Oliver, Ms. Franks, and Clara serving food in the community on Family Exchange day!

Oliver, Ms. Franks, and Clara serving food in the community on Family Exchange day!

How can I escape poverty if I make less than the minimum wage? Can I do it on my own or is outside help necessary?

Hello Everyone! This is Clara and Sammy, the first pair of Lideres Del Dia (LLDD)! Today, Glimpsers had the opportunity to visit the local communities and get to have a direct and life changing experience with the community. Today, Sammy and I had the opportunity to lead the entire group through probably the most different and unique day they have experienced up until this point of the trip. One of the reasons we were chosen to be Lider Del Dia was because we were the two-predominately Spanish speaking global glimpsers.

“What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously, But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.” 

-Kurt Vonnegut

The first activity we did throughout the day was going to the community called Bejuco Aplatasdo and we divided into 7 groups of 3 to learn and experience the life and routine for someone local in Bonao. For most of the Glimpsers the experience was life changing and meaningful since they were able to see how humble these poor people are able to continue their lifestyle with such energy and commitment. Some groups helped out with house chores and cooking with the way these families do it. In addition we think it was really important to highlight how the glimpsers were able to communicate with the families even though there was a language barrier.

As the day went on we had lunch with the community and it was a moment we all were able to come together as a group to share and respect the values of the culture the community has. During lunch the Glimpsers took the role as the server rather than being the ones who get served.

After lunch we went to the field where we played baseball, took pictures with the families, Fiona & Ashling performed gymnastics for the children, and we all just managed to have fun and enjoy the afternoon. After being under the sun for a while, it was time to say goodbye to this great and empowering community. We all took a group picture that clearly shows that we were all enjoying and valuing the moment. For some of us it was a little bit sad because we knew that we were never going to be able to experience this such unique journey with these exact families. However, we were also happy for having the opportunity to cooperate with the community.

Today was also about education and therefore we had our second English tutoring class. Most of the Glimpsers enjoyed it more than the first day because they were not as nervous as they were during their first day. They were all prepared and excited to meet the children and the adults again. This tutoring day was definitely much better and exciting for everyone than our first class.

To finish up, today, all the Glimpsers were introduced to the Community Action Project (CAP) and they all got an idea of what they are going to be doing during the following days to help the community. We will all learn more about it tomorrow, during the Aid and Development Day.

This amazing experience helped all of us think about how lucky we all are with the things we have. We learned that most of the times we take things for granted and that we should not complain for sometimes not having what those around us have. It was also a day where we all got closer and where our friendship bond increasingly grew stronger. Each day is getting better and even though we are sometimes tired, we are all able to be in the moment, have fun, and experience this unique journey to the fullest.

It was a pleasure to be the leaders of the day and being able to provide guidance to all our friends!
Buenas Noches a todos!