Hello everybody!

I can’t believe it’s been a whole summer since you were all here at the lodge! Michaela, Mic, and I miss you all and I’m sure you all miss each other! I hope some of you will be making plans to see each other over the next year (not counting the twins of course). You are probably back to school (or for 2 of you, have started college!), but I wanted to let you know that here at the lodge we are still talking about you guys and the impact you had on us and the communities we work with this summer.

After you guys left, I got to see other groups finish up some of the bathrooms and houses we worked on in cano dulce. It was amazing to see the progress that has been made by so many different groups working together! The 3 bathrooms we worked on are done and look fantastic! I also got to see the trenches at Polanco be completely finished and the water tank is now set up and working! Thank you so much for being the one of the first groups to start making trenches for the pipes. The 200+ people that now have water thank you! We also were able to have another group go finish the cement floor in the school you all worked on in La Grua.

We had so much fun our little group at Laguna Dudu (where you survived the zip-line with relatively
little injury), Laguna Gri Gri and Playa Caleton, and our last day at Rio Yasica where we got so lucky that it didn’t rain! I had a blast with you all!

I really hope you all are still thinking about the impact you had both during the brigade in el bronx (with a lot of patients), and with vitamin distribution in La Cantera (with not many patients, but still an impact on those few individuals), as well as all of our public health projects such as the bathrooms in cano dulce, the water tank in Polanco, and cement floors in La Grua.
Please keep in touch!

Saludos,

Katherine, Michaela, Mic, Javier, and the mysterious (but very real) Bert

 

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Hola hola!

We can’t believe it has already been so long since our Dominican republic trip ended! We can still hear all your vivacious laughter from over the palm trees and among the moos from the cows. Believe it or not, we even miss the boys rapping along to music in the mornings. Do you miss chicken and rice yet? We knew you would! You were such a memorable group. We want to say thank you for your effort, participation and energy that you put into the project this summer. We could not of done it without you.

We have fond memories of waking up to the smell of crispy bacon and the shrills of discovering 8 legged friends in your rooms. Heading on our way to work sites at Cano Dulce and Polanco, equipped with our speaker and singing on the top of our lungs. And the adventure days, anticipating the beautiful waters and the white sandy beaches.

We know that you guys are probably starting back with school (or college YAY) but we wanted you to know that we will forever remember the laughs and good times that we shared. I hope that you know your time spent in the Dominican Republic did truly make a lasting impact on the communities here, you have left your stamp in the cement and in our hearts.

You will forever be a part of the work done at Polanco, providing water for a community of over 200 people. Clean water management is fundamental to global health. Almost one tenth of the global disease burden could be prevented by access to clean water, and you guys have played a part in this important puzzle by helping to install a water tank and provide bathrooms. We are paving the way to better health for these communities by putting in concrete floors, handing out vitamins and building bottle houses for families in need.

We hope that you take the skills and knowledge from this trip into all aspects of your life, and that you remain to be globally engaged, hardworking and motivated to make a different to the wellbeing of people all over the world. We were so impressed with the effort put into participating in our lectures, your feedback has helped us shape future programs, thank you! The commitment and consideration you all demonstrated on our clinic days was truly heartwarming.

Not to mention the hard work you guys did, we also had so much fun! You guys made the group as great as it was as you all brought your individuality to the table. We were all blown away from the variety of talents and confidence you showed during our show.

The stunning sunsets over the lodge, the screams over the spiders (and cows) GHI.A – you were amazing! The level of care and concern that you showed to each other, the staff and the members of the community will never be forgotten.

Here are Some special moments from our trip:

-Jumping into the blue water from the zipline at Dudu Lagoon

-The talent show! And all its surprises and cringes.

-Dancing on the side of the road in Caño Dulce.

-Learning how to make bottle bathrooms and sustainable health issues with Javier and Cameron

-Learning how to dance Bachata with Ideliza and Guillermo, and the dance off!

-Hilary attempting to save spiders from the rooms

-Getting caught in the thunderstorm on the beach at Gri Gri Lagoon

-The Social Justice lecture and all of its impact.

-The clinic brigades, and the playful and cheeky children

-The boat ride down Yasica River and trying sweet sweet fruits and sugar cane

Please stay connected! We hope to see you again.

Abrazos,

Hilary, Averi, Guillermo and Ideliza

 

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Hello girls (and Miles)!

I can’t believe it’s been a whole summer since you were all here at the lodge! Michaela and I miss you all and I’m sure you all miss each other! Though I see some of you are already meeting up back in the US! You are probably back to school, but I wanted to let you know that here at the lodge we are still talking about you guys and the impact you had on us this summer.

After you guys left, I got to see other groups work on the bathroom we started in cano dulce. It was amazing to see the progress that has been! The bathroom is almost done and looks fantastic! I also got to see the trenches at Polanco be completely finished and the water tank is now set up and working! Thank you so much for being the first ones to start making trenches for the pipes. The 200+ people that now have water thank you!

And trust, Michaela and I bragged to our next groups about how our little group of 11 did just as much work as our groups of +25 students.

We had so much fun our little group at Laguna Dudu where NOBODY got hurt (can’t say as much for the next sessions), Rio Yasica where NOBODY got burnt, and Playa Caleton where (almost) EVERYBODY got braids. I had a blast with you all!

I really hope you all are still thinking about the impact you had both during the brigade in the batey Severe, as well as all of our public health projects such as the bathrooms, water tanks, and cement floors.
Please keep in touch and keep updating our instagram group!

Saludos,
Katherine, Michaela, and Javier

 

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Hola hola!

We can’t believe it has already been so long since our Dominican republic trip ended! We can still hear all your vivacious laughter from over the palm trees and among the moos from the cows. You were our first group of the summer and definitely the most memorable! From all of us on the lodge, we want to say thank you for your effort, participation and energy that you put into the project this summer. We could not of done it without you.

We have fond memories of waking up to the smell of crispy bacon and the soft sounds of the meditation bowl. Heading on our way to work sites at Cano Dulce and La Grua, equipped with our speaker and singing on the top of our lungs. And the adventure days, and the beautiful waters and and white sandy beaches.

We know that you guys are probably starting back with school (or college YAY) but we wanted you to know that we will forever remember the laughs and good times that we shared. I hope that you know your time spent in the Dominican Republic did truly make a lasting impact on the communities here, you have left your stamp in the cement and in our hearts.

You will forever be a part of the work done at Polanco, providing water for a community of over 200 people. Clean water management is fundamental to global health. Almost one tenth of the global disease burden could be prevented by access to clean water, and you guys have played a part in this important puzzle by helping to install a water tank and privode bathrooms. We are paving the way to better health for these communities by putting in concrete floors, handing out vitamins and building bottle houses.

We hope that you take the skills and knowledge from this trip into all aspects of your life, and that you remain to be globally engaged, hardworking and motivated to make a different to the wellbeing of people all over the world. We were so impressed with your commitment and effort put into our debate on medicine and HIV/AIDS, your feedback has helped us shape future programs, thank you!

Not to mention the hard work you guys did, we also had so much fun! You guys made the group as special as it was by being so close knit and inclusive. We will always remember and cherish the friendship bracelets you made us (we are still practicing). The stunning sunsets over the lodge, the screams over the spiders, the lazy evenings in the hammocks. GHI.A – you were amazing! The level of care and concern that you showed to each other, the staff and the members of the community will never be forgotten.

Here are Some special moments from our trip:

-Jumping into the blue water from the zipline at Dudu Lagoon

-Learning how to make bottle bathrooms and sustainable health issues with Javier

-Getting caught in the thunderstorm on the beach at Gri Gri Lagoon

-The clinic brigades, and the playful and cheeky children

-All the bracelet making! And the braides.

-The swamp zoo with the crocodile and sweet sugar cane

-Singing on the guagua buses

-Delivering some kick-ass Capstone Projects

Please stay connected! We hope to see you again.

Abrazos,

Hilary, Averi, Michaela, Javier and Idelisa

 

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Dear Students,

By now you’re back to your normal lives. Back to your routines, friends, extracurriculars, some of you
may even be busy scouting out colleges. We hope you are all well and keeping yourselves occupied with
the pursuit of bettering yourselves, but we hope you can take 5 minutes to read this letter and reflect on
the wonderful, life-changing experience we all shared not so long ago… or was it? Take yourself back to
that place with the turquoise waters, breezy palms, wandering cows, and giggling kiddos, and know that
you have forever left a beautiful imprint there.

You all changed lives and that is the simple truth. The community center in NY Chiquito is nearly
finished and holds the promise of community meetings, pop-up health clinics, weddings, and good ol’
neighborly bonding. The 40,000 bottles will continue to insulate those walls and hold in the laughter and
conversations of both Dominicans and Haitians. As for Cano Dulce, the banana plants are continuing to
take hold! Some are even sprouting baby bananers. That community is particularly close-knit and there is
no doubt that the benefits reaped from our efforts will be shared with every household.

As well, the latrine is in use and has undoubtedly increased the standard of living for the family of that home. We are so so proud of you guys. Honestly, our hearts are glowing even reminiscing on all the hard work you put in.

We know that you changed the lives of local community members here, but as just as importantly, that
they changed yours. It is our hope that as you continue on your dedicated paths, as you take courses in
high school and college, you won’t just hear a statistic but feel something at the memory of the people
you met. That the next time you hear a statistic about access to fresh water you’ll remember our little
amigos living on the polluted mangroves. Or the next time you hear a statistic about access to education
you’ll think of the struggle walking up Brison. Whether you remember Mari who cooked your meals
everyday, the bus driver’s who drove you across the country, all of the children who befriended us, or
Johnny and his honey bees, every single person is a part of this story. A part of your story.

Of course, we can’t talk about being impacted by people and neglect to mention the connections you
made within this group! You shared every minute of your day with 28 other people for nearly a month.
What an accomplishment. You laughed together, to the point of tears, and shared heartfelt moments
together, to the point of tears. We felt honored to watch 29 previously unconnected kids, develop over
time, this strange and lovely little family. Complete with fighting each other for the last pancake, as any
true family would. You now have friends spanning all of over the States and beyond (yes we’re talking
about you Hugo and Camile), and who knows when you may have that next planned, or even better
unplanned, reunion. We love you all and hope you never forget your summer of 2018 as a BSW student.

Special moments from our trip:
-Rapping to Usher and Nelly throwbacks on Jaime’s bus.
-Having strangely delicious gas station meals.
-Playing tag with the NY Chiquito kids.
-Witnessing Cole’s breakthrough music debut.
-Sarah doing the worm on the floor and injuring her chin.
-Dorley feeding us fresh cocao (did we ever get a real spelling of that kid’s name?!)
-Has finding the best cane that’s ever existed, and getting it through airport security.
-Luke and Gunnar’s risky hairstyle choices.
-Body surfing and inherent wipeouts at Playa Preciosa.
-Discovering 27,849 tarantulas as well as the spider fiasco of 2018 in the girls dorm.
-Dancing in the rain at NY Chiquito.
-Staff jumping, or being pushed, into the pool fully clothed.
-Hugo discovering his long lost son Ernie.

Sincerely yours,

Jax, Lisa, Sarah, Emily, and Walter

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.