Sandy Spring Friends School Dominican Republic 2025
March 15, 2025
Our first day of our trip to the Dominican Republic started at 4AM in at the airport. After 2 flights and a 2 hours layover, we landed in the DR. We started off by having pizza on the bus on the way to where we are staying, and started to get a feel for the country.
After we got settled into our rooms, we were brought back downstairs to get to know each other as a group. We started off by introducing ourselves and explaining our reasoning behind why we chose this trip in the first place. We also started to get to know each others comfort zones in a game where the further you are out from the center of a circle of people, the less comfortable you are with the stated activity. This was very insightful and helped us get to know each other on a more personal level, even though we already go to school together.
After completing the ice breaking activities we discussed some house rules, and how we wanted to treat and look after people during the trip. We then all wrote one rule on a sticky note and then shared to the whole group, which eventually resulted in the group coming to a consensus on our rules. We also split up into leader groups that would lead activities during certain times throughout the day. In those leader groups we came up with team names along with handshakes to represent us.
Finally we enjoyed a delicious homemade meal containing mashed potatoes, plantains, salami, eggs, and fruit punch. We enjoyed the dinner as a whole group, just by having simple conversations with no technology during dinner. After dinner we learned about the activities that we will complete tomorrow, which is making cement floors for local communities in need in the DR. Finally, we all shared on thing that we are looking forward to tomorrow, which mostly consisted of people saying helping the community, working with cement, and even using a pick axe.
By Charlie & Darrion
March 16, 2025
On day 2, we started off the day with a great breakfast to start us off with our first service day! We then headed over and stopped by the store where everything is crazy inexpensive. Definitely gonna miss that. Jackson also taught us a few words in Spanish at breakfast which was nice and helpful. We then got to working with the wheelbarrows and shovels and sand which was tiring but went by pretty fast with us all working together. And while we worked we got to meet some super nice kids in the neighborhood and one of them, Galleria, let Grace hold her baby sister which was adorable. It was super funny to learn the cement making process because we kept making mistakes but nonetheless got it done.
We then started to move the cement, which was arguably the hardest part. But again we got it done!! It felt like the best and most natural workout you ever could’ve gotten. We got to make jokes with the neighborhood kids and got to know a bit about our helpers, Mickey and Orlandito. We listened to great music (playlist made by us 🙂 and although the work was labour intensive and the heat was low-key insane, you started not to notice how hard it felt and just enjoyed how rewarding it felt to do something tiring but important. And even better, the lunch after our first shift was so good.
Once we got back to the batey, we finished putting down cement for the floors and prepared sand for the next day as well. We then took a much needed break with Roberto over some of the best coffee we have ever had. He told us about how he got into working at bateys and helping people in his community. But our favorite part about our conversation was talking about everyones favorite animals going from dogs all the way to whales. Then we gathered our things and went back for dinner.
After dinner we watched The Price of Sugar about Father Christopher Hatley and his activism for Haitians in bateys. We learned about the harsh conditions Haitians went through for work and how they were treated by the Vicini (Sugarcane Industry Megapower) receiving low wages. Some of the most inspirational moments in the movie was when he built better houses for Hatians and stranded strong against many threats including death threats. The movie taught us a lot about the countries history and a new perspective of the community we worked at. Finally, we had a discussion about the movie and gave shout outs to each other about all of the great work we completed and are looking forward to finishing more work tomorrow!
-Dallas and Sade
March 17, 2025
On Day 3, we continued our work on mixing cement. Like yesterday, the sun was hot and we had to drink a lot of water, but the hard work felt good in the end. We were becoming more familiar with the batey we were helping and the people who lived there, especially enjoying time with the kids there. Now that we had watched The Price of Sugar last night, we saw the batey in a new light, now understanding the dark reality that these people are not only extremely poor, but are also being exploited by the sugar plantation companies. We now really saw the importance of our work of helping these people. On a lighter note, we saw some chickens walking on top of the roofs while we were working, and there was a baby goat running around bleating when we got there, so that was amusing to watch.
Lunch was amazing! All of the group was super appreciative of the work that the chiefs put in to make our food everyday. The food was very helpful to rejuvenate and energize the group. It was eye-opening to see how the people in the batey live everyday. It was fun speaking to the children that live in the batey, they are super energetic to excited to help the group with their work. Some of the group members were even offered to ride bikes with the kids around the batey. It was a fun break to a long day of work!
Dinner was just as good as lunch. We had empanadas, which were super delicious. There was a bit of a dispute about taking seconds, but it was all in good nature. After all the empanadas were eaten the chiefs served another dish, with fruit, eggs, and rice. Right before dinner we were assigned groups and answered given questions about our personal experience in the trip, which was something that helped us bond.
A nun named Ines came to speak to us before the group questions. She spoke about what she does for the community and how we as young people can help further benefit the community. It was amazing to hear about her experiences and how long she has been helping out the bateys for. It sounds like she is really doing a great job helping immigrants start a new life in the Dominican Republic. At the end of the day, everyone was exhausted and happy, the group ended the day by playing cards as a group.
-Noah and Zach
March 18, 2025
On day 4 we started off the day with a later than usual breakfast filled with excitement for our first non service work day. We got ready to go to the sugar cane fields where we got to learn about the process and payment from the eyes of the workers. We were led through our tour by a man named Domingo who is a community leader at one of the bateys. He told us about how he used to be on one of the best baseball teams in the DR but had to give it up because he had to go back to work. Towards the end of the tour, Domingo showed us how to cut the sugar cane and gave us each a piece to try. It was starchy and stringy but was incredibly sweet.
From there we got back on the bus and started our trek over towards Juan Dolio where we stoped for lunch at a pizza place which was very good, we got to see the vast difference in wealth present in the DR with the bateys only being an hour away from a bunch of tourist resort locations. We got a mix of either pepperoni or cheese pizzas, with each person getting a whole small pizza for themselves (many people had leftovers). The restaurant had a mix of both movies such as Book of Life and Chinese Zodiac aswell as music videos playing. We ended up being the only ones in the restaurant which was neat.
After lunch, we headed across the street to the beach where we set up next to a palm tree and some locals. Immediately we were swarmed by vendors attempting to sell us various trinkets or fruit which was fun to experience. After this settled down, everyone put on sunscreen and listened to the rules of swimming before running into the water. The water was crystal clear and had many patches of coral and seaweed which housed many different kinds of fish, coral, and other sea creatures. Everyone took turns using Erin’s goggles to look at all the different kinds of wildlife. We then tried to haggle with the vendors to get the best deal on necklaces and ended up with a 7 for $20 deal. Someone accidentally got the conversion rate wrong and completely lowballed one of the vendors making for a funny but awkward interaction. After the beach, we all went to Jumbo which is like Target here in the DR. We stocked up on snacks and other supplies and then waited in line to buy them and practice our Spanish.
When we arrived back to Ascala, everyone took showers and realized just how much sun they had gotten. We then had an aloe party to help speed up the process of healing the burns. We then ate dinner and went up to the balcony to prepare our lesson plans for the next day. The lessons were to teach kids ages 9-12 some English and then play baseball. The group ended up playing cards until lights out. Burnt, but ready for the next day.
-Corinna and Brennan
March 19, 2025
On day 5, we had an early breakfast, allowing us to complete all of the great activities we had planned. It was our final of the three work-days, so we set out for the batey and got straight to work. Both work groups put the finishing touches on their projects, but things really came down to the wire. The final house we worked on needed a new porch, and so both groups combined to form a massive assembly line, accompanied by cement shovelers and mixers. Many students commented that this was the dirtiest work day of the three, with most of us coming back from the batey completely covered with the cement mix. It was a bittersweet goodbye to La Plaza; it was refreshing to see all of our hard work come to life in the matter of a few days, but giving our final hugs to the people of the community was difficult.
After another delicious lunch, we made a short trip down the road to ImpACTA, a children’s sports and education foundation ran by former MLB player Manny Acta. When Acta was the general manager for the Washington Nationals, news reporters from the Washington Times and Washington Post asked about his hometown, and so they all made the voyage down to Consuelo. Acta was distraught to discover the poor conditions of the baseball fields in his hometown, so he started ImpACTA, which helps blend the field with the classroom for young Dominicans. Students took batting practice on one of the main fields at the complex, and interacted with the hundreds of players ranging from ages 6 through 18.
Our time at ImpACTA was filled with baseball and interacting with the kids while teaching them some new words and sentences in English from the posters we worked on the night prior. Working with the kids helped us build a deeper connection to the local community along with improving our spanish speaking and writing skills. The children were engaged and ready to learn which made the experience more enjoyable and fun for everyone after our time at the worksite.
After our time at ImpACTA we headed back to Ascala for a fun Salsa and Bachata dance lesson. Most of us not knowing how to Salsa dance were a bit rusty at first but began to warm up as the lesson started. We lined up as we got the hang of it and continued to dance with multiple partners. We ended the lesson with a dance circle and took turns rotating partners to go in the middle as a perfect ending to our day at work.
-Juliette and Jacob
March 20, 2025
In our closing ceremony last night, we all shared our greatest takeaways and favorite moments from our trip. One of my favorite takeaways from the trip was was gaining confidence in communicating with someone across a language barrier. Despite my limited knowledge of Spanish, I loved learning a little more each day and finding ways to communicate in other ways when getting to know the community we were working with. This was especially memorable to me when playing with the kids both in the Batey and while teaching them English. I loved making the kids laugh and connecting with them through their enthusiasm to learn and teach me their own games!
During the trip we went through waves of emotions both good and bad. Even through all this it was easy to see the good in our actions and the effects it has on our own personal lives and the lives of others around us. Seeing the living conditions of some of the locals first hand was an eye opening experience and will forever change the way I view the way we live. It’s so easy to be grateful now and I can’t even describe how fortunate we are. When we helped volunteer with the village it was beautiful to see our actions affect the lives of others. This is something you can’t recreate and was what made this trip memorable.
We had our last meal together (another early breakfast!) & are now off to the airport! We can’t believe the week is already over!
By Asher & Grace
