Monkey Jungle & Lessons on Volunteer Medical Efforts

A few weekends ago I had the opportunity to visit and help out with a free medical clinic run by an organization called Haitian and Dominican Assistance Cooperation (HADAC). This past weekend I was able to go again and bring 12 beneficiaries of our programs to receive wonderful and free dental services. I am incredibly grateful for the teeth that were pulled and capped as well as the cavities that were filled! I also had a fun time interpreting and helping out.

The clinic is located at a tourist attraction the organization recently opened called Monkey Jungle. The whole deal is essentially a profitable business set up to generate funds to run the clinic which serves Dominicans and Haitians in need. It simultaneously gives tourists a way to have fun while giving back to the comunity they are visiting. This type of thing is exactly what this country needs. Honestly, I have seen more examples of money coming from the tourist industry supporting negative (or neutral at best) practices toward or among those in need than supporting positive practices. Therefore, harvesting such resources to serve people medically is a wonderful example!

Monkey Jungle and the on site clinic are located just outside of Sosua, nine kilometers down a road called Los Chocos. The tourist attraction includes zip lining, a wall climb, a caged in jungle with monkeys roaming, a restaurant, and a gift shop. The price for zip lining is 2000 pesos per person (about $60 USD) and there are special deals for parents coming with children. For those not wanting to zip line but just to visit and look around, the cost is 500 pesos (about $16 USD) per person. It appears as though relationships have been or are being established with tour companies that take tourists from their hotels to such excursions. However, we come in contact with volunteers and travelers often who don’t stay at hotels and may still like to find their way out by moto.

The medical clinic, which is completely free, includes a shelter with benches at the bottom of the hill for patients to wait. When their turn comes, patients walk up the hill to very nice facilities. Services include general medical care as well as full dental care. The dental care is especially unique here because even fillings are done for free, unlike anywhere else. Volunteer doctors, nurses, dentists and other assistants are coordinated to receive between 35 and 50 patients every Saturday. HIV tests and maralia test are available but x-rays, ultra sounds, and other blood, urine, or fecal tests are not available. Patients in need of surgery and more serious cases are referred to other facilities such as Centro Medico Cabarete, which is a hospital set up with a similar for-profit/non-profit concept and is very close to Monkey Jungle on the main road that passes through Sosua. I have not beeen able to visit this hospital yet and am unsure of how patients are determined as someone able to pay for services or not, but I know that income generated from those who pay funds services for those who cannot pay. I worked for a short period of time with the wife of the doctor who founded this hospital at OyM Hostos School, a wonderful bilingual school in Puerto Plata which I wrote about in a previous post.

From my visits to Monkey Jungle and the on site clinic, I conclude that this project is completely full of positive potential and will serve to truly improve the quality of life of many in need. It is also a young project and will likely have kinks to work out in the beginning years. While I’m sure that those in charge have considered all angles, for the purpose of creating a think tank and to post what I have learned on my blog, here are some thoughts I have from my five years of experience doing fundraising and service work in this country.

1. Treating People in the Most Need

It appears as though a challenge may come up that those coming to the clinic are not those in the most need. I plan on getting the word out among the beneficiaries of our programs and perhaps continuing to take people out from time to time. There is such great need and it’s true that it is futile to distinguish between treating someone who would be considered very poor and someone else who is extremely poor, but as Project Esperanza had Tulane medical students run two weeks of intensive day clinics over the past three summers, I have seen that some people do come to free medical services to get a second opinion or get their perscriptions filled, while others come with no other option. We have found that treating those who can find treatment elsewhere creates dependency and can actually interfere with the growth of society whereas treating those with no other treatment option is empowering and stimulates the growth of society.

2. Getting Patients in Need to the Clinic

In the past we have charged patients 10 pesos each to cover their consultations, any necessary medicines, and necessary eye glasses. This 10 pesos just causes patients to recognize that the services they are receiving are valuable and should be appreciated. The distance that most patients will have to travel from their home to Monkey Jungle will likely more than do what our 10 peso fee is intended to do. However, it will also likely be a barrier for those in most need to get to the clinic. Therefore, I think the solution is teamwork with organizations who have consistent presences in the field, such as our organization as well as Health Horizons International who I wrote about in a previous post, along with individuals serving in the most impoverished communities. I believe that HADAC, the organization that has created Monkey Jungle, runs a feeding program in a batey so I’m sure that will draw in the most urgent needs as well.

As a side note, the woman who has led the Tulane medical group these past three years is now leading efforts to begin a clinic in Jacksonville, Haiti. She is a great friend, partner, and I’m proud to announce the foundation of Sante Total (Total Health in Haitian Creole).

3. Coordinating Volunteers

Another challenge that Monkey Jungle and its on site clinic will likely face, and likely have already, is the coordination of volunteers in order to consistently and smoothly run the clinics. As anyone who has coordinated volunteeers over a long period of time knows, this sometimes gets complicated. Where companies and businesses are run with defined authority, clear roles and responsibilities, rules of conduct, contracts guaranteeing committment on both sides, etc., lots of this can get lost with volunteer efforts. Roles and responsibilities get confounded, authority is undermined, people come and go more freely, and the result is frustration among those taking responsibility over the efforts, along with inefficiency. We have found that the way to deal with these issues is to attempt to use those same aforementioned practices that one would use to run a company. The only difference is that the work is done voluntarily, not for pay. However, the volunteer is aware of this ahead of time and accepts the position on his or her own free will. The work being done is no less important than the work of any company or business. In fact, in many cases, it’s more important!

4. Interpreting

The last challenge that we have faced is one of communication and education. This may seem obvious, but I have witnessed too many poorly interpreted medical consultations and (not just with volunteer groups but often with Dominican doctors and Haitian patients in public hospitals) to keep quiet. I also have lost friends due largely to their lack of understanding of their condition and their treatment. On the contrary, I have seen and participated in clinics that were beautifully interpreted and the result is satisfaction on both ends. If patient-doctor communication is a serious issue where doctors and patients speak the same language, the issue needs an extra amount of care when there is a language barrier. The truth is that patients often nod and act as though they understand something when they really don’t. Additionally, doctors and volunteers often assume they understand more of the conversation than they do. Therefore, skilled and thorough interpretors make a world of difference. Accurate and thorough interpretation is a matter of life and death in some cases as much as the presence of the doctor and the treatment. See Project Esperanza co-founder Kristin Preve’s article on How to Avoid Mistakes in Medical Interpreting.

5. Simple Education

Many patients who are in true need lack basic education and have grown up with and been raised by others who lack basic education. While leading educational discussions with Haitian patients waiting to be seen at one of the day clinics we ran this past summer, we found that most patients did not know why women have menstrual cycles or where the blood comes from. Many people say that they are anemic but when asked what anemia is, they reply that it is a lack of blood. Many people also use the term “pressure” which is also used for high blood pressure, to explain diziness, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Many mothers give baby food to babies as young as one month and give cow’s milk to babies way too young too. They claim that the baby wants to eat and milk isn’t enough for him or her. Education on these topics as well as many other topics gives patients understanding of the problems their bodies face. After they better understand the problem, they can better understand the treatment and the lifestyle changes they are often asked to make. We have found that educational discussions using simple explanations can entertain and inform patients waiting or provide clarity to someone during a consultation. An example of such an explanation is as follows:

Anemia does not mean that you lack blood. If you were to look at blood under a microscope – Does anyone know what a microscope is? No? A miscroscope is a piece of equipment that you can place an object under, then look into, and it makes the object appear much bigger than it really is so you can see it better. When you look at blood, how would you describe it? A red liquid? Well, when you look at it under a miscroscope, it appears as lots of red circles in a clear liquid. Each of these circles should have iron attached to it. I’m not talking about iron like an iron bar (used on most windows and doors in this country) but the nutrient iron. (I also use the word vitamin here even though iron is not a vitamin because I’ve found that the word vitamin is more commonly understood among uneducated Haitians here.) If your blood doesn’t have iron then it can’t nourish your body and it doesn’t appear as red. That’s why your fingernails and gums are whiter when you’re anemic. That’s also why you feel tired when you’re anemic. Your blood is not nourishing your body as it should because each little ball does not have its iron. So to avoid anemia, you should eat foods that are high in iron.

The educator would then ask listeners to explain back to him or her what was said. He or she would also go over foods that are rich in iron and continue to review the foods to be sure that patients remember. Reproduction and baby care education are interesting and highly important topics for everyone! While all health topics are important, understanding these topics of reproduction and infant care can have such drastic effects on the lives of families which makes it extremely valuable in my opinion. See Pregnancy, Birth, and Neonatal Care Practices in the Dominican Republic & Haiti.

These are, again, solutions to many problems we have faced and practices we have developed and executed with success. I hope that sharing these solutions with readers will help others doing medical missions and working in clinics and hospitals in the Dominican Republic and all over the developing world. What an amazing field to be working in! While technology continues to advance in the developed world, we should never forget the value of the dedication to applying simple solutions in areas of need. The solutions are often so simple. It’s the humble and dedicated workers who are lacking. And yes, I do claim to be a humble and dedicated worker – although not by my own strength. God is the one responsible for keeping me that way.

Doing Business From Your Home Computer

Because I am running a tight budgeted non-profit organization in the Dominican Republic and also have a fifteen-month-old son, it’s very hard to make an income. Luckily, when I was five months pregnant, I found an opportunity with a company here called Channel Forge.

The owner of the company, who is originally from Colorado, worked in sales in the U.S. for twenty years before moving down here. He then began Channel Forge as, pretty much, an outsourced sales/advertising company. While working for him I made sales calls using Skype for a few different companies in the U.S. I reached out to possible business partners in each company’s area, trying to establish new business relationships and to set up sales meetings. It was never necessary that anyone I talked to ever knew I was in the Dominican Republic! This job took care of me for awhile but is not able to practically fit into my life for the time being for several reasons. However, it has been a way that I can work from home with a flexible schedule. If you have a business and would be interested in some unique advertising/sales outreach, e-mail Ed, the owner of Channel Forge.

When I found myself needing additional income, I began researching online money making opportunities. Of course, I learned about taking online surveys but they don’t seem to want to let me participate in many from this country. I also find myself way behind the times on everything American such as movies, TV shows, products, etc. So I kept my eye opened for other opportunities in addition to online surveys.

I am fluent in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, but hadn’t found a way to use these skills to earn an income from home until Google AdWords brought Translator’s Base to my attention. I have an account as a freelance translator and have gotten some work, although I think I need to beef up my portfolio with past work and feedback from clients in order to consistently receive more work. Nonetheless, it’s good to have a little movement there.

Translator’s Base introduced me to the world of completing freelance jobs from home, a concept I love! One of my favorite things to do is to write. Therefore, sites like People Per Hour caught my attention since they match writers and clients as well as many different jobs such as data entry, editing, translating, web design, and cold calling. I have not completed any jobs through these sites yet but have made a few connections. Again, the movement is good.

I have found two sites, and have posted gigs on one, where you can offer any gig you can do along with the price. Site visitors purchase your product or service offered through the site. I imagine that this concept is new and it looks like not many people actually purchase the gigs but it is perhaps something that will grow more popular in the future.

Lastly, I wrote on a previous post that I am an Individual Business Owner (IBO) with an online shopping company that offers thousands of goods and services. Those who register as Customers through me help me to generate points which translate into a monthly check. Others who register as IBOs through me help me to generate points as well and it becomes a team effort. The product I plan to promote the most is a normal Visa credit card. Those who use this credit card help me to make a living. Of course, it’s not much income, but the more people participating, the more income I make. Other products that I haven’t used but are highly recommended by others are the Ribbon Gift Collection gifts which can be used for any occasion. From what I understand, shipping is free and the receiver gets a beautiful album in the mail. The album contains gifts to choose from and instructions on how to send in the choice and receive the gift. This is done in a way that the receiver never knows the price spent on the gift. This site is full of other unique products and great deals, especially for IBOs. It also has partnerships with several popular brand name stores.

Well, that has been my experience this far with doing business online. I hope that this helps others looking to do the same. I also hope that some readers will find a way to do business with me! I forgot to mention that my motivation for starting this blog was to create a highly followed blog that is eligible to participate in Sponsored Reviews. In order to be eligible, I need ten posts (this is my 10^th), and quite a few more followers. So I appreciate you spreading the word!

The Newlyweds - A Creative Short Story

I recently entered a creative short story competition put on by Writing Forge and my story was not chosen as a winner so I am posting it here. Enjoy!

The Newlyweds

“What’s for dinner?” he asked from the closet as he hung up his shirt.

“Oh, I haven’t started yet. Sorry. I was planning on making chicken and broccoli,” she replied from the bed without looking up from what she was doing.

He appeared before her wide-eyed in dress slacks, a black belt, and a white wife beater that was tucked in. He stared at her angrily and seriously long enough to both intimidate her and piss her off.

“What do you mean you haven’t started yet!? What have you been doing!?”

“Jacob wouldn’t let me go!” she defended. “He’s only been sleeping about ten minutes. I was about to get started.”

He stood sternly in front of her threatening with his stare. She sat still on the bed. Their two-year-old son lay sleeping next to her. She had a notebook on her lap and a pen in her hand. He didn’t break eye contact. His eyes jumped down to the notebook and then back to meet her stare. He then advanced toward her aggressively.

“What’s this? What’s this!?” he demanded. She quickly tried to lay the notebook off to the side but he grabbed it and began leafing through. With large, exggerated movements he ripped a few pages out, crumpled them up, and threw them on the ground. She squealed his name and pleaded but it was too late. He messily threw the notebook back on the bed and said angrily, “I come home from work and there’s no dinner. You’re sitting here writing in your little notebook.” . She cried and complained but remained seated on the bed. He then proceeded to slowly and sternly remove his dress shoes, then belt, then dress pants.

“Why did you do that?” she asked. She also threw in a few cuss words and a little name calling. She glanced down at her son first to make sure he was still asleep before doing so. “I’m moving out! I’m going to live with my mother! You’re messed up. You’re crazy. I hate you.” He turned away from her and acted as though he didn’t hear her or care about anything she was saying. He continued undressing himself slowly and proudly as she complained. She hated him for that. He had just wounded her emotionally and now took pride in displaying how collected he was.

When he finished undressing, he moved from the bedroom to the living room in his wife beater, boxer shorts, and dress socks. She sat on the bed and continued to cry an angry cry for a few minutes after he left. She then went and picked up the torn pieces of paper off the floor. She uncrumpled the wads and examined them. Things weren’t as bad as they had seemed. He had ripped up three pages, only one of which had writing on one side. And even that page was salvagable. Still, she asked herself, why did he have to act like such a maniac? They had a child for crying out loud. What a horrible example!

She threw the ripped up sheets away, put the sheet with writing into her notebook, tucked the notebook under the mattress, and moved into the kitchen. From the kitchen, she saw her husband sitting on a chair in the living room facing the TV, feet propped up on the coffee table, hands folded in his lap. His face was stern, serious, and fixed on the television. “What an ass hole,” she thought as she pulled a pot out of the cupboard. “How did I end up with him and why am I still with him?” she asked herself as she always did after conflict that left her feeling so enraged. She must have made a mistake. Should she have listened to her mother? Should she have married someone with a higher, more professional degree rather than someone with an Associate’s Degree in Building Construction from a community college? Would a computer scientist or an engineer rip up things and throw things? Probably not. Why couldn’t she have been more practical and have chosen a husband that was more rational?

Well, she started calming down, I guess anyone in the comfort of their own home could act irrationally, regardless of their degree, she thought. And she just didn’t fall for any of the computer scientists or engineers. Maybe she should have given them more of a chance. Maybe there was something wrong with her. Should she have thought with her head more and less with her heart? She felt incapable of doing that. As long as there was any freedom to follow her own will, she couldn’t help but to follow her heart. But was she right in doing so?

After such fights she couldn’t help but to think that she had made a mistake. However, she knew from experience that she wouldn’t actually do anything drastic to change the situation but would stick things through. Even as the words left her mouth, “I’m going to go live with my mother!” she knew that it wasn’t true. She just said that to try to have some sort of control over her husband’s uncontrollable behavior. Being able to threaten him with something made her feel at least a little empowered whereas him ripping up her law school application essay and performing other such acts of insanity , especially in front of their son, made her feel powerless. In the moment, she often wanted to seek revenge by ripping up something of his, for example, but did not want to stoop to that level and realized that he would just do something even worse in return. She was forced to submit and it almost killed her. The only thing that gave her any power was to threaten to leave. But they both knew that was an empty threat. She had ben using it for years and never actually done it although she had pretended to on occasion. Even though it wasn an empty threat, it still seemed to subdue him, at least a little, at times.

At other times he was unsubduable. He returned her threat to leave with threats of keeping their son if she were to truly leave. But she knew that she wouldn’t ever actually leave him because her life seemed to have reached a whole new level when she met him. She never felt as at home and comfortable before meeting him as she did after meeting him. Without him, she was bored. Her mind seemed to always be racing and she felt unsettled. But with him, she was able to calm down and be still. His wildness seemed to force her to submit. But who did his wildness submit to? It seemed unrestrained and dangerous. However, the truth was, she concluded, that his wildness submitted to his work. She had observed him at work and although he was still bold and strong, he was more subdued. He probably came home with bottled up wildness, then, that he took out on her.

As she cut the chicken and worked through her thoughts, she started to think that she was perhaps not crazy. She poked her head in the bedroom to check on her sleeping son. He was still asleep and in the same spot. She returned to the kitchen and continued cutting. Her thoughts flashed back to when they first met. This often happened after questioning her decision to marry him as she had just done.

They first met at a party she went to at a friend of a friend’s house during summer vacation after her freshman year in college. She wasn’t really big on parties and much preferred to hang out in smaller groups but she was only home for a few weeks and didn’t want to back out of a night out with her closest friends. The party was in a neighboring county to the one where she and her friends attended high school. Her close friend Emily had made friends with a hallmate from this neighboring county at the university she attended. The four friends headed out in Emily’s Toyota Camry. After a twenty-five minute drive they arrived at a brick, two-story house in a middle class subdivision. Cars lined the street in front of the house. They found a spot at the end of the line, parked, and headed through the yard to the front door. Emily rang the doorbel. Her friend answered shortly after with a birthday party cone hat on her head and a red, plastic cup in her hand. She and Emily hugged, as well as the other two friends who attended the same university as Emily.

“And this is Alexis!” Emily exclaimed as she presented her much talked about friend.

Alexis gave the friend a Happy Birthday hug and they both declared that they had heard so much about the other. The group then headed inside to the party. The birthday girl quickly led them past the beer pong table to the keg where they all filled up red, plastic cups with beer. Alexis wasn’t a big drinker but normally took part at parties in order to be sociable. She also enjoyed playing beer pong and quickly added her name to the waiting list with Emily as her partner. Two hours later, she and Emily celebrated winning their third game in a row and waited for their next opponents.

The birthday girl led three guys who had just arrived to the keg which was behind Emily and Alexis. As they filled up their cups, she introduced them to the girls. The first, both girls were previously informed with a full description, was the birthday girls’s prospective boyfriend. The other two were his friends. “What’s your name again?” The birthday girl asked to the third young men.

“James,” he replied. It appeared as though they had recently met.

“James, you don’t want a beer?” she asked.

“No, thanks,” he replied. “I don’t drink.”

“You don’t drink!?” she replied as a drunk girl would. “Why the hell not!?”

He stood confidently beside the beer pong table with his hands held in front of him and replied, “Because I don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to!?” the birthday girl exclaimed as a druk girl would and continued to babble for a few minutes before she got distracted by a song she liked at which she ran into the living room to dance. The new opponents showed up, the guys nodded to the girls as if to say, “Nice to meet you all”, and headed on their way. Emily and Alexis started their fourth match against a guy and girl team. They started off strong sinking three balls out of the first six before their streak broke and they collectively couldn’t hit another shot. They lost and had to leave the table. Those who had been following the games congratulated them on an impressive streak. As they walked away from the table, the birthday girl came and grabbed Emily. “Come and take shots with me!” she pressured.

“I’m the DD!” Emily replied.

“Oh, come on! You’ll sober up!”

“Oh man...” Emily turned to Alexis. “Do you wanna drive home?”

“Sure,” Alexis agreed. “I’m not gonna drink anymore.”

“Seeee,” the birthday girl said as she pulled on Emily. “Come on!” And they were off.

Alexis didn’t see anyone else she knew so she slipped out back. As she stepped out of the sliding doors and into the backyard, she found a group of about six people to the left smoking cigarettes, about five people in the pool, and two guys sitting at a picnic table off to the right. She didn’t want to swin, didn’t like cigarette smoke, and felt like sitting, so she went and sat at the picnic table. Here she found that the two guys were James and the birthday girl’s perspective boyfriend. She said, “Hi” and sat down.

“You all lost?” the perspective boyfriend asked.

“Yeah, we went off our streak,” she replied.

“Okay,” he said in a friendly and smily manner. They sat in silence for about a minute. He then returned to telling James a story he must’ve already been telling about his cousin, his cousin’s mechanic shop, and the vehicles that he owns. Alexis didn’t really listen to the conversation but nonchalantly observed them as they talked. James mainly listened, nodding, and asking short questions here and there. He didn’t make eye contact with his friend but starred toward the pool as he listened. The perspective boyfriend looked at James as he spoke and grew quite excited over some of the technical details he shared. James showed his interest in his replies but didn’t show any sort of emotion as his friend did. Alexis found James to be attrractive. He seemed very physiclly fit. His face was stern and his jaw very defined. His hair was auburn and fairly short but wavy and slightly unkempt. Although his face was stern, his eyes were gentle. She noticed this already when the birthday girl had questioned him about not drinking. Her observations were interrupted when one of the friends she and Emily came with came running up.

“Alexis! Emily fell over!”

“What?”

“”She fell over right onto the coffee table after taking a shot and busted up her chin. She’s bleeding a lot!”

Alexis jumped up and followed her friend inside. She found Emily sitting on the couch, head back, with a towel on her chin. About seven people crowded around her. They discussed her need to go to the hospital to get stiches. Alexis was the most sober candidate but still wasn’t sure she should drive.

“James can drive,” someone suggested. James was quickly found observing from a short distance and confirmed that he could drive. They took Emily’s car as James had come with his friend.

Alexis and the friend that had fetched her helped Emily into the car. Alexis sat up front and their friend in the back with Emily. As the girls talked on the way to the hospital, Alexis observed James’ stern expression yet gentle eyes as he drove. She felt completely calm, safe, and content. She was concerned about Emily but knew that she would be okay with a few stitches. She seemed to be okay as far as her alcohol level but just drank too much too fast and lost consciousness which caused the fall.

The group ended up having to wait in the emergency room for a few hours. She and James got to talk quite a bit. They asked each other questions back and forth and somehow got into a conversation about the death penalty. Alexis seemed to have formulated more thoughts than James but James seemed to appreciate Alexis sharing her thoughts as though he would keep them in mind. She learned that he was third of four boys and their mother had died when he was in middle school. His father had never remarried or shown any interest in doing so. He lived in a rented townhouse with one of his brothers, had just gotten his Associate’s Degree, and worked with a construction company. When Alexis returned home late that night she felt settled in a way that she hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever. It was similar to the way a child feels in a safe and happy home: safe, secure, and fairly carefree.

During her few weeks at home before leaving town to work at a camp, she waited tables at a restaurant where she had worked the summer before and over Christmas vacation. Two days after meeting James at the party, he ate at the restaurant with his brother while Alexis was working. They didn’t have much time to talk and James didn’t attempt to talk to her much but just apparently wanted to be near her. He came and ate almost every other evening for the rest of the time Alexis was in town. Sometimes he came alone and sometimes with the same brother. Sometimes he didn’t eat a meal but sat down and drank coffee at the bar. He never acted eager to talk to Alexis or pressured her to give him attention in any way but just sat, ate, drank, said good-bye, and left. This made her feel completely secure and flattered. Had he attempted to see her more outside of work she would’ve felt a bit uncomfortable with the pressure of a “date” and confused about any future as she was leaving for camp soon. When she had the chance, she came and talked to him but didn’t normally get the chance to do so for more than ten or so minutes at a time. He always asked her, “Are you working tomorrow?” She would reply by telling him the next time she had a shift.

On her last shift, she gave him her phone number, e-mail address, and told him when she’d be back in town. From then on, he called her almost everyday. They began visiting each other on weekends and grew very close. Both had dated previously but never really entered into a serious relationship having never found someone they were willing to commit to. By the following summer, James had talked to her father about marrying Alexis. Alexis’ mother was concerned about a few things. Her main concern was that Alexis was pursuing a higher degree than the degree James held and she had ambition to continue her education further. Alexis’ father listened to and considered these concerns but James didn’t really approach the matter completely as a question but more as a declaration. James’ sternness and Alexis’ apparent committment to him caused her father to agree, despite her mother’s concerns. James’ strength coupled with gentleness gave Alexis’ father a secure feeling as well, although he still had slight fears and doubts if he thought too much. They married that November and Alexis was pregnant in no time. Nonetheless, she still graduated in four years, took a year off, and was now applying to law schools.

James stared at the TV at an old episode of Seinfeld but didn’t really pay attention to the program. He probably shouldn’t have ripped pages out of her essay, he thought, but she had made him so angry. She always had other priorities and needed to learn to make household chores a higher priority. He agreed to her going to law school but he didn’t want her to put that above her role as wife and mother. And he didn’t want to let her disrespect him or find her school or work to be more important than his work. She may cry at his outbursts, but as long as she didn’t give up neglecting her role as wife to pursue other goals, he wouldn’t give up reminding her of her family roles, by any means necessary. He didn’t say all of this to Alexis or plan to. She should know.

As always after having some time to calm down and reflect, Alexis concluced that she had made a good decision, despite frustrating outbreaks with little rational, verbal explanation. She might not always understand everything but trusted how things had started so she would continue to trust. Time would tell all things. Sometimes you have to follow your heart and let your head figure things out later. That is what we call faith.

Distributing Laptops to Children in Need? Prioritizing Need on a Global Scale

As Project Esperanza has been attempting to begin a few internet centers here in Puerto Plata in order to generate funds to support our ongoing programs, two people have directed me toward two different organizations that have the mission of supplying a laptop computer to every child in the world. I won’t state the names of these organizations or provide the websites since this post is a critique that does not support this mission.

If one were to prioritize the needs of every child in the world, a laptop is not on the top ten list to say the least. One theory of developmental psychology that I think makes sense is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Actually, this is more than just a theory as there is hard evidence to back up this theory, or at least the basic concept of the theory. Abraham Maslow presented that one cannot function on higher levels until more basic needs are met. He demonstrates the order or hierarchy of needs human beings have in the shape of a pyramid with the bottom layer being the most primary needs. If these most basic needs are not met then one cannot function. The category of needs go in this order: physiological (eat, drink, sleep), safety (of self, of resources, of family), love/belonging (friendship, family, sexual intimacy), esteem (confidence, achievement, respect), and self-actualization (creativity, problem solving, morality). I think it is safe to say that a laptop does not fall in these first three categories. I also think it is safe to say that a laptop does not truly meet a need but should be considered a want. It could perhaps be used as a tool to help some of these higher needs to be met but only in certain situations with well prepared recipients.

If an item such as a laptop is supplied to someone in need, they will likely use it as a resource to get basic needs met by selling it. A laptop can be an educational tool but it is a responsibility many adults wouldn’t know how to use, let alone children. I believe that the most necessary resource in any effort is the human resources to execute the effort. It is not necessarily a lack of money or lack of food or lack of any such tangible resources that cause such a large percentage of the world to live in poverty and to lack education. The problem lies in a lack of capable and loving individuals willing to patiently and persistently work with others toward a genuine solution.

The idea of supplying every child with a laptop is terribly impractical and completely oversimplifies the situation. An organization such as Recycles.org that collects unwanted computer equipment and distributes them to non-profits and charities may be quite productive. However, an organization whose mission is to distribute a laptop to every child in the world may need to rethink some things. After living and working in a developing country for a total of three and a half of the past five years, I have put forth lots of effort only to reach a benchmark that appears pitiful compared to those set by developed countries. However, I think the improvements we have made is impressive when the starting point is considered. The most impressive success to be celebrated in this line of work is perhaps building a trustworthy and competent team. Nonetheless, even a trustworthy team needs oversight and protection from temptation. For example, when food is distributed by the Dominican government, there is not a Santa Claus figure that delivers food to each house. No one waits outside of houses for people to come home and receive their package. Living arrangements are normally tight and people don’t normally have mailboxes or even secure porches to leave items on. When the government does distribute food out of the back of a truck every so often, some people walk away with a few bags and others with nothing. Those driving the trucks distributing the bags of food likely go home with several.

Let’s imagine that enough laptops were collected to supply every child in the world. To successfully distribute the laptops where there is no reliable postal service and a large percentage of houses without addresses, one would have to go through some sort of community organization or school that accounts for every child. Many children are undocumented and therefore not even accounted for by the government. Project Esperanza works together with schools and grassroots community organizations, giving financial, material, and administrative aid so that, among other things, every child in the communities we work in is accounted for. From what we have seen and experienced here in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic there is an abundance of work to be done before even responsibly distributing one pencil to every child in this area becomes a securely executable task, let alone a laptop. The Dominican Republic is just one of many developing countries so I can imagine this situation is similar around the globe.

Project Esperanza’s method of “saving the world” is the opposite of these organizations who seek to supply every child with a laptop computer. We focus on a small geographic area with the intention of digging deep – creating genuine and lasting change in one community. Through digging deep and through seeking genuine and lasting change, we discover and create methods and systems to deal with situations that come up. These methods and systems can be shared with others and perhaps replicated in different geographic areas. We also believe that the change created in one community will serve as a catalyst for change in neighboring communities. Attempting to supply every child in the world with a laptop computer is an effort that does not dig deep and does not, I don’t believe, create genuine and lasting change. If partnered with the right situations and the right organizations on the ground this effort could be quite a blessing. However, I believe that more than there is a need for laptops, there is a need for more genuine organizations on the ground!

Morality of Profit: Diamonds in the Rough

I recently entered an essay competition hosted by the SEVEN Fund on the topic of Morality of Profit. My essay was not chosen as a winner so I am posting it here on my blog. Enjoy!

I have been working with the Haitian refugee population in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic since 2006. We began our work by first conducting a street census in the area, collecting information specifically on the hundreds of boys and young men that work on the streets either shining shoes or street vending of some sort. We were already aware that Haitians were the part of the Puerto Plata population in the most need, but our street census clearly confirmed that, gave us a better idea of the situation we hoped to be a light in, and provided a way to begin building relationships with those we hoped to serve.

In the months and years that followed the street census, we went on a roller coaster ride as we worked together with community members to set up programs in order to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. In the United States, our Virginia Tech student organization grew into a registered non-profit organization and our fundraising efforts remained in full throttle in order to support our programs in Puerto Plata.

The heart of our efforts in Puerto Plata is a home and school for Haitian boys that have come to the Dominian Republic under a number of different circumstances in order to “search for life”. The fact that these boys are walking the streets of a foreign land day after day, learning a new language often by ear without written materials or the skills to use them, usually without their family, serves as a natural screening process. The boys in our program are strong, perseverent, brave, intelligent risk takers. They are diamonds in the rough. Strict and clear house principles provide further screening so that those our program focuses its efforts on are also honest, humble team players. Our goal is to provide a pathway of transformation and empowerment so that these diamonds in the rough can successfully lead their lives, their families, their businesses, and their mother country. I am now married to one of these diamonds. I gave birth to our first child, a baby boy, in August 2009. We are thankful for and delighted with our forming family.

One thing I absolutely love about this group and about Haiti in general is the rawness and transparency that comes from living in true need. Life is more real and vibrant for me now than it ever was before. I feel as though I am continually undergoing training by living my everyday life which sharpens me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

I will give further explanation as to what I mean by rawness and transparency. For example, someone who lives in the land of plenty is, for the most part, free to be a glutton. One may internally struggle with this and make efforts to rid oneself of gluttony but direct and immediate negative consequences of gluttony are not normally seen and every day life is often, for the most part, unaffected. In Haiti, the gluttony of one family member may cause direct and immediate suffering for other family members, exposing the situation very clearly. In the land of plenty, slander and gossip often continues unchallenged in the privacy of one’s home. Among Haitian boys living on the streets, this behavior is often erradicated by forms of discipline such as being beat in the face with a 2x4. This is life. This is the human race.

While pondering the issue of the morality of profit, I realized that I had made clarifying discoveries to this ambiguous question through working with the boys’ home and school. In order for those living in extreme poverty to work their way out of poverty, they have to be extremely frugal. Our boys’ home and school always attempts to use all resources available as wisely and efficiently as possible. We encourage household members to do the same. This skill and mindset does not come naturally to all, even if one is used to living in extreme poverty.

In order to rise out of their situation, the boys have to remain active. When they don’t have work, they should search for work or make attempts with personal business efforts. I have seen first hand the difficulty of this and am understanding when people get discouraged but the only solution is to learn from experience and continue making an effort. When they have work, they should value that and work dilligently. The same ambition is necessary for seeking and utilizing educational opportunities.

Lastly, in order to move forward, the boys must work together rather than against each other. The reality and seriousness of this situation has provided a foreground which identifies and exposes any actions or ideals that are contradictory to the practices that our program encourages and requires. There are times when the group of boys as a whole is on top of things, acting very efficiently with resources and dilligently with work and school. Then someone new enters the group. I have come to learn that entering someone new into the group must be done with lots of attention. In the past, neighbors or friends have slowly snuck into the group and caused large shifts. Other times we have intentionally introduced a new member or allowed someone to enter and also saw shifts as a result.

Sometimes the influence of new members is harmless. Their biggest influence may be the addition of a new phrase. It is always entertaining to observe the speed at which such things catch on. Other than that, they conform to the group and the morale stays the same. Sometimes the influence of a new member is primariy positive, causing the rest of the group to make more of an effort in a certain area or to enjoy themselves more in some way but not distracting the group from the goals of efficiency, dilligence, and teamwork.

However, there have been a few occasions where the presence of new members has negatively influenced the group. In these cases, division is often created, trust seems to slip away, and people become lazy and wasteful. It is through observing this paradigm that I have formulated thoughts and drawn conclusions in regards to the morality of profit.

I have come to see that often times when Haitians are receiving something, even if it is something very small, there are other Haitians that want to work their way in to receive. If they find that they are not welcome, they’ll try to take others down with them. Perhaps this is true anywhere with people in need or even at times when there is no real need. My observations here are based on what I have seen with Haitians.

In such cases, the person attempting to enter the program is not seeking the life that the program has to offer. They have no real interest in attending school, learning self control, money management skills, or in acquiring the fruits of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5. They will try to trick you into thinking that they want whatever the program offers. What they really want is to do whatever they have to do to enter in. Upon entering in, they continue using such lies and tricks to gain control. Then, if you’re not careful, they start to shift the focus of the program and it’s no longer about discipline, education, and the fruits of the Spirit, it’s about acquiring immediate wealth and comfort. Boys that were on a pathway to empowerment and freedom from poverty are distracted from their path with ideas of clothes, MP3 players, expensive cell phones, and money itself. These items are not necessarily bad but they serve a bad purpose in this case.

An easy way to acquire immediate wealth and comfort is to steal or to convince and send others to steal. Anyone with an inside position in the program, such as a paid employee, is succeptible to being lured into such activity. They need support and supervision. We are sensitive to theft temptations and make attempts to remove temptations from program members but for those in need, items such as cooking oil are sometimes stolen in small quantities and sold. When a shift is created in the group, division is created, everything becomes a little cloudy, and it can be difficult to see who is to blame for this shift. Once the one guilty is recognized and removed from the group, things begin to shift back on track. However, damage has often already been done and household members affected need some recovery time and assistance in getting back on track. I see this as Satan’s plan in hindering God’s work. It is very real and I have regretfully seen it occur a few times. However, we know that in all things, God works for the good of those that love him (Romans 8:28). Overcoming each of these attacks leaves us stronger and wiser.

Therefore, the difference between the mindset of these destructive intruders and the mindset our program maintains, along with, therefore, those involved in it, is their end goal. Destructive intruders have a goal of gaining whereas our program encourages a goal of giving. If gaining is your goal, then profit is your end. You will be satisfied when you gain wealth. The acquisition of more wealth will keep you satisfied. If giving is your goal, profit is the means to your end. It will be necessary that you earn a profit, yes, but you will be satisfied when you have wisely invested and distributed the profit in a way that will benefit yourself as well as others and yield fruit.

Jesus Christ exemplifies someone with the goal of giving and provides an explanation of his intentions when his disciples offered him food in John 4. “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for Harvest.”

It appears that in reality, people fall onto different points along a spectrum where “gain” is one extreme and “giving” is the other extreme. Someone who falls closer to the “gain” end of the spectrum is filled with selfishness and greed. Someone who falls on the “giving” end of the spectrum is filled with selflessness and sacrificial love. This paradigm is present in most every fairy tale.

Profit is not tied to either end of the spectrum but is an independent factor. Whether or not an individual seeks a profit and the extent to which he or she seeks it varies based on the situation. Therefore, we cannot conclude that those seeking and earning large profits fall in any one position along this spectrum. A wealthy parent who abandons his or her parenting responsibilities in order to seek a profit would likely fall onto the “gain” end of the spectrum. On the other hand, a family member that flees his or her impoverished country in order to seek and earn a profit which is then sent to the family would likely fall onto the “giving” end of the spectrum. Therefore, there is not direct correlation between the presence or absence of greed and the presence or absence of profit.

The way profit is earned and the way it is spent must be examined in order to determine the presence of greed and selfishness. Ways of earning profit that are harmful to others is more positively correlated to the presence of greed whereas ways of earning profit that is mutually beneficial to all parties is more negatively correlated to greed. However, other factors related to the specific situation should still be considered. For example, there are situations where those earning a profit in a harmful manner are doing so in ignorance or have little choice for other methods of earning a profit. In this case, it is wrong to place this person on the “gain” end of the spectrum based on the way profit is earned. However, it is safe to assume that greed and selfishness had a hand in creating this situation where harmful profit generating practices are so widespread.

Haiti as well as the Haitian diaspora in the Dominican Republic can be examined as an example. I have met and worked with many poor Haitians who have found or created work opportunities and earned profit to support their families in ways that appear to cause no harm to anyone. I have also met and worked with many poor Haitians that have earned profit, at least in part, through prostitution and dishonest business transactions of some sort. Through living in solidarity, I understand at least a part of the difficulty of their situations and would be very wrong to conclude that everyone earning their profit in such harmful ways is full of greed. I can, however, see that greed has had a large part in creating this difficult situation as well as causing the situation to continue. In order to understand how this situation was created in Haiti, one should look at history.

Haiti was a French colony before it gained its independence in 1804. The French enslaved West Africans in order to work on plantations in Haiti. In comparison with the United States, the system of slavery in Haiti was more extreme. Slaves died under harsher conditions at a faster rate. The slave to slave holder ratio was higher. Violence used by slave holders was more brutal. It is safe to conclude, therefore, that French colonists earned their profit in a way that was harmful to others and that France as a whole earned a profit in a way that harmed other nations. Here I see no reason not to blame this entire situation on the greed of France and its colonists.

Haitian slaves fought for and gained independence in 1804. In his book Uses of Haiti, Paul Farmer explores a series of Haitian historical events, specifically in reference to Haiti’s relationship with the international community after independence was earned. The book provides evidence of the continued abuse Haiti received from the international community while attempting to engage in international trade after gaining independence. Each event described in Farmer’s book would have to be examined to draw further conclusions, but we can assume that greed had a presence in the situations of abuse as well, along with racism and essentially hatred. The result of so much abuse for which greed is highly responsible is the present state of Haiti and its large presence of harmful profit generating practices.

How, then, can the human race avoid greed? Greed is represented clearly in my mind by a situation that used to occur with my family’s flock of sheep. I remember two occasions where someone stored a bag of corn in an irresponsible manner and a ewe got into the sack during the night. In both instances, a dying ewe was found lying on the ground the next day, poisoned by overeating the corn. This ocurred because of poor shepherding by those responsible for the flock and lack of self-control by the ewes. Jesus calls himself the good shepherd and refers to people as sheep (John 10:11). The history of the world has proven that human beings are at risk of overindulging on anything that gives them pleasure. I have seen and experienced that the solution to falling into such greed is to obey the teachings that Jesus, the good sheperd, taught.

What exactly did the good shepherd teach? He taught many things, some of which are recorded in the Bible. When asked which is the greatest commandment in Matthew 22 he replied, “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

If this teaching is followed, profit should not be earned in ways that are harmful to others in any way, anywhere. Someone seeking a profit may try to fool themselves and others into stretching the truth about certain practices, saying they are not truly harmful, those receiving the harm deserve it or have less value, they should be thankful for the work opportunity, or a number of excuses along those lines. Anyone trying to justify harmful profit seeking practices using such excuses is not taking these commandments seriously. If this teaching is seriously followed, poverty will eventually be erradicated, along with misery in general. No one on the earth should be opposed to loving others by refraining from harming others with greed driven, harmful profit seeking practices.

However, problems always arise with the first commandment: love God. But this comandment must be obeyed in order to be able to love others. The world is too full of differences and we are too imperfect to successfully love others without God’s example, guidance, power, and protection. People are caught up with questions of God’s existence and for those that believe in his existence, his character, his will, and ways to carry out his will. Those who quarrel over such issues rather than focuing on simple answers and solutions that most, if not all, human beings agree to are failing to love God. In working together, discoveries to such questions will be made, but the search for answers should never halt the work.

As I stated previously, I enjoy living and working with Haitians because of the rawness and transparency of life. I have yet to meet anyone on this island, Haitian or Dominican, who questions God’s existence. Everyone seems to understand things clearly and simply. God exists. Satan exists. God is good. Satan is bad. Which do you choose to serve? Especially in Haiti, there are groups actively and cognitively practicing both sides.

Through working in the area of international development, I have found some specific practices that I think put love into action in any international situation. Communication should be a top priority. Everyone working in international development should be honest with self and others about the level of their language skills. If necessary, they should have a translator handy to make sure everything is understood by both sides. All parties should have patience, being sure to take the time to completely understand the other party and effectively communicate the thoughts, questions, and concerns from your party.

Cultural understanding and sensitivity should be a top priority. One should be very careful not to make any assumptions or judgments based on actions or practices because those assumptions and judgments will have a cultural basis that cannot be transferred between cultures. If you try to do this, you will make mistakes and your mistakes will have repercussions. Humbly and patiently attempt to understand and use the “gain” and “giving” spectrum to discern, working together with and trusting those who truly want to give.

The end goal of international development should be empowerment of citizens of the country being developed. The diverse world with a grand array of rich cultures is priceless. Extinct cultures should be viewed as just as devastating, if not more devastating, than extinct species. Foreign aid groups should responsibly provide aid but leave the country’s decisions and leadership in the hands of the locals. When providing aid, the fewest amount of foreigners as possible should be sent to the country. Resources should be diverted toward methods of allowing the locals to do the work themselves. Communication and cultural understanding are an absolute need in order to execute this.

If large amounts of foreigners are unnecessarily sent to aid, the work is inefficient and the local community understands that foreign aid agencies see locals as incapable of leading themselves. They understand that the agencies have large amounts of money they are eager to spend which they choose to spend as they please. To locals, this is understood as dominance and a declaration of war rather than aid. While setting up the Haitian led relief efforts our organization is making in order to provide shelther and organization to a Port-au-Prince tent city, I gained insight as to the way Haitians understand foreign aid that is being brought to earthquake victims. There are rumors that the United States has declared Haiti, the damaged government buildings are filled with American soldiers, and, I believe somewhat as a joke, that the earthquake was a missile sent underground from the United States.

Lastly, money should not be the focus of international development. Sums of money granted to governments and agencies should not be announced and celebrated as though the act of granting money is a success in itself. Instead, the focus should be on the need that exists, the plan of action toward meeting the need, and the progress that is being made. Money is as unattached to international development as profit is to morality. It is a tool and not a solution. Just as a builder focuses on the house being built more than a hammer, those working in the area of international development should focus on the work to be done rather than money. A hammer is necessary to build but it is ultimately the builder and his or her team that builds the house.

Bibliography

1. Girard, Philippe. Paradise Lost. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

2. Farmer, Paul. Uses of Haiti. Common Courage Press, April 2005.

A New Way of Generating Personal Support

Starting a grassroots non-profit organization while still in college and then maintaining it and running it after recently graduating is not easy for many reasons. This is what I have done with Project Esperanza. Wanting to make the most of our funds raised, I haven’t ever drawn a personal salary from our pool of funds but we have used funds to go directly to our organization’s programs and to cover some necessary administration costs such as communication and bank fees (which are ridiculous when transferring money internationally as much as we do). If we had received grants from large foundations then perhaps things would be different but ironically, just around the time we gained our non-profit status and became eligible for receiving such grants, the economy took its downturn and many foundations stopped seeking new organizations to work with.

Additionally, through receiving daily e-mails from Foundation Center, it is apparent to me that there is an abundance of funds available for projects within the U.S., especially projects with the public schools, but next to nothing available for international projects. I find this frustrating as we are attempting to provide “public schools” to Haitian immgirant children living in the Dominican Republic which reach a sliver of the standards of U.S. public schools and have such trouble finding the funds to do so while I see weekly and sometimes daily notices of calls for proposals for projects that will further improve the already high standard classrooms in the U.S. If you find yourself disagreeing that U.S. public schools provide high quality education, come to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic for a visit and let me give you a quick tour of reality here.

Having not received grants, although we have sent in several proposals, we continue to depend on monthly sponsors, sporadic or one time donors, fundraisers often held on the Virginia Tech campus, and merchandise sales. We now are in the beginning stages of setting up some sustainable businesses here in Puerto Plata to generate income and have many more ideas along those lines for the long run.

I know others who have made some sort of ministry or humanitarian work their full time job create an income by seeking supporters who donate money monthly or annually. I already seek this to cover Project Esperanza’s basic monthly operating expenses so I can’t do this for my personal expenses as well. Therefore, I have worked several part time jobs to make ends meet. Next month will be Project Esperanza’s fifth birthday. During these five years I have worked as a tutor and mentor for Virginia Tech athletes, bussed tables in Blacksburg, taught English at a language school in Puerto Plata, taught math part time at a private school in Puerto Plata, tutored privately, worked as an outsourced sales representative for companies in the U.S. while making sales calls via Skype from Puerto Plata, and as a freelance translator for English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole translating documents through a freelance translator website. I have applied and/or been nominated for a few fellowships that would provide a living stipend and believe I am still considered for one although I have not heard back from them in months. Things are hard! With a son, Project Esperanza’s bustling activity, and few opportunities for the aforementioned work, I am pretty pesoless with pretty much no assets.

However, I am now attempting to seek some personal support through a way that asks sponsors to do nothing additional to what they already do in their everyday life. This new route I’m taking is something that may be successful for others who want to make mission or humanitarian work their full time job but have reasons for not seeking donations in order to do so. I know that a founder of Campus Crusades for Christ successfully used this method to support himself and perhaps still does.

I recently became an Individual Business Owner (IBO) with an online company. Here is this our concept as I understand it. Many companies would like to transition to selling products online. This saves them lots of money in retail costs (the space to sell or run a store, employees to run the store, etc.). Selling online allows products to simply leave the warehouse and go straight to the customer. Companies who want to transition to selling online partner up with this company. Our company is paid to bring customers to these businesses. Many businesses that this company partners with are popular companies such as Sears, Barnes & Noble, and Best Buy to name a few. Other partnering companies solely sell online through us and their names are, therefore, less well known. As an IBO, anyone can register as a Customer under my IBO number. When these customers shop through me, I receive points. There is a system in place and these points translate into a monthly check. The more customers I have registered under me making more purchases generates more points and therefore more monthly income.

Some potential supporters may find this a convenient route for supporting me. However, some may not like to shop online. There is one product that I will push, therefore, to try to gain some supporters. There is a Visa credit card we offer. It is no different than any other Visa card, just has our company's name marked on it. Anyone can register as a customer under me (IBO #5940240, Key: MCH), logon, then go to “Shop”, then “Parnter Stores & Services”, and find where to register for this Visa card. Just by using this credit card, I receive points. The income I receive is obviously a very small percentage of purchases made on the credit card, but with several customers using the card, it adds up. I receive an e-mail whenever customers register under me and will add customers to a personal update list. Anyone else wanting to register as an IBO can e-mail me.

Term "Hit and Run" Explained

In my last blog post I used the term “hit and run” referring to short term volunteer groups or even tourists who visit the Dominican Republic, have a good time whether spending time at the beach or engaging in activities with locals, taking pictures, then return home and continue with their normal lives. Their experience in the Dominican Republic remains a memory but other than the experience, memories, and pictures, no real and lasting connection exists between the individual or group and the community that was visited. This is the situation that I referred to as a “hit and run” but after receiving some feedback, I realize that this comment needs further explanation.

Here the economy is very slow and there is little opportunity for work. It is not entirely accurate to assume that locals are lazy and don’t want to work or lack business ideas that could be implemented to create work and profit. It is more accurate to understand that the economy is depleted. There is a lack of start up resources and there is a lack of consumers with resources to which goods and services can be marketed and sold. There is also, in many cases, a lack of local leadership and training but this is not hard to find a solution to with thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands of people available tolearn when a proper teacher or teaching team is present.

Whether or not members of communities here have cognitively recognized that these are the missing factors that cause the economy to remain slow, they do realize that visitors from the developed world possess resources that are lacking here and this causes their presence to be exciting and bring hope. However, as in any situation where one is excited and hopes are high, there is the risk of being let down. It is important, therefore, for foreign visitors to fully realize the effect of their visit and to be wise and sensitive accordingly. It is my point of view that if someone or a group cannot engage in such a relationship with the developing world with great sensitivity, conscienciousness, and committment than it is best not to engage at all. Any other such engagement ends up in some sort of exploitation. The Dominican Republic is full of the negative effects of such exploitation.

After locals have had a few encounters with “hit and runs” – foreigners who cheerfully visit but do nothing to create change in the community long term and begin to serve as a reminder of what locals do not have rather than bring hope for a brighter future, some locals take on a mindset that they should learn to get what they can out of visitors while they’re here. The most honest way to do this is to market products or services that foreign visitors seem to like and jack up the prices. Such products include alcohol, cigars, jewelry, and artwork. Such services include hair braiding, massages, and tourist excursions where visitors are led further into local communities on horseback, horsedrawn carriages, four-wheelers, go karts, or monster trucks, and sometimes to experience natural attractions such as waterfalls. I am not suggesting that all such activity causes negative effects but some have seemed to in the past when executed without careful consideration and sensitivity.

First, it is important to realize that those conducting such business with foreign visitors are indeed reaping a profit but this profit often benefits them personally rather than benefiting the local communities, schools, members of society in most need, etc. During the 2008/2009 school year I was responsible for two students in a small elementary school located in a rural area about twenty minutes outside of the city of Puerto Plata. This school had an established relationship with a monster truck tourist excursion business. Things seemed to pick up throughout the year, but by the end of the year, according to reports from the students I was responsible for, about four trucks full of about 20 foreign visitors each visited the school almost daily. Dominican public school days last about four hours and quite honestly, they do not provide very high quality education. Private schools do a much better job but still do not cmpare to the education I received from U.S. public schools. The students reported that visitors from the monster trucks interacted with them during recess. Often times they would have their pictures taken, would receive small gifts, or would come home with e-mail addresses. They once reported that one visitor threw coins up in the air and a group of kids mobbed to fight over the coins. They said that after recess their teacher always called them back into the classroom to begin class. Sometimes visitors came to stick their heads in the doorway and take pictures of the class.

Apparently community members began flocking around the school while visitors came in order to beg. The school’s director ordered these community members to leave. I became increasingly frustrated with this situation and believed that the school had compromised its purpose and the education of the students in order to entertain tourists. Also, the students I was responsible for are smillar to family members for me so imagining how many random people had taken their pictures was... and still is.. unsettling. I spoke to a teacher about this once, just stating that I heard about the visitors. He was filling in some paperwork as I spoke and without looking up, proudly replied that yes, this school receives visitors from the U.S., Canada, France, etc. With the schools Project Esperanza runs things are done much differently as far as visitors are concerned and I wanted to share my thoughts but felt sheepish to do so. I didn’t share my concerns with the teachers at this time The school year ended and the two boys did not attend the following year. This is an example of how such tourist excurions can be disruptive and exploitive from a local point of view.

Other ways locals have learned to benefit from the presence of foreign visitors is through dishonest business transactions or blatantly stealing as well as prostitution. Prostitution is present in various forms here in the Dominican Republic. To give a few examples, there are prostitutes who sell themselves on street corners at night and there are wives and mothers who “go out with the girls” every now and then but end up making money from a gringo somehow during their night out. There are homosexual men that move here or visit here occasionally who seek out relationships with boys on the streets. Shoe shine boys have reported such men becoming shoe shining clients but then the man eventually invites the boy to his house where he attempts to engage in a sexual relationship in exchange for food, clothes, money, etc. It has been my experience with the police here that they are not very motivated to bring about justice by the mere presence of injustices but are motivated by money. I have never attempted to persecute one of these men for this reason but plan to do more research here in the future should the situation arise again.

I am not relating this next situation to or labeling this prostitution but it is common for foreigners who visit here often to have a local boyfriend or girlfriend who they take care of financially in some way as long as the relationship lasts. These people may not feel as though they fit into a “hit and run” category because they do leave with a connection here and are helping someone out financially in some way. However, I have seen this situation largely taken advantage of as well. For example, I recently learned of a woman who lives in a community we work in who had a gringo boyfriend buy a nice, new vehicle for her. The word is that when her boyfriend visits, she says that her husband is her brother so that he thinks she is single. The husband is, of course, well aware and in on the business. I have seen this happen on various occasions. Perhaps the foreign boyfriend does not expect his Dominican girlfriend to be 100% loyal but I just use this example to point out the fact that funds being channeled into the country in this way does not necessarily create positive change in society. If anything, it sets an example for another exploitive practice. These flings are, of course, very different than more serious relationships and marriages between foreigners and locals.

In conclusion, as members of the expat community, it is important to be intentional about your presence here and to realize the effects that your presence has on the local community. The local community is honestly fragile in many ways, has been taken advantage of, been toyed with, and has taken advantage and done its toying in return. Or perhaps the abuses were simultaneous, I am not sure. Regardless, those of us from the developed world must admit that we, in general, have access to more resources which gives us more power which leaves us with more responsibility. So instead of asking those with less power to resist the temptations our presence poses them, we should act first in changing our practices. The more powerful party should set the stage. The local community needs sensitive and considerate interactions with the foreign community in order to become more stable and for such abuses to end. Let’s be aware of whether we are supporting a negative system or a positive system in the way we spend our time in the Dominican Republic or any other developing country.