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 growing nation. Upon arrival, I shortly realized how a lot I take with no consideration, the place requirements like clear water, electrical energy, training, and healthcare appear so commonplace. On the similar time, I noticed how a lot the identical all of us are. Youngsters play most of the similar video games in La Piedra as they do in Waunakee and meals are alternatives to share meals and tales (and to chortle!).

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

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

General, my expertise within the Dominican Republic was each eye-opening and galvanizing. It jogged my memory of the facility of group, 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 totally anticipated to be taught all in regards to the devastating results poverty. However what I wasn’t anticipating to be taught was their resolve to be, for essentially the most half, blissful; 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, will not be even of their vocabulary.