Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
Here are a few things to know and expect:
- Blog posts are written by onsite program staff and/or students and sent to our Headquarters team who will post the blog on this page.
- We typically receive 2-3 blog updates per week from each program, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post every day – that’s totally normal.
- Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
- Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.
For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.
-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team
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BLOG POST FOR JUNE 16
Bienvenidos, Welcome to the Dominican Republic!
An exciting summer for our young leaders have begun! 15 of our GLA students have arrived in the afternoon at the Puerto Plata International Airport. Sophie, Ava, Ella and Alex came earlier today and we met with the rest of the students around 3:30pm.
The weather was very fresh as we drove back to our homebase, seeing a lot of the local scene and bright turquoise ocean along the way.
During the afternoon the students settled in and for dinner we got a delicious traditional Dominican meal: Rice and beans and delicious mango!
We’re waiting for Hannah and Grady who will arrive tomorrow afternoon, then the whole Global Health Initiative team will be complete!
Parents, families and friends, please follow us on this blog as we feature the daily adventures of this amazing group of leaders!
All the best,
Paulina, International Director
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 17
Today was our second day in the Dominican Republic.
We had an orientation with Dave, the owner of Seven Elements, who runs the lodge we are staying in. After that, we collected seashells at the beach and did a Leadership Pillars activity. Then, we had our first service day at the construction site where we made walls with recycled water bottles for a medical facility. To cool off, we had our swim test and spent some time at the pool. By that time, Hannah and Grady arrived so finally our whole group is complete!
Then, we had dinner and a medical brigade training with Dr. Caho, who will be with us tomorrow in the field. We finished the night with ice cream and community agreements!
Greetings,
Saya and Sophie,
Leaders of the Day
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 18
Today we volunteered at a local church to participate in a medical brigade in the community of Sabaneta de Yasica with Dr. Caho. We helped out the locals by registering them, taking vital signs, writing the clinical history, shadowing the doctors while they addressed patients and distributing medicine.
We stopped at the supermarket to grab some snacks and then headed to Home Base for an afternoon siesta and team bonding at the beach and the pool. We ended the day getting familiar with our mentor groups reflecting on our personal goals through journaling.
Greetings from Las Canas,
– Christiana, Mentor
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 19
Today we woke up and enjoyed some pancakes before heading to El Caiman, a rural community from Gaspar Hernandez municipality, to provide aid for a mixed community of Haitians and Dominicans during our medical brigade.
There, we set up five different stations and everyone got to try a new part of the rotation.
After finishing up the brigade we went on a walk through the town. Later in the afternoon we went on a walk to a lagoon near Home Base and then chilled at the pool. This leaded into dinner time where we had tacos, and got into our global health lecture with Dave, the Founder of 7 Elements, who provides health aid to 10,000 people in the region. After the lecture, we did a debriefing session to reflect on the 7 elements of security: Political, Economical, Environmental, Food, Health, Community and Individual. We headed to bed to rest up for our excursion day tomorrow!
All the best,
-Hannah, Grady and Christiana (mentor)
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 20
Hello from the Dominican Republic!
Today we started off early by having a delicious breakfast. We hopped on the bus for an hour drive to Laguna Dudu to explore the beautiful property along with swimming in the lagoon. Then we went over to Playa Grande for a yummy lunch with the option of getting a tropical drink! We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out on the beach; swimming and playing football in the water.
We drove back to home base for a siesta and a Dominican cooking night. Our chef taught us how to make “tostones” by smashing plantains. After, we ate them with a “Sancocho”, which is a typical chicken/ veggie soup. After, we had free time to play card games and volleyball. To finish the day we watched a beautiful sunset on the beach!
Until tomorrow,
Frances & Mia
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 21
Saludes from Aguas Negras,
Today was filled with fun activities and learning opportunities. We drove to Aguas Negras for a medical brigade with Dr. Caho. We helped take patients vitals, document their medical history, and give them their necessary medications. We ate lunch at the worksite and then departed for home base. On the drive back, we stopped for fresh coconut water. We then went back to our rooms for a brief siesta before walking along the beach to get ice cream with the group. Upon our arrival, we ate chicken, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and watermelon for dinner. The kitchen also prepared a refreshing lemonade.
After dinner, we split into groups for a discussion about morality in a hypothetical situation to reflect on human rights, economical development and international development. The situation presented a challenge of whether or not to build a sporting arena in the Haitian side in the community of La Grua. To consider this, each group had to share their thoughts on this project from a given perspective. This was a liberating experience that pushed us to consider many different viewpoints. Overall, we had a great day and look forward to the next activities this coming week!
Your Leaders of the Day,
Anya and Sejal
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 22
Today we got an early start, waking up at 5:45 am for a 6 am breakfast. At 7 am, we departed on a 2-hour drive to La Grua, a community home to a mix of Dominican and Haitian residents.
We learned about the complex situation of Haitian migrants in the community and the reasons why many patients were afraid to come to the brigade for fear of deportation. We ran our medical brigade in a rustic building, played with some of the local kids, had a lunch of rice, beans, chicken, and plantains, and then drove back to Home Base.
Back at Home Base, we had a debrief circle to discuss the current geopolitical situation, learning the importance of viewing an issue from a variety of perspectives. The talk was led by Dave, our Home Base owner and ex-Navy SEAL. Afterwards, we had a delicious pasta dinner and enjoyed some free time before heading out to the beach to watch the sunset. It was a very busy but fulfilling day!
-Ella and Sasha, Leaders of the Day
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 23
Today we visited public and private clinics in Gasper Hernandez. We toured both facilities with Dr. Caho, learning the differences, both positive and negative, of both sides of the Dominican healthcare system. We heard many different physicians speak about their personal experience in medicine as well as the Dominican healthcare system in general. We went to a surgery room and they explained to us the process of C-sections, and had nurses explain what every tool and piece of equipment did in each room we saw.
After the amazing shadowing experience, we headed back to home base for lunch and a long siesta (which was earned). We then had some free time where we hung around the pool and talked, followed by dinner.
After dinner which was taco night we sat down with Dr. Caho and presented our research on 10 specific topics of DR healthcare. He also explained the DR system much more in-depth and we learned so much about disease control and pandemic awareness, as well as the three levels in DR healthcare. We then went back to our rooms for some long awaited rest.
Your leaders of the day,
Alex and Gavin
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 24
DAYYYY NINEEE!!
We started off our day by visiting the Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration in Santiago where we learned about the history of the Dominican Republic. After lunch we took a tour of the cultural museum and viewed the artifacts, art, and the history of the Caribbean culture through various types of paintings and photographs. On the way home we got to stop at the supermarket. We ended our day with a two hour karaoke session full of laughing, dancing, and singing. 😛😛
#bestnight #shakasup
~ from lexie and lauren 🤙🩷
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 25
Today we had a nice breakfast, then headed out early for the zip line excursion. Upon arrival we geared up and then did a 8 course zip line adventure. This was definitely one of the group favorites of the trip. Afterwards we enjoyed a meal at the course and hung out by the pool. In the early afternoon we headed back to home base with a quick stop to tour the clinic that the walls we are building in our infrastructure project will be used for. then we had a siesta followed by free time and dinner, then a quick journaling acvitivty where we reflected on our futures in relation to our Dominican experience learning about Global Health and we were off to bed.
-Violet and Hannah
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 26
Today we toured the Rio San Juan hospital, and got to see patients, testing labs, ER, X-Ray room and much more. After the Hospital we headed back to Home Base and got lunch. After lunch we went down to a community basketball court and played games with the locals. After 2 pretty intense rounds of basketball we had some popsicles and headed back to Home Base. Some of us ran and others walked. We enjoyed and got refreshed at the pool afterwards!
Then we got ready for dinner and dancing. At Dominican Night we experienced traditional food and dancing!
✌🏼out day 11 – Clara and Grady
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 27
Today was a very busy day for the Global Health Initiative group. We started off the day with a delicious breakfast that fueled us to build our eco-friendly walls that took 6 HOURS TO BUILD. Afterwards, we jumped in the pool to cool off (muy tranquillo)! Thankfully, we had a very long siesta followed by an amazing dinner, and mentor groups after.
-Lauren and Alex (🐐🐐🐐)
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 28
Today we had a very fun last day. We woke up early and had a delicious and nutritious breakfast before we departed for Sosua, where we went snorkeling on a catamaran. After we had a delicious lunch on the beach where we had amazing pizza. After lunch, we enjoyed tanning, shopping, around and just lounging and swimming. We then came home and took a much-needed siesta and enjoyed our last free time together after this. We had an amazing dinner and got to do our appreciation circle and our awards. I would like to say I speak for all of us and say that we’re very thankful for this trip and we’re gonna miss each other very much.
Shakas up for the last time 🤙🏼,
Sophie and Ava
