The project > Testimony (français) (Español)

 

If I had one word to describe my experience in the Dominican Republic would probably be "awareness". Indeed, I remembers a multitude of images and smells. Since my return, I do not get involved in a Third World country, I have not done great things, but I tried my small daily gestures, to do my best. This trip has not changed at all, but it made me think and opened my eyes. Not only I am more aware of what is happening in the world and near me, but I am concerned and I want awareness of those around me so that we can all try to make a small difference.

Amélie Gendron

This trip helped me leaving North America and begin to discover another culture totally foreign to me. I say discover because the trip was brief, but intense, however, it made me realize that there are things more essential to life that all these electronic gadgets and all this wealth that characterizes U.S. and Canadian society. I have seen people live with virtually nothing, still have a smile on his lips and still have the desire to welcome us with open arms. I learned the true meaning of hospitality. That experience helped me realize that I was really privileged. Now I really desire to give to my community whether local, national or international. I also learned a lot on the exploitation of the weak and poor by the rich countries of this world. This trip has changed my perspective of my life forever, even if sometimes I am tempted to forget that I am privileged, memories of this trip at the forefront of poverty and human exploitation comes back constantly in my mind.

Reggy B.

 

For me, the Dominican Experience was a change over in my life. A 100 % made me see things that I would of never seen otherwise. This experience for me is not finish because I want to transfer to people through generation what it did to me. I thank you Robert for your implication here and special up there.

 

Antony Fortin

 

 

After spending a few days at home with my family, I realize that the Dominican experience is gaining ground. Young people I meet are not the same. This adventure has changed there life. Even parents see a difference. Thank you to the team for allowing us to participate in this adventure, thank you for having been there for us, we where welcomed into your country and allowing us to enter a little in their reality. Robert, thank you for all the energy you put into this project. Know that your efforts are not useless and they make their way back to Canada. We meet again in March 2009 .... that’s for sure. Word of mouth is already running and I have several students who have demonstrated their interest ... is a good sign.

It is difficult to say in words what we experienced and words of gratitude are not enough to say thank you. Know that each of you in your own way, have left an indelible mark in our lives. Mioced thank you, Gerald, Patricia and Haydee from our group.

Frederick, Nouvelle Alliance Catholic High School

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - MY EXPERIENCE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

I return quite moved by a week’s project in the Dominican Republic. I accompanied Brother Daniel Morin and the charming Suzanne Major along with a group simply bursting with energy of fifty young people and teachers from the Jean-Eudes College in Montreal.

The project, supported by many Lasallians and other persons of good will, enabled us to see the other side of the coin. In fact, our way of living in the ‘first world’ of abundance and comfort is based unfortunately on the exploitation and marginalization of the greater part of the world. The “Dominican experience” project, founded by Mr. Robert Laurin, allowed us to open a window on this reality obstructed by our economic system.

In fact, thanks to the support and unconditional welcome of the Dominican people, the young Canadians were able to share the daily life of poor families, cross the slums and experience a sugar-cane plantation where Haitians and Dominicans work flat out. They were able as well to become aware of the fair-minded business of the cocoa producers , share the difficulties but also the hopes of the students in La Salle College of San Domingo and especially, allow themselves to be changed by the warmth of the Dominican people.

Upon their return, they could no longer allow themselves to be led blindly by the “high speed train” of modern life. The faith of the Dominicans led us to allow ourselves to be challenged by another dimension. Their welcome and human warmth echoed the friendship and brotherhood which links us all, while their poverty and unjust situation, still prevalent in 2007, challenges us to roll up our sleeves and to work continually in an ethical fashion for the coming of a world based on Love. 

And so, we will no longer leave anyone in darkness and the other side of the picture will shine with its thousand fires.

(Yanick Chamberland-Richer, Lasallian Associate )

Experience ... and after ?

PARTICIPANT REFLECTION 
Written by Bernice Butler
April 2001 
"Ever since I returned from the Dominican Republic people have asked me, "What exactly was the trip about? Why wouldn’t you spend your money on a REAL vacation?" 
It is difficult to answer a question like that because you have to remember that so many people have not seen what you saw… or felt what you felt… in the Dominican Republic. 
The experience is not about palm trees and white sandy beaches. It is not about getting a tan or braiding you hair. It is about realising you have a role in a global play that creates and sustains poverty in our world… a role that you don’t have to play mindlessly. It’s about coming home and questioning yourself, your friends, your family, your own life. I became suddenly aware that so many people on this earth do not live like I do. I saw and felt a bond with the Dominican and Haitian people and I have come to realise that many people around the world share this same bond. 
The love that I felt in my host family and with all the people I met was so honest and true that it was, at times, overwhelming. Part of our experience involved visiting small villages called bateyes and learning about the people who live there. Most of the people on the bateyes are Haitians and they earn their living cutting sugar cane. They cut for 12 hours a day and get paid pitiful amounts depending on how much they cut. They work and sweat under the torturous sun with no food or water, and the workers are very often children. However, they face everyday with gratitude, without complaining or whining. Their happiness comes not from what they own, but rather from what God has given them: each other. Relationships are the basis of the happiness I encountered. A happiness that appears so contrary to everything I know and understand. 
The people live in small, one-room houses made of plywood or, most commonly, sheets of tin. We talked to a man who worked in the sugar cane plantation for 40 years. He was proud of his home, and welcomed us all into his house to listen to his story. I could only imagine what he had been through, as I know I will never experience the hardships that he has endured. His face was glistening with sweat, his body, tired and worn, but his smile shone like the sun. He has not been working for the last year and a half because the sugar cane factory has been shut down, but still he somehow manages to feed himself and his five children. In my eyes, this man has so much going against him. In his eyes, he is alive, he has food to eat today, he has his children who will someday support him when he can no longer work. His eyes light as he exclaims, "God is good!" I find myself wondering ’who is really poor?’ 
Every person I met on the batey believed within their hearts that God is always there for them… that He walks beside them and continues to bless them with life. You could feel God’s love in the community- in the sharing of food, in the children’s laughter, so delicate and small, children who just want to hold your hand or touch your skin. 
I hear again, "Who is really poor?" I feel closer to God just by being in the presence of these people who truly know who God is. They have faith like I have never seen before. And amongst these beautiful people, who must search for food and clean water, I found myself feeling like I am the one missing something. I wish I could give something to help these people or to somehow say thank you but what sense of security could I possibly give them that they do not already possess in their hearts? 
The truth is that the Dominicans and Haitians that I have encountered have given me more than I could ever give in return. They have taught me how to open myself to another individual, and in so doing, open myself to God.”
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