Day 17-27: Consuelo and Montecoca, DR -- 10/1 to 10/11/15

Our week stay in Consuelo staying at ASCALA was busy with service and training! We worked in a botey (a sugar cane farming community) building concrete floors and two latrines. It was quite an eye opening experience working in Montecoca and talking with the people who live there and learning about their experiences with cutting cane and their relationship with the sugar companies. 

For those of you who don't know, boteyes are some of the poorest communities in the Domincan Republic. They were created when sugar cane companies brought over Haitian workers and gave them places to stay and money for cutting sugar. However, the money was little to none, the quarters were tight and bare, and the Haitians usually did not receive documentation and were illegal immigrants. Due to this, the boteyes acted more like work camps. Workers would make maybe around 150 pesos for 5 days of work (which converts to around $3.50 a week). It turned into a subtle form of slavery as the workers would not make enough to move out of the botey, the barracks would be locked at night and guarded, and even if workers escaped they did not have proper documentation and could therefore not get another job or be at risk for deportation. 

Some of these issues are still extremely prevelant today, especially Haitian Dominicans being at risk for deportation, some of which have never been to Haiti. There is a lot of unrest between the Haitian Dominicans and the Domincans, specifically racial discrimination. The darker the color of your skin, the lesser you are thought of. Dominicans do not want the Haitians coming over and taking jobs or using their resources. Especially as elections draw nearer, I believe that the issue of Hatian Domincans and deportation will arise further and unfold-- either for better or for worse. 

Anyway, here are some pictures from the past 10 days in Consuelo and Montecoca:

Whenever we weren't doing service, all of us were in the classroom getting a Wilderness First Aid certification! From assessing a patient in the field, to learning how to clean wounds using pigs feet, to practicing using epipens, the course gave us the basics of first aid for a wilderness setting! 

Here are a couple pictures of our team making some concrete to lay on the floors of five or six different houses. It was hard work, but definitely rewarding to see how it directly impacted the people living in the community. 

Here's a picture of our group learning and helping out to build a latrine. The hole is 15 feet deep, dug out by two of the men in Montecoca. It will last the small family of 4 about 10-15 years. 

A little basketball to top of a great day of service! 

I had to walk by this big guy everytime I need to grab more sand to mix with the cement. He would give me the stink eye everytime I passed. We were good friends in the end though. 

Here is some of the group posing for a photo after we got poured rain on during our making of concrete. We were cold, tired, but we still managed to sing Build Me Up Buttercup at the top of our lungs to keep us going. 

Here is a picture of the head guy we worked with in Montecoca. His name is Roberto. He and I got along very well, and he was a great partner for me to practice my Spanish while at the same time get work done and build floors. I hope I can go back and visit him some time!

After a couple days of service, we took a trip to the beach and Tom and I got some good frisbee shots in the water! 

We ended our time at ASCALA in Consuelo with a beautiful sunset and then a bonfire to roast marshmallows! It was a great end to a hardworking week of service and Spanish speaking. 

We then tried out some more light painting! Here are some of the cooler ones! 

Found my house in the DR, everyone's welcome!

We are ending our last couple days in the DR with a weekend in the beach town Bahibe! It's a good relaxing way to end a great stay in a great country! With some kayaking, catamaraning, and a lot of beach time, we'll all be refreshed and ready to go to Costa Rica for some Spanish classes and service! 

I'll start now to post week by week, starting when we get into Costa Rica! 

Hope you enjoy!