As my alarm set to a ring tone, I knew it was time to wake up! I definitely got ready by 6:00am. I, Giselle Martinez, was proposed to be the The Leader Of The Day. Not only did I have to be the leader for the group, I also had to take my GG Leaders’ roles as the Leadership and Health Coaches because it was their day off. Luckily, our GG coordinator Elias was going to be traveling to the Immigration Foundation with us. After having a big, delicious meal, we too off to the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo. Before we all got in the bus I made sure our aid, food, water, and donations were packed. By 11:00 am we got to our destination: the organization called Mostcha.

We all helped carried the donations (rice, oil, and beans), only to find out we had to climb 3 sets of stairs! It was a pretty tough and exhausting day, I must say. After we reached the small room, we all gathered to meet Doctor Cherubin and the lawyer Genaro Rincon. Doctor Cherubin is a Haitian who used a false passport to travel to the United States, only to be wrongly deported to the Dominican Republic. He explained to us how he came to the D.R with nothing; he came “roto” as the Dominican people would say. He also emphasized that there was times where he could not complete the money he owed towards his education. He stated that he is not religious but believed in god of life. Luckily, one time he found a 10 peso on the floor and he thought it was a miracle from god. His anger and frustration as he spoke showed how difficult his life was. He clarified, “People didn’t live, they survived,” as he told us several stories. Our next speaker was the lawyer who is not from a Haitian decent but believes Dominicans from a Haitian decent should not be discriminated. He explained the laws and issues in the Dominican Republic and how they have improved over years. He finished with a brief explanation that the organization was founded to help Haitian workers to preserve their rights.

Our next was stop was the school where we’ve been teaching every other day. We got there by 4pm to start our classes. It was the highlight of everyone’s day! The kids are so sweet and warmhearted. After a long day, we managed to get through the rest of our lessons, even though we all wanted to go back to El Rancho Campeche to finally rest. With the help of the ambassadors, we taught for 2 long hours. We are all are proud to teach these kids.

“Remember, remember always that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” -Franklin D Roosevelt

Shout out to my friends and family I miss very much! I can’t wait to get home and make up all the time for all I missed!