Batey

Today after our service sites, we traveled to Liberted batey to provide physical therapy to residents.
I had written a description of this community last week after we had initially toured, however it was part of the post that I accidently lost.
A batey is a rural community that is mostly comprised of Haitian agricultural labors. These are isolated communities live in extreme poverty with little to no electricity, running water  and in shack houses. The conflict and racism towards migrant Haitian workers in the DR closely resembles the Mexican immigration conflect in the United States. In both the US and the DR cheap labor is necessary for agricultural and other manual labor jobs, however no one really wants these immigrants in their country.

When we visited Liberted Batey last week, many of my classmates were shocked by the conditions that people live in. I could only compare the conditions to those I saw in Nambia and South Africa. I thought it was fascinating, and horrifying that poverty is remarkable similar no matter what country you are in.

I reflected quite a bit on the difference of treating a patient in the US vs. in the DR. The environment might be drastically different (I treated a stroke patient on a side of a mountain!) however the physical therapy is not different. The patients are treated with the same respect, dignity and compassion no matter if the language is different, there is a roof over their head, or if you are treating on a dirt floor. It does not matter that it is 101F with 80% humidity and you are out under the sun, this may be the only chance for this patient to receive therapy ever. As a whole group, we have had continued discussion on how do we decide what interventions to give them if this our only chance to see a patient. If I am only able to convey three simple exercises to someone, what will provide them with the best chance of recovery. This is a daunting task, made worse that I don't always have a translator with me.

I, personally, have been struggling with the balance of am I making a real difference vs. merely providing "charity." I understand that two weeks is not enough time to make a drastic social changes, however I also want to make sure that I am not just a temporary fix. I think that this is where the structure of ILAC comes in. As a permanent organization in the DR, they are active in not only bringing in doctors, scientists and other needed professionals, ILAC also is able to advocate for greater policical and social change. The St. Kate's DPT/PTA group is tiny piece in the big picture at ILAC, but is not an uneeded or unwanted piece. While here we not only work directly with patients, but also with the PT school in Santiago to continue to promote international ties and greater knowledge. This is also not a one time trip, this will continue to occur for as long as ILAC is here- guaranteeing long lasting relationships, continued service, and greater benefit for not only incoming students but also for the patient's who are in such desperate need.

El campo

Friday morning after we finished with our service sites, we drove approximately two hours to La Ceiba- a very small community located in Northwest  Dominican Republic, very close to the Haiti border. Here we will spend the weekend, staying with local families and then providing treatment to anyone in the region that requires PT.

This was quite different then any other home stay I have experienced, First, I was with four other girls(two of whom had some Spanish speaking ability). Second, instead of spending days with my host family, I spent the day with my PT group as we treated various patients, and only returned to my homestay at night.

My homestay family was quite well off for the community; they had a kitchen, living room, and two bed rooms, each with 2 queen size beds in it. They had electricity, and some running water- but the bathroom was literally a square concrete hole in the ground, and the "shower" was a scoop and a big bucket of water. The family dynamic was interesting, and I never quite figured it out. But I believe that our host was Ramone, who lives with(and is taken care of) his mother and a slightly older gentleman who I think is Ramone's father. Adult children living with parents is fairly common as family is very important. Also no one spoke any English (though we did teach Ramone how to say "good morning" or "Ud norning"

We were welcomed into their home with open arms. DR hospitality is amazing, As soon as someone shows up at a house, chair magically appear, coffee is offered, and the host stops whatever they were doing to attend to their guest. It is almost unerving how much they cator to guests. The children here were very dignified and respectful. They were almost stand-offish compared to the adults. However, I won over the local boys by demonstrated my loon call. They loved it, and I had to spend my spare time teaching it to them.

Romone taught us a DR card game- just don't ask me what the name was. It took a few rounds for us to understand, but once we got it, he was estatic. However, he did make it extra difficult to learn as he kept changing the rules on us. Today (our last day) he actually tried to cheat and we caught him at it! In exchange we taught him how to play Go Fish. I can only imagine how he felt as he was teaching four of us his card game, because trying to teach just him a card game was difficult!  I especially  had trouble with this because, even through I know my spanish numbers up to 14, everytime I opened my mouth to say something French would pop out! Yikes!

I am extra-excited to share pictures of our homestay because we were in the mountains. We literally drank coffee on the porch everyday looking over the DR/Haitian mountains. It was unbelievably pretty. The land is parched though, May is supposed to be their rainy season and they are in a heavy drought. For an agricultural community that already lives in poverty, this is hard. It actually rained for about ten minutes when we first arrived, In celebration, the local church organized a walk to pray and celebrate the gift of rain. It was humbling to watch and celebrate with them.

We  are back in Santiago tonight, however leave first thing in the morning to Santo Domingo. We will get to spend the night in a hostel, go to the beach and be touristy for a bit!

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I just had a beautiful post of the past two days written up. I accidently clicked something and lost the entire thing. I apologize for the missed post, I am alive and well. I have had a fantastic last two days working with children and exploring the DR.  It is hot enough to melt my toe nail polish, but not so hot that I have melted.. yet.

I leave for my home stay visit tomorrow and will not have internet (or electricity) until Sunday. I will try to not lose the next post.

Exploring the city

Today the entire group toured all of the work sites. There were two retirement homes ( a rarity in The DR), an after/before school program, and two homes for children with disabilities. 

The retirement homes were nice. They have limited funding, however they greatly resembled the ones in the US. The biggest different I saw was a greater sense of community as the rooms were shared dormitories, and the residents spent their time under a shaded alcove trying to catch any stray breeze that might happen by. Able body residents assist the staff with those residents that are less able. Students that are helping with these two sites will be leading group activities, creating exercise programs for staff to lead, and whatever else they may be able to help with. 

The after school program is designed to keep kids off of the street, as they often get in trouble since they are only in school for half of a day.  

conani is one of the children's home. They take in kids from all over the area that have severe disabilities. The ages range from infants to over twenty. The staff here is small, they care deeply for all of their charges. Students here will be creating exercise programs for the youngest, bed ridden children to prevent contractures and encourage what physical development they can. This is a site that heavily utilizes ILAC for education and resources to continue training staff. 

My site is Neuvo Esperanza. This is a much smaller home, with only a handful of residents. But also has a day program for students with physical or cognitive disabilities that live at home with their parents. Unfortunately our tour today fell at the wrong time, so we were limited to 15 minutes. However, I could already tell that this will be a fantastic opportunity. They do not have access to a PT, however they assign someone to us to learn from what we are doing so that they can continue it with the patients on their own. 

After lunch, we took a guaguas (bus) to the "heart of the city" in which we went on a scavenger hunt. We wanted to a park and bough "skimice" which is like a Popsicle, bartered for a "cheesy" token, found an ice cream shop, and tried to ask vendors random Spanish questions. Everyone we talked to was very nice, but my Spanish is terrible.

Santiago is a interesting city. The Wealth distribution is obvious and startling; houses are either large and beautiful, or appear to be crumbling, the same is true for cars.  Drivers here have the same respect for road rules as Boston drivers do;none. However here they also have the added factor of motorcycles darting here there and everywhere. This is not a place I would ever want to drive! Walking around the city we were bombarded with street vendors trying to sell everything from shoes to dogs to food.  And the people speak so fast that even if I knew Spanish, I would not be able to understand them. It is quite the experience and reminds me greatly of my time in Africa. 

Tomorrow is our first day working at our sites! 

  

To the Waterfall!

The final part of the St.Kates DPT program is a service learning trip. We could choose to stay in the twin cities(exploring homelessness), travel to Mississippi, or go to the DR. I,of course, chose the DR.
 We landed in Santiago yesterday, had orientation to the ILAC compound. ILAC (Institute for Latin  American Concern) which is part of Creighton University. They have a compound in Santiago for students and professionals to stay during service learning or service trips. They provide medical clinics, health promotion, after school assistance and a variety of other services I do not know about(yet). They are trying to have a sustainable impact on the people who need assistance In the DR. 

While here we will take part in this by providing PT education, and interventions to clinics around get city. Our primary focus is education as this will be the biggest thing we can leave behind. I will be working in a school/home for children with severe disabilities. 

Today was a national holiday, so nothing was open. However, we took a trip out into the country to hike to a waterfall our driver got completely lost on the way. We ended up stopping to ask for directions five times!  This proved to an excellent adventure though, as we were able to see a lot of the countryside. When we finally got to the site, it was a two hour hike out. While it was warm(~90F), there was a nice breeze so the hike was enjoyable. It was quite an easy hike, with only minimal hills. However, the views were spectacular. We walked past hanging squash plants, abandoned houses, horses, cows, and then followed the road back up to the mountains. Once at the waterfall, we all jumped into the freezing water. Boy did it feel good! I can't wait to show everyone pictures.

In the drive back, we noticed in one town that there were stands along the road, all of which were selling one thing; a sweet,cinnamon, corn bread. We just had to stop and try! This is apparently only made in this particular town and only during celebrations.

Tomorrow we head out to tour our work sites, and then go for a scavenger hunt through Santiago!