Touring to the Dominican Republic – Evan Lory

June 21, 2023

I traveled to the Dominican Republic in March as a consultant of Wisconsin Microfinance. It was my first journey to a creating nation. Upon arrival, I rapidly realized how a lot I take with no consideration, the place requirements like clear water, electrical energy, schooling, and healthcare appear so commonplace. On the similar time, I spotted how a lot the identical all of us are. Children play lots of the similar video games in La Piedra as they do in Waunakee and meals are alternatives to share meals and tales (and to snort!).

The language barrier was one of many largest challenges I confronted throughout the journey. Whereas lots of the individuals we met spoke solely Spanish, we did have a translator to assist us. However, I used to be amazed at how a lot we might nonetheless join via non-verbal communication and gestures.

I introduced new funding for loans for business-women in La Piedra, a neighborhood about 30 miles north of the capitol. Due to so many unimaginable donors, I used to be in a position to ship sufficient funding for 15 new loans. With out the funding being offered by Wisconsin Microfinance, the individuals there wouldn’t have the ability to pursue their goals. It was really a humbling expertise to see how such a small mortgage by US requirements might make a distinction within the lives of so many households.

Total, my expertise within the Dominican Republic was each eye-opening and galvanizing. It jogged my memory of the facility of neighborhood, resilience, and human connection. I returned house with a newfound appreciation for the issues I had taken with no consideration and a want to proceed making a distinction within the lives of others. I absolutely anticipated to study all concerning the devastating results poverty. However what I wasn’t anticipating to study was their resolve to be, for essentially the most half, glad; they had been grounded in a easy lifestyle, void of all of the hustle the place the phrase “recession” and all of the negatives worries and fears related to it, should not even of their vocabulary.