Beyond their other tasks, participants were in charge of maintaining our homebase. They helped prepare meals, took on daily chores, kept shared spaces clean, and embraced roles that strengthened their independence, confidence, and character.
In partnership with the Junta de Vecinos (Neighborhood Association) de Cascajal, Escuela Juan Francisco Adames, Escuela Leopoldo Morales Regalado and the Parent Associations, VISIONS teen volunteers and leaders completed the following projects during their time in the Dominican Republic.
School Infrastructure
VISIONS participants and leaders constructed a classroom and cafeteria at Escuela Juan Francisco Adames, an elementary school in need of more infrastructure. Alongside our community partners, teens built these additions from the ground up. Kids used pickaxes and shovels to dig 80 linear feet of trenches for the foundation, cut and assembled 120 linear feet of rebar to reinforce the trenches and vertical columns, moved 16 meters of sand and rocks to prepare the foundation, mixed and poured concrete into trenches and columns, laid more than 700 bricks to build the walls, mixed and poured another 162 cubic meters of cement for the floor, installed roofing, applied cement stucco walls, and painted all interior and exterior walls.
Campamento (Day Camp)
VISIONS teens led Campamento, or Day Camp, for 18 Dominican youth ages 8-12. Activities included English instruction integrated with lessons in environmental stewardship and animal welfare, sports, and arts and crafts.
What makes VISIONS special has been the humanity and empathy that VISIONS has towards other people, especially those who are in most need.
Animal Welfare
VISIONS launched our new Dominican animal welfare initiative by sponsoring a spay and neuter clinic with the veterinary organization Hacienda Urbana. Kids helped facilitate and host the one-day event, in which 19 dogs and 2 cats were spayed or neutered.
Educational Murals
Finally, our high school volunteers designed and painted two 4’ x 4’ murals at Leopoldo Morales Regalado school that expanded upon the campamento lessons of animal welfare. One mural was entitled Animal of the Jungle & the Sky and the other was Animals of the Sea.
I love VISIONS approach to teaching kids about the value of community. It’s more than excursions and visiting a beautiful place. It’s the valuable experience of guiding teens to work together to accomplish something significant and having fun along the way. Julia had an amazing experience! She made valuable friendships and came home with a renewed enthusiasm to set goals for her remaining high school years and beyond. VISIONS encourages a “can do” attitude, promoting a growth mindset all while having fun with new friends.
The program was truly an unforgettable experience. I feel connected to the DR in a second home type of way and definitely wish to come back someday. ❤️
