Med Clinic brought to you by Pia S. '25
Hello my name is Pia Squatrito, this is my second year participating in the Dominican Republic service team and today, Friday the 24th I was on the medical team; working in the pharmacy. The day started by waking up bright and early, eating one last fulfilling breakfast of freshly cut fruit, crispy bacon and pancakes. Additionally we had a drink which the locals call squinchers, it is really just hydrating electrolytes! Then we loaded the buses: one for construction and one for the medical team. The loading consisted of food packages, shoes, medical supplies and lunch for our team. Today was about a 40 minute ride to reach the church in Yuma. We unloaded the bus and arranged the layout of the church to make it into separate stations. These “sections” consisted of blood pressure station, an eye doctor, a dentist, our four resident doctors from UConn, pharmacy and donations of shoes and hygiene kits. Finally we were ready to start seeing patients. The orders for prescriptions started rapidly flowing in. Mr. Gemme and I divided and conquered. We were a very good team; him answering all my questions and having good team work. Because it was out last day the typical prescriptions started running out so it made our job harder by forcing us to use what we had left and ask the doctors for advice on what would be most similar. We worked for three and a half hours straight from around 9:30 to 1:00. Because we had been so productive at 1:00 we had lunch and were able to pack up and eat lunch. Lunch consisted of typical rice mixed with beans, meat and a crowd favorite empanadas! We headed home and quickly got dressed and headed to the beach for a celebration of our accomplishments. To end off the night and trip we presented paper plate awards to each other which brought smiles and laughter commencing the trip on a positive note!
Construction brought to you by Gaby R. '25
After another hectic morning of breakfast, food packing, and transporting things to the bus, I headed with the construction team to Rodney Henrikson School at La Lechosa., the school we have been working at for the past week. We finished our mural that features a variety of colors and flowers, played with the school kids until it was time for them to go home, and ate our last delicious lunch made by the talented cooks at Casa Pastoral. After this, to end off our week of hard work, we took a much deserved group trip to the beach where we spent our time in the water until the very last minute.
I have taken lots of time to reflect on my trip in the Dominican Republic this year and it is has taught me things I never expected. Our service trip this year featured many unexpected detours and experiences, teaching all of us the lessons of patience and adaptability. I have learned so many things about myself and the people around me and I couldn’t ask for anything better than that. I am leaving the Dominican Republic with new lessons learned, new relationships, and infinite gratitude. Thank you to so much to everyone who’s supported the trip!!
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