Today was deconstructing poverty day and we got to directly witness the steps impoverished people take in order to work against their unfortunate situations. First we went to the city dump in La Vega and met a group of people called buzos. Buzos is a Spanish word for people who live off of the waste in the landfill. These people sort through the piles of trash produced by millions of citizens to find recyclable goods such as bottles, paper, and cans and make money off of it. Obviously, these people make very little and have to rely on such a difficult and uncomfortable job because they lack proper education, healthcare and opportunities. As leaders of the day, we were happy to see our group members reflecting on these people’s situation and realizing that despite being able to do very little for them we can still feel grateful for the privileges we are born with. We hope that when we return to the States, we can continue to act more thankful for what we have and stop taking our opportunities for granted.
After the city dump, we visited the Catholic Haitian School and met the founder Wilbert Dareus who talked to us about the struggles of keeping his school open. He explained how his school has no government support at all and the only patron passed away recently, leaving him with little funding. At the school, we face painted, blew balloons, and colored with them. We all had so much fun and were left with changed minds about what poverty is and how it affects people.
We then travelled back to the accommodation where we had our final Community Action Project presentations and decided on our contribution to the community! More details to come later in the week!
Sounds like you had eye opening experiences. I’m glad it reminded you of how blessed you (we) all are. I’m glad you were able to share your smiles and enthusiasm with the kids.
Nicholas,
I miss you lots! I’m so glad you’re having such an enlightening and enjoyable experience in the DR. Sending you lots of love and hugs! Hi to the rest of you. 🙂
P.S. Nicholas, I expect you to speak non-stop Spanish when you return!!
Everyone is looking good.
Glad to see smiley faces there.
Good Job Emmy…. Love you and miss you.
Great post guys! You all look so happy to be there with the kids and were so respectful of the buzos, Proud PC!.
So proud of you all!! You are doing such an amazing job! Keep up the good work and love to see the smiling faces! We sure want to do more for this community so can’t wait to hear all about how you plan to make a difference here.
It was indeed an eye opening experience for you glimpsers. We all talk, hear and read about poverty but never get chance to meet and learn from these people what they go through .
Today you got a glimpse of their lives and I’m sure you all were filled with emotions and thoughts about them and yourselves. That is what I call as “learning” from others’ lives.
Avantika,
I am so glad that you are having wonderful experiences there and we can’t wait to hear everything from you when you will back here from DR. Until then enjoy and be safe.
Miss you and love you so much!!
Monika
Looks like great experiences for all of you!
Jennifer, you look really happy. Joy said you look even younger, Justin was confused and asked me where was South America.