(Day 5) What We Did- And Didn't- Accomplish

Today was our fifth and final workday.  While the goodbyes are always hard, it is always so profoundly gratifying to see all that we were able to accomplish in five short days.

Med Clinic

By The Numbers:
Monday: 96 (Batey la Gina)
Tuesday: 103 (Batey Gauzabal)
Wednesday: 145 (Batey Santarita)
Thursday: 125 (Medical Clinic Yuma)
Friday: 145 (Medical Clinic- La Romana, barrio Pica Piedra) 
Total: 614 patients seen

Some of the above numbers are actually a bit skewed, because there were patients who couldn't afford the forms for all of their family members.  Each form cost 30 pesos per person in the batey, which is about $0.62 American dollars. Sometimes a mom and baby will come, and the mom will neglect herself- so the doctors "unofficially" treat the whole family.  We tried to account for these "unofficial" patients, but of course it isn't an exact science.

Out on the most remote bateys, there were a lot more cases of malnutrition and a lot of musculoskeletal complaints.  Most people had not seen a doctor in quite a long time.  If they did have any prescriptions, they were very different from the kinds of medicines that people in the city had.  A lot of people in the bateys said,  "I don't eat everyday; I can't afford to eat every day."  They were living 4-8 people in a single shack.  As the week progressed, there were fewer cases of teenage pregnancies, more formal diagnoses, and therefore more previously prescribed medicines.   Even in the poorest communities, wide disparities in healthcare access and quality persist.

Waiting to be admitted

Waiting room

Seeing the doctors

La Papita

At Batey La Papita, the crew brought in dirt and construction materials for the third new house on the batey.  Half of the group was literally moving the earth in order to raise the level of the floor to an appropriate height, while the other group was hauling cinderblocks up a hill to the site of the newest house.  We moved 250-350 cinderblocks a day, each one weighing approximately 30 pounds.  

Current living conditions at Batey La Papita

One of two completed piles of cinderblocks

To operate most effectively, we created a human assembly line and passed the cinderblocks from person to person.  Today, we even had ten community members voluntarily join us!  It was such a rewarding experience to engage with the community toward our common goal.  Although we didn't finish the entire pile of cinderblocks, we were able to make a massive dent in the work.  All left the worksite today with a genuine sense of accomplishment.  

Watkinson, UHHSE, and Batey La Papita community members forming a brigade

Joe Hartman School

Our major project at Joe Hartman School was to build a cement floor for what will be the cafeteria.  This is an incredibly important endeavor because it directly impacts the quality of the students' education.  Without a cafeteria, classes end each day at noon, so that students can go home to eat lunch.  Classes do not resume in the afternoon.  With a completed cafeteria, the school day can be lengthened to include afternoon classes.  This has enormous implications for academic achievement and subsequent life outcomes.  

The team was led by a local contractor, Danny, and two interpreters that work with The Mission.  On-site Dominican workers helped mix and lay concrete, but our group was responsible for all of the movement.  Sometimes we formed assembly lines and passed buckets of concrete from outside to the site of the future cafeteria; other times, we used wheelbarrows as our primary method of transportation.  The stamina and work ethic was an incredible site to behold.

Day 1- Leveling the dirt to prepare for laying cement

Day 4- 10am, about 4/5 of the floor completed

Day 4- 1pm, putting on the finishing touches.

We finished our main project at the end of the day on Thursday.  That left Friday for some touch-up work: patching some holes in the concrete roof and repainting the garden, which our team built two years ago.  While we were preparing the concrete for paint, a chorus of first-graders serenaded us with the alphabet song... literally arm-in-arm.  I couldn't possibly put into words how adorable this moment was, so I'll just let the video speak for itself:

Final Thoughts

Despite all of the great work we were able to do, it's a bit disheartening when we realize how much left there is still left to do.  For every house we complete, there are many more families still living in shacks made of scrap metal.  For every 30-day supply of vitamins we distributed, there are likely many more days before that patient will be seen by another doctor.  

Nevertheless, we are taking comfort in knowing that we made our small contribution.  Where we leave off this year, we will pick up next year.  

Until then, let's hope for a safe flight!  We can't wait to see you all so soon.  Buenas noches, todos.

(Day 4) Spotlight: Batey Papita

Batey Papita is the most beautiful place on the planet. The sugar cane tufts blow in the breeze, while a wee little goat bahhhs to his mother. The sites and sounds of this pastoral locale make it a must see! Getting to Papita though can be hard work! Before Hurricane Maria there was a stone bridge that led us into the village. Now, we have use a plank as a footbridge. Sometimes locating a plank can take hours.... Island Time!

La Papita! 

Fixing the bridge does not seem to be on the top of the Batey owner's to-do list. Instead, he has brought the cane cutters a tractor to pull carts of cane over the river. Whew, how else would he get rich off of his crops?!

Old Bridge.... 

The villagers hop across on that little branch like Jackie Chan

New Bridge! 

However, the beauty of the scenery creates a stark juxtaposition to the poverty that the people of this Batey live in. Last year, our team built the first house on this Batey. Now, there are two and a half houses built. Today we worked on hauling cinderblocks up to the church that will be constructed next, and worked on finishing the half of a house that currently stands. In the house we hauled dirt to level out the floor while the skilled laborers banged away at the roof.

Block Brigade 

Carretera= Highway 

Carretilla= Wheelbarrow 

After a day of hard work we went on a tour of the Good Samaritan Hospital, the place that makes this whole wheel turn. Then, on to the orphanage for a tour of their beautiful facility. We were early for our tour (a first, as we now are practicers of Island Time) so we didn't get to visit with the kids, but that's okay as the team was MUY CANSADO! Very tired!

Now, the team sits around, laser focused on creating paper plate awards. Watkinson teacher Dave Kroch may or may not be currently tracing the poop emoji from this phone onto his award. Tonight is going to be interesting!

Adios! 

Guest Blogger: Liz Benfield ('07)

(Day 3) Spotlight: Batey 50

On Day 3, we went to the med clinic and Joe Hartman School per usual, but we did not go to Batey Papita.  Instead, we sent a small but spirited crew to Batey 50, where it all began.

What's a batey?  A batey is a workcamp, where mostly Hatian immigrants work directly for a sugar cane company in exchange for little pay and substandard housing.  Work conditions are extremely poor, and access to healthcare and educaiton is extraordinarily limited.  In the Dominican Republic, there are 127 bateys, 90% of which are operated under a single sugar cane company.

Batey 50 was one of the first bateys selected for the construction of hurricane-proof houses by volunteer groups.  One of the poorest in the area and the most remote, the batey originally contained houses made of scrap metal, cardboard, blankets, sticks, and anything people could put together.   Many of the former Watkinson Service Trips would visit Batey 50 regularly, so we have a longstanding history.  We have since built concrete houses for all of the families in the batey, elevating the quality of life for its residents immeasurably.

John Crosson, Assistant Head of School

Today we said hello to some of our old friends.  We helped a worker put a tile floor in a new home.  The majority of the group went down to the river where a community garden is being planned.  We used pickaxes, shovels, and wheelbarrows to add dirt to level the garden site.  Some of our interpreters worked alongside us in the hot sun, keeping morale high.  While it was a beautiful site, we saw the need for more work to be done before the garden is fully finished.

Pictured here is Liz Benfield, a alumna of Watkinson ('07) and a current Spanish teacher at University High School of Science & Engineering.  The picture on the left was taken in 2012 on Ms. Benfield's first trip to the DR.  She met the cutest little girl named Erica, and fell in love instantly.  When she found out Erica needed a sponsor to be able to attend school, it was a no-brainer.  $60 per year is "chump change" to give a child an education for a year.  Today, Ms. Benfield returned to Batey 50 and saw Erica again.  They took an updated picture together, as seen on the right.  Please note that on the left and right you can see Liz donning the same pair of orange shades.  (Fun fact: she also wore the exact same pair of shorts, making her head-to-toe outfits 100% identical.)

Everyone returned home from Batey 50 with smiles on their face and warmth in their hearts.  We can't wait to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow as a group, but we will miss all of our families at home!  Safe travels and happy eats.  :)  Hasta luego.

(Day 2) Spotlight: Joe Hartman & Los Toros

Today, the spotlight is on Joe Hartman School, one of our three work sites.  Below is a student reflection, written by Maggie P.

The buses were packed this morning bright and early, and our troops were shipped out. The drive was short, back tracking our way towards Santo Domingo. Our amazing crew of 18 students and adults from both Watkinson and UHSSE were able to accomplish a lot in just one day at the Joe Hartman School. We started our morning off with a tour from the principal to each and every classroom, where the students greeted us every time with an overwhelming Buenos Dias! We were able to meet with every grade and see what they were learning that day. It was quite the experience for our students to interact one on one with these young students. The tour was soon followed by working on the floor in the cafeteria being constructed. The students demonstrated amazing group effort with everyone putting in their all to move rocks and level out the gravel. Lunch followed, an amazing lunch to say the least, and so did time with the students in the court yard. Our afternoon at Joe Hartman looked like an assembly line to create and move wet concrete into the new kitchen to lay the floor. Our team was able to lay close to half the kitchen floor in a very short time! By that time school had been let out and we had quite the crowd of kids viewing from outside. They serenaded us with Despacito as we used a pitch axe to hack away at a rock/dirt pile. As the day at Joe Hartman came to a close, the rain came, but that didn’t scare away the kids from giving us mini heart attacks while they scaled the cinder blocks to get in. Overall our day at Joe Hartman was extremely productive and a great experience for all who went!

We closed out the night with our annual Tuesday night tradition: Los Toros, live from La Romana.  In the fifth inning, the score was 0-6, no bueno para Los Toros.  Nevertheless, we made it onto the live camera not once but twice- and even got a high five from Toro himself.  We got home late, and everyone went straight to bed.  Until tomorrow, everyone!

(Day 1) Spotlight: Med Clinic

The team woke up early, had some five-star steel cut oatmeal, loaded up the bus, and headed out to our work assignments.

The bus ride to the med clinic nearly took us two hours because of all the rain from the past couple of days. Some of the roads were difficult to get through, but we made it! Although space was tight in the church, we successfully set up the med clinic and pharmacy.

In the pharmacy filling prescriptions were first-timers Jack, Mike and Cora. Leading the pack were Brianna, a 2nd-year pharmacy veteran, and Jessica, who has headed the pharmacy for the past 4 years. We all had a fun day, despite the heat and chaos.

On blood pressure duty, we had two newbies Naieem and Irene.  If ever you wanted to see the look of pure concentration on a person's face, you needed only look at Naieem. Leading the charge was Threesa, who is a veteran nurse and second year traveler to the DR.

Liz was at the door at intake but she also got to work with the dentist. I guess you never know what you will end up doing! Her favorite patient was an elderly woman who had recently pulled her own tooth. She came to see the doctor because she claimed that the tooth was now "walking around in her mouth" and she needed medicine to make it stop. I hate when my teeth start walking around!!! We gave her some toothpaste and told her if she puts it on, the tooth will stop being so pesky.

Other highlights included:

• Sandy played traffic cop holding babies and directing patients.
• Samm and Kim gave out bug juice and played with the kids.
• Jenna and Christie were on shoes. Each of the patients were able to get a pair of shoes & a food kit that we packed the previous night.
• Sarah, Sabina and Christine were our Docs from UConn.  In addition, we were lucky to have the help of a couple docs from the DR.

Overall, we saw 96 patients ranging from infants to adults in the 70s. The doctors treated different illnesses like colds, high blood pressure, stomach aches and diabetes. Each patient received a three month supply of vitamins.  We handed out comfort dolls and stuffed animals to the children. Samm and Kim handed out bracelets to a group of eager kids. We all enjoyed our time and are excited for what's to come!

Sunday Funday

There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep after 12 straight hours of travel!

We awoke to a scrumptious breakfast courtesy of our in-house chef, TaTa.  After a prayer of thanks, we loaded up our plates with warm pancakes and fresh local fruit. 

To begin our week together, Mr. Dinello invited us to participate in "The Paper Plate Awards."  Each person picked a traveler's name out of a hat and has one week to get to know that person, directly or indirectly.  The goal is to decide what "award" that person should receive.  It could be something along the lines of "Most Likely To Fall Asleep On The Bus" or perhaps "Fastest Shoveler."  On Friday, each person will present a paper plate to their assigned person with one such award.  To quote one of our students, "It's gonna be lit!"

We spent the morning preparing for our upcoming work: counting medications, sorting shoes, and staying hydrated.  I even overheard a student say, "Let's all be citizens of Hydration Nation."  Preach, kid, preach.  The sky must have heard us, and because around noon it started to pour.  The intermittent showers showed no signs of stopping, which threw a wrench into our planned afternoon at the beach.

Nevertheless, with grey skies overhead and the pitter-patter of rain outside our windows, we hedged our bets and went to the beach anyway.  It rained for the entire 30 minute bus ride but the sky opened up literally as the bus arrived at the edge of the sand.   Our luck seemed too good to be true.

Amazingly, we were able to enjoy two hours of uninterrupted beach time: the water was warmer than ever, the waves higher than usual, and the sand softer than I remember.  With dark clouds looming overhead, we had an extra special appreciation for each moment that the weather held out.  The kids practiced their back floats, perfected their handstands, and launched each other high into the air only to fall back into the water.  It was so refreshing to see the kids totally off the grid, just enjoying the scenery and each other's company.

We returned to Casa Pastoral this evening so grateful for our good fortune with the weather.  Dinner consisted of pork, potatoes, carrots and broccoli, followed by an assortment of pies that hit the spot.  The kids are playing cards and reading and doing other kid-things.  Though we are immensely grateful for this day of rest, we're ready for the real work to begin tomorrow.

Good night, everyone!