refugees in DR. These Haitians have no legal status in DR, and are often subject to discrimination. They live in slums, often makeshift shacks built on top of garbage dumps. Their deplorable living conditions in DR are often no better than what they left behind in Haiti.

The focus of our trip is various projects in Villa Ascencion, a village started by a Canadian philanthropist five years ago to help some of the poorest people around Puerto Plata.

I spent most of my time on Team Rabbit, where we taught the locals how to raise rabbits for food, and helped them build their own rabbit hutches. Since it is crucial for them to take ownership of the project, they were responsible for the actual building of the hutches, while we provided material and assistance. During the building phase, I observed a wide range of personalities and mentalities. Some were highly motivated, excited about this new opportunity to improve their lives. They took care and pride in building their hutches, and even helped others to build theirs. However, there were also some who demanded that we do the work for them. I was inspired and encouraged by the motivated ones, and saddened by those with no desire to put in the effort. I was also impressed with their resourcefulness and creativity. Since we did not have enough tools for each team, they had to share. Some decided to resort to local tools for the task at hand, such as using rocks to pound nails, and machetes to cut wood. In the end, we built 55 hutches, and distributed rabbits to all participants. I was really pleased with the result.

In addition to Team Rabbit, I also got involved with several other activities. I played with the kids, hiked around the village, installed a computer at the village council office, made the first ever map of the village and presented it to the council, helped with a mobile clinic by being an unregistered nurse, unlicensed pharmacist, and a mean looking bouncer at the door.

It was a busy trip, a fun trip, and one where I grew a lot. I’ll reflect on the trip in my next post.