August 25, 2008

Luperon Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a travel destination jewel in the Caribbean but it also has its challenges. The Dominican Republic has thirty percent of its citizens living below the poverty line. Also, the Dominican Republic shares a border with Haiti which is one of the poorest, least developed and least stable countries in the Americas. Outside of the resorts of Punta Cana, Puerta Plata and many other resort areas there are people struggling to find ways to make money and support their families. Though I would like to as some point experience the resorts of the Dominican Republic, the last three years we have been there we have helped a few individuals outside of Luperon a small town in the Dominican Republic. Our goal of the trip was to have a vacation where we had a nice equilibrium between work and play.

Our group consisted of fifteen people from different parts of the United States but predominately living in Columbus, Ohio. The trip have been a mission of First Community Church and Akita International, an affiliation with Camp Akita in Southeastern, Ohio near Logan.

While in the Dominican Republic we built a home for a family with four children. It was the first year we took a home from the beginning stages to completion. It was definitely a gratifying experience to leave the project finished and to see them express their excitement. Though none of us have much experience in construction we all did a good job of quickly learning the necessary steps for completion. More importantly we had the help of what we now consider some good Dominican Friends, Adolfo, Carlos, Edwin, Franuelle, and Joselito. Each year without fail they come to help us without any monetary reward. It has been a fun experience building relationships with them as the year’s progress and the project continues to grow.

We also were able see some of the most amazing beaches and waterfalls. We were close to the Luperon Beach Resort where after a hot day of working on the house we were able to cool off in the ocean and enjoy the sun.

More fun than being at the beach was travelling to the twenty seven Charcos (waterfalls.) which is about a forty minute drive from Luperon. We were able to climb and descend twelve of the twenty seven falls which was not nearly enough! If you are ever able to experience the waterfalls it is a must!!! It is definitely one of the more enjoyable experiences I have had while travelling.