Los Cocos Village

It’s Not Goodbye; It’s “See You Later”

Posted · Add Comment

On our last day in the Dominican Republic, we visited the Haitian village, Los Cocos. We learned that this village on a hillside was comprised of 70 different families. The land is owned by a Dominican citizen who allows the Haitians to live on the land for free. As Haitians are not recognized by the government and not allowed citizenship, this opportunity is a blessing for those families. Upon entering the village, we saw rows and rows of huts built with banana leaves. The children were running around playing, the women were washing clothes, and the men were out working. Walking through the village, we saw a lot of trash […]

Read More
Dominican Children Sampling Skewers of Fruit

Fruits and Vegetables

Posted · Add Comment

Our first task today was to continue the assessments for the children at the Center. Keeping their attention off the boys was the challenge of Day 6. One thing we quickly discovered when doing these assessments was that the children were fascinated with the stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs, and they wanted to be assessed repeatedly. When doing these assessments, we gathered demographic data, measured height and weight, and had the older children provide a dietary recall for the past 24 hours. The children also received a brief physical assessment. It was interesting to find that about half or more of the children had multiple cavities on their back molars. […]

Read More
Paddle Boarding on the Dominican Coast

Exploring the Beauty of Puerto Plata

Posted · Add Comment

Sunday and Monday were our designated “free days” since the Dove Mission Center is closed on these days. On Sunday, we took the cable car up Isabel de Torres, which was 793 meters high, and it allowed us to see a colorful view of the beach and mountains of Puerto Plata. At the top of the mountain is a replica of the Christ the Reedemer statue in Brazil and symbolizes the protection of God over the city. In addition to the statue, there were beautiful botanical-garden trails that led to a cave and lagoon. Thankfully, we had clear skies and views going up the mountain; but, on our way back down, […]

Read More

VIDEO: Barton Students Help Those Still Suffering from Katrina

Posted · 1 Comment

Barton College’s Alternative Spring Break provides opportunities for service-minded students to use the week-long pause in the spring semester to help others.  This year, working through Barton’s Campus Compassion initiative, a group of Barton College students led by the Rev. Hollie Woodruff, chaplain of the College, spent the week of March 14-20 in Lake Charles, La., to aid families still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the region in August 2005.  Victoria Gonzalez, Barton’s volunteer service coordinator through AmericaCorps VISTA, accompanied the group and recorded their experiences.  Her videos are below. For more information on Barton College’s Campus Compassion or Alternative Spring Break programs, contact the Rev. […]

Read More