Today’s theme was Aid and Development. The day started off normally with a bright and early (also loud) wakeup call at 7am followed by a delicious, as per usual, breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs made by Dilenia of course. After eating, we fired ourselves up with a mental warmup activity as well as an energizer game, and then by 9:30am we were on the bus headed to Barrio de Las Flores, a nearby community.

There, we met with Scott Coppa, a member of the Peace Corps currently stationed in the Dominican Republic. Scott gave us an informational seminar about his personal projects as well as passions. His experience in the Peace Corps is ongoing and filled with both successes and failures, which have allowed him to gain insight and expertise in Aid and Development. Many of us were particularly interested in Scott’s presentation because of some of our hopes in joining the Peace Corps in the future. Following the seminar, Scott showed us around Barrio de Las Flores where we were able to really see and experience how the locals live. While it is such a friendly and happy community, they still suffer daily from lack of cleanliness and basic living necessities. To elaborate, the neighborhood is surrounded by a “canal” which is meant to drain the community’s water, but in reality has become a dumping ground for anything from trash to fecal matter. Additionally, the children of Las Flores use the water for running around and playing in, which was hard for us to see due to the health and safety issues that it poses, especially knowing that it was still in such a poor state after several attempts of rehabilitation. After engaging with the community and its members, we realize how crucial it is to have communication with those whom you are giving aid and/or trying to develop, because those who struggle with issues like this canal daily are the only ones who truly know what they need most.

Following the tour and playing with local children on their newly finished basketball court, we had a delicious lunch of chicken, rice, and mac n’ cheese packed to go from Dilenia on the bus in the air conditioning J. We then were able to catch the ending of a local baseball game in Las Flores. Due to the intense interest in baseball among Latin American countries, it was only natural that we would get to experience one during the trip. In this neighborhood specifically, baseball is a big part of many young adult’s lives which can be partially credited to an individual named Juanjo. Juanjo, an important community member, had a rough start to his young life but was able to steer himself onto the right path with the help of baseball and his love for religion. Juanjo explained to us the impact that these two things had on his life and how he is now, as an adult, using them to also make an impact on the lives of children in Las Flores with his organization, Cristo del Rey. With Cristo del Rey, Juanjo serves as a mentor for children and teenagers in the community by teaching them his religious views and training them in baseball. While they do play with their neighborhood friends, this league is something special with many of the players hoping to one day make it to the United States with college scholarships or spots in the MLB. The passion for the sport and for Cristo del Rey that the players exemplified was indicative of the changes Juanjo is making in their lives. Hearing their dreams and aspirations showed us how successful developments in communities, such as this one, can be.

After hurrying back to Dilenia’s and quickly changing into our formal attire, we presented our CAP (Community Action Project) ideas to the committee of community members from Cañada de las Palmas, in which we would are doing our project. Despite some slight roadblocks and setbacks, we were able to move on with a clearer understanding of what the community needs and wants. Directly following the panel, we ended the afternoon with our standard English Tutoring classes at the local schoolhouse, which were full of energy due to the influx of new students.

Today was a busy but nonetheless eye-opening day that helped reinforce our previous understandings of the positive and negative impacts Aid and Development can have.