Day 6: Wet, but working

Today was an exercise in the flexibility required by this kind of work. Though May is the rainy season here, last month didn't bring much rainfall. The people are grateful for the wet weather this week, but it has created challenges for us. One of the two projects planned for today -- adding a layer of plaster to the cinder block walls of a house under construction in Monte Coca -- couldn't happen in the rain. So we all trekked out to Punta Fuera to work together to build a latrine. After arriving, we toured the small batey community, getting our first glimpse of what life is like in the bateyes. Many of the residents of this particular batey are single, elderly men, retired from long careers cutting cane and without any remaining family members to care for them in their old age. We saw the ruins of a barracks destroyed in the 1990's by Hurricane George. After the storm destroyed the building, no help arrived to rebuild it. The residents of the community then gave the community center building to the families who had been displaced from the barracks. That small building has been divided into four homes, each housing families of 5, 6 or 7 people. While we had heard about the living conditions in the bateyes, having seen photos and footage in a documentary last night, it was a different experience entirely to see it with our own eyes. It was upsetting for all.

Unfortunately, we were ultimately not able to work on the latrine this morning, so we returned after our tour to have lunch at the center and process all that we'd seen. After lunch we returned to Monte Coca, where we hosted a party for Mother's Day, which is celebrated today in the DR. We honored the mothers in this community and learned much about what it means to be a mother here. Many of them spoke about the joy their children bring to them and their hopes for their children in the future, which center on the idea that the only way to a better future is through education.

After the party, we returned to Punta Fuera and dove into the latrine project, mixing cement and laying the floor of the latrine, despite the uncooperative weather. Though we were soggy and cold by the end of the afternoon, we were glad to have started working on some way to improve life for the families we met. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will return to these two sites to continue on the latrine project and begin work on the plaster project.

Some thoughts about our day from Grant '17:

Today, we got our first look into the batey communities. While receiving a tour of the Punta Fuera community, I was not-so-pleasantly surprised at the terrible living conditions. The rain dripping through the roofs of the houses made from scrap metal and the amount of elderly people living by themselves both hit me very hard. The sheer number of problems felt very overwhelming. Throughout the tour, I kept coming back to the same question: "How can we even make a dent in this endless list of problems?" While discussing this over lunch, I came to the conclusion that doing these little things like building a latrine all make a difference. The truth is, none of us can fix these problems at their roots, so we should just do our best to improve these people's everyday lives in any way we can. So after lunch, I returned determined to do my best to uphold this.  Working alongside the residents of Punta Fuera while mixing concrete and listening to the mothers of Monte Coca tell their stories, I felt the gratitude of the community for our relief. The fulfillment that gratitude provides and the interaction with the community are the reasons why I came on the trip.