Sorting

Our first full day in the Dominican Republic was all about sorting. Sorting pills, sorting shoes, sorting hygienic items. You name it, we sorted it. To carry out our sorting we divided into three teams. The first (and largest) team was the pill team. They were put in charge of organizing the huge supply of vitamins and medication that we carried over with us. They sat for hours in the dining room, counting pills and sorting them into plastic bags for our med teams to distribute to patients over the coming days. While the pill team carried out their work, the second team went out into the far courtyard and created individual hygiene kits (filled with soap, shampoos, toothpaste and various other products) to be handed out at this week’s med clinics. The final team went into the near courtyard and organized the countless number of sneakers, boots and flip flops that had been donated by the Watkinson community. They formed six large piles filled with men’s, women’s and children’s footwear for distribution at the week’s med clinics and construction sites.

After a few hours, the outdoor teams were done with their work, and had neatly stacked their labeled bags full of shoes and hygiene products in the supply closet, but there were still piles of pills to be sorted. The entire service team joined the pill team and worked for the next two hours (with a brief break for lunch) until our doctors and nurses were satisfied that they would have enough medicine for the patients they expected to see. 

With the week’s supplies organized and ready to go, we could afford to have a little fun. We piled into a van and drove to a local beach. For two hours we splashed in the warm waters of the Caribbean and lounged in the sand, some of us working on a nice November tan, while others slathered themselves in SPF 70, hoping to avoid sunburns or adding to their collection of freckles. 

When we returned home after the beach, with salty skin and sun kissed smiles, the final bit of sorting remained to be carried out: sorting ourselves into work teams for tomorrow. After a crash course in taking blood pressure, administered by our doctors and nurses, we were ready to sign up for either the construction or medical team. After a few rounds of cards and Connect 4 we went to bed early, ready for our first work day.