a Dominican Point of View

With bags packed, Gordon and I and Leon and Suzanne headed to the Dominican Republic on Feb. 1. We were to meet 3 NFL players and their wives for an Charity Anywhere Expedition. We stayed the first 2 nights at the temple hotel and were able to complete a temple session there. The temple is big and very beautiful. We went with Jessica as she showed us some poor schools in the capital city of Santo Domingo. The children came from very poor homes next to the river which flooded at least once a year. We were able to itemize some of their most critical needs. On Monday night we met the group from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Their group consisted of Brady and Brooke Poppinga. (1st String Linebacker for Green Bay Packers), Laura and AJ Hawk (1st. string Linebacker for Green Bay Packers), Brady Quinn (Quarterback for Cleveland Browns), Chris Hubbard, Brooks brother who works for a large non-profit endowment fund and his friend Srey Um who is involved in the health industry in LA.

Over the next few days we:

1. Visited El Ramon, a mountain community. The Playitforward group agreed to purchase supplies for a much needed water system for clean water for the community of about 800 families

2. Provided windows and doors for the San Francisco school allowing for many more students to attend school

3. Provided over 250 notebooks for school children

4. Taught class on Hygiene and gave out hygiene kits

5. Gave motivational talks about staying away from drugs and alcohol

6. Distributed toys at Boys orphanage in San Christobal. Asked about critical needs there

7. Visited a drug rehab program for women in San Christobal. Distributed Hygiene kits and assessed the needs of the women there.

8. Went to girls orphanage at La Ramana. Distributed 150 book bags and lots of gifts and toys

9. Went to boys orphanage at La Raman. Distributed baseballs, mitts, toys and blankets for the small children

10. Provided 150 school kits for the 2 schools in Santo Domingo and provided $120 for urgent supplies and food there.

All these people were amazing and very people oriented. We worked with 2 Peace Corps volunteers, Kaitlin Kubinsky and Anthon, and Jessica Burkovich, a person who was working for an NGO from Canada. Beside those, we had 3 other Spanish speakers.

It was a wonderful experience to watch the group interact with the people and to respond so generously to their needs. I hope that we can connect with them again and share another opportunity to offer help in that country. I feel that we have made some good friends along the way.