S-Trip! Destination: Dominican Adventure, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic March Break 2017
This March break on S-Trip! our students came back to the region of Nueva York Chiquito, in Puerto Plata. After just a short 10 minute ride we found ourselves warmly greeted by the community leader Juan and all the community ambassadors from The N.W.C.
Right away our travelers could tell this place was special. The sun was shining, everyone was smiling, and there was a complete sense of community.
After gathering in the local church to meet all of the staff members, we broke out into three groups and began the day! The first rotation was a community clean up, where the students were able to help with the local garbage problem. The little kids from the community helped with the clean up and showed them where some of their favorite areas were.
The second rotation was the labor station, where we built a house from the ground up for a family in need. The father of the family had moved to a different city to find work, and the mother and daughter had to stay behind. Due to recent floods, the infrastructure of the house was completely ruined and their house was no longer safe. But, because of our hard work, and time donated by our travelers, the family is now reunited and able to stay dry and safe.
The third rotation was arts and crafts & game time with the children. They played volleyball and made beautiful bracelets that they gave to each other as presents. We had translators there the whole time to help make sure the students and kids really had a chance to get to know each other and create meaningful relationships.
We finished the day off with a wonderful speech from the N.W.C, with hugs and high-fives all around. The work we did this season is truly going to last a lifetime, in both the community of Nueva York Chiquito, and the memory of our travelers.
Written by Celine Peel-Michaud, the on-site Volunteer Coordinator for Puerto Plata.