Disclaimer
Let me admit upfront that I'm a blog junkie all of the sudden. Did my first one yesterday and I might not sleep tonight. Irrespective of this recent affliction (the latest in a long line of obsessions Jennifer has to tolerate), I've been meaning to write all my Dominican peeps about the idea of going to DR in the Spring and building a house for a poor family.
After reading this - let me know if you have other folks that might be interested in this discussion. And of course you may abstain.
Background
My sister Sile did a Habitat trip about 3 years ago (right, Sile?) and met some folks who then defected and started their own non-profit. I was lucky enough to participate (albeit for a day and half) in a home-building trip last year with that new organization - named Cambiando Vidas. Check them out:
https://www.cambiandovidas.info/
So now what do you have..what did I see? Bunch of non-Dominicans building houses for Dominicans. I'll take that deal all day if it's helping our people, but I've wanted to put a group of DOMINICANS together ever since. Consider the historical significance of such a trip, as well as the acquaintances and bonds we will undoubtedly make - not only with the people we'll help, but amongst ourselves as well.
Call it Eco-Tourism or just old-fashioned giving back, but I think we need to make this happen. I've enlisted my entire network of Dominicans in the US and invited them to this blog. What I'd like to accomplish is to commit to having a group of 15-20 Dominicans (and their significant others - let's not pull a Balaguer on their asses!) that Cambiando Vidas can count on next year.
Process
Yeah, there's a process if I'm involved. This is how we can get this done:
Step 1: By mid October, identify the 15-20 people.
Step 2: By Nov 1 - identify the actual times and make sure they work for all (there will be a survey)
Step 3: By mid November, purchase the tickets and lock in the flights
Step 4 (Optional): Throw a fundraiser over the holidays/New Year's to establish a fund (use TBD). Think sustainability here...
So - that's my spiel. Please comment, push back, or make a counter offer. I really think we can do something significant if we can put our heads together and execute.
Paz~
