Hey guys, welcome back to our blog! It’s Belinda and Jenie here, your LDDs for Deconstructing Poverty Day. We began the day at 6:00 am with “Gasolina” blasting through Cara’s speakers. We went around knocking on everyone’s doors making sure that they wake up on time. Breakfast was at 7:00 am, which consisted of pancakes, fruit, and carrot juice. Delicioso! We got ready in our business casual clothes and traveled to La Colonia, a high school in the neighboring city. We divided into three groups: the welcomers, the ticketers (for the waiting system), and the doctor assistants. The purpose of coming here was to provide free healthcare for people who might not have access. Three Dominican doctors volunteered their time to assess and prescribe medication for the patients who came in.
The welcomers spent all morning shouting “Clinica Gratis!” in order to entice locals to come in. The ticketing group spent time playing with the children of the patients while maintaining the waiting area. The doctors’ assistants were instructed to hand out the appropriate medications. During our break, we got to ask the doctors about the healthcare system in the DR and their journeys in the medical field. We were able to see the differences between the healthcare systems in the DR compared to the US. After that, we listened to Ana Melba Alcanta’s story about her passion for supporting people with special needs.
After a long morning working at the clinic, we headed back to Hostel Quintonido where we had lunch which consisted of rice with beans, beef, and a green salad. Muy bien! We had some quiet time where we hung out at our FAVORITE spot, the balcony. Some people took naps, showers, planned for their English tutoring lessons, or created posters. An hour later, we began prepping for our CAP panel. We split up into our committees: the planning committee, the design committee, and the Kid’s Corner committee. Soon after, the community representatives from Paso Bajito came and we presented our ideas for the community project which were painting their community center and creating a playful kid’s corner in the building. They took our ideas into consideration and gave us feedback on making our plan even stronger. We ended the panel with some BIG LOVE. An hour later, we had dinner, which was boiled plantains, ham, eggs, yucca, and sweet potatoes. Yum yum yum!
We ended our day with the nightly meeting where the torch was passed to Denisse who demonstrated her AMAZING drumming skills with the use of a bucket and two pens. And Jenie rapped a fire verse. Currently, people are singing and hanging on the balcony until it is bedtime, which is 10:00 pm. Okie bye 🙂
Fiesta Salsa Quinceañera Baila
Belinda y Jenie
Thank you Belinda and Jenie for sharing about your Deconstructing Poverty Day. Nice posters and nice advertising for the locals! I appreciate the photos. They really give us a perspective of where you are and where you all go to help. Everybody talks about that favorite place, the balcony. You must take pictures and send them over so that we can see you all enjoying it. Are the mosquitos behaving? I hope you are all continuing to be happy and helpful to each other and to every one else. We’re sad that there are only 6 more days left, but we are also happy that we will get to see you all with so much to share. You are probably in the balcony now. It’s 7:24 in the DR now. Hasta pronto!
Patty Casetta
Marcella’s Mom