The document summarizes a service trip to the Dominican Republic by the group Dominican Service Projects from February 19-26, 2013. During the trip, the group built a community center, 3 homes, and distributed medical and personal supplies. They helped renovate infrastructure, taught at local schools, distributed food and supplies, visited orphanages and hospitals, and dedicated the projects before returning home. The document highlights the poverty, lack of access to resources, and living conditions faced by many in the Dominican Republic.

1. Dominican Service Projects 2013
www.dominicansiervceprojects.com

4. www.thesamaritanfoundationdr.com

5. www.thesamaritanfoundationdr.com

6. www.thesamaritanfoundationdr.com

7. Group of 2013
February 19 to February 26, 2013
Villa Emmanuel Community Center Project
www.dominicanserviceprojects.com

8. Dominican Service Projects
Building a Community Together
DSP is a group of compassionate and selfless individuals
who have come together to help support
The Samaritan Foundation in the
Dominican Republic.
DSP’s purpose is to raise donations of money and in-kind to support the
health, security and growth of the impoverished residence of this Nation.
DSP have been building homes and support infrastructure
in the Dominican for 8 years.
This year the group raised just over $57,000.00.
They built a community center, 3 homes and distributed 2,000 lbs
of medical and personal supplies.

9. On the Bus 5:15am Tues. Feb 19, 2013
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10. At the Airport
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11. www.dominicansiervceprojects.com

14. www.dominicansiervceprojects.com

15. Almost there, then rerouted to Miami due to
issues with our navigation system.
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16. Arrived 4 hours late but happy to be here!
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17. Oh Oh…tight squeeze!!
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18. Home Away from Home

19. Mamajuanna please!!

21. www.dominicansiervceprojects.com

22. First Day on the Work Site:
We renovated an old church into
a community center in
Villa Emmanuel.
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28. The locals
think we are
angles…
…here,
Larry really
does look like
an angle!

29. Who says working in 40 degree humid
heat cannot be fun!

31. www.dominicanserviceprojects.com

33. The Community Center
gets a good scraping and paint job!
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38. Family
Bonding

40. Crazy working
conditions!
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42. Life Long Friendships Made

43. www.dominicansiervceprojects.com

45. I
think
the
heat
is
getting
to
nana!

46. The kids
attend school
half days
only.
They must
have a
uniform and
shoes to
attend.

47. The Village of Emmanuel

51. Lunch Time!
Same thing every day:
dry ham sandwich,
banana,
pineapple
and a
sweet bun.

54. Villa Paraiso:
One of the 11 Samaritan Villages

55. Translation: God Bless our Children

56. Translation: Thank You God

57. John runs the Samaritan Foundation

58. He is Loved

59. The Samaritan Principle
Give a hand up…
…Not a hand out.

68. The 1,000th Home built by the
Samaritan Foundation

69. A Home Business

71. Infant deaths account for 10.9% to total reported deaths
30% die from communicable diseases
44.8% die from poor prenatal care

72. Intestinal disease
accounts for 15.9% of deaths
in children
ages 1 to 4

76. This is the Child that Larry Sponsors

80. The Trade School
woodworking, sewing & hair dressing

83. The crime rate in the DR
is very high…
… people do have
the necessities of life!

84. The Clinic Built by DSP

86. A Tour of the Clinic and a
heartbreaking education about the 35
people a day that they help

87. We donated $5,000.00
and 300 lbs of medical supplies
Pip Pip Hooray!!

88. Children and adults die
from common curable
diseases and
malnutrition.

90. HIV/AIDS has become the leading cause of death
among teenagers and adults between 15–49 years old

91. 12% of the population of the Dominican have
NO access to clean drinking water.

94. Rush Hour Traffic!

95. Time to grab some snacks and beers
and enjoy the end of a great first day!

105. Supper Time!

106. Night Life!

109. Day 2
Villa Paraiso
teaching at the school
then back to work

110. The Dominican Republic has the lowest investment in
education in Latin America and the Caribbean
with only 1.9% of its GDP invested in public education

112. At school the children get a hot meal
It is often their only meal that day

113. 13% of the total population of the DR
are illiterate.

114. The Samaritan Foundation quickly
learned that over 40%
of the people they were
assisting could NOT
write their names.

115. Sponsored Children
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120. One more walk around the village

121. The home of Larry’s sponsored child
His father was very grateful to see us

125. Back to Work!

128. The Public School
Part of it donated and built by DSP

129. Back to the Resort!

135. Day 3:
Construction
Then to the public hospital in
Puerto Rico
to hand out gifts to the Ill
and present the hospital
with a $1,000.00 cheque

136. Brandon’s egg says it all!

139. The Divide Between Rich
and Poor is Very Wide

140. Apartments
For Rent

142. Stopped for a picnic
on the way to the hospital

151. Buying cough medicine for our bus
drivers mother who is very ill

152. Presenting the Cheque
Shauna even did it in Spanish,
well…kind of

153. Beach Time!

155. The End of Another Perfect Day…

156. …For Most!

158. Day 5
Food Distribution at Pancho Mateo

163. Mob mentality occurs
We are the only group to hand out food in this village.
They are afraid we will run out and they will not get any.
There is a lot of pushing and shoving!
We have 4 men guarding the door,
letting 4 people in at a time.

167. 250 bags filled
One for each household

171. Gal Wanted to Try on
Shauna’s Glasses

172. Around the Village

178. We did not see
any dogs on
leashes….
…Hmmmmmm?

180. A lady called me over to see…
…The room smelled of urine and decay 

182. Bra Swapping in Town Square

183. Off to the Orphanage
The 20 children here are severely disabled
and cannot speak.
Most are abandoned at birth and left at the hospital
as the parents cannot afford to care for them.

184. Land purchased last year by DSP
so they can expand

185. We helped feed the orphans to give the staff a break.
This facility is 100% privately funded…
…no gov’t support

192. Presented a cheque for $1,000.00

193. Day 5
Off to church at Samaritan Village: Villa Esperanza.

198. Church Lasts 4 Hours

201. Married women wear white
on their heads.
Men and women sit on
opposite sides of the church.

203. Keeper of the door!

204. After church we got some well
deserved beach time!

205. Manicure and Pedicure
on the beach, only
$22.00 for both!

206. Last work day
Back to Pancho Mateo
for Juice Ministry
Then back to the construction site.

207. The group gave money to our bus
driver a couple years ago to fix his bus.
Sickest ride in town now!

208. We are all so tired

209. This lady runs the juice ministry.
Please ask me about her heart breaking story.
We donated $5,000.00 to her ministry

210. We handed out gift bags with
soap, toothbrushes and paste,
toys, clothing and juice to all
children and expecting moms.

211. More Crowds

214. A very moving
experience!

217. Like Christmas but even better to
these children!!

218. This baby was
jaundice and
semi-conscious

225. Around Town

226. New Face Book friend

228. Last Day
Time to go home
but first the dedications of the
community center and 3 homes!

230. 3 Deserving Families

232. Blessing the homes

233. Hope for a better future for a single
mom and her 3 girls.

234. We all felt pride and shed a few tears,
for a job well done!!

235. We leave a piece of our hearts behind and look
forward to next year!

236. Thank you for your time and your donations!
If you are interested in donating or participating in
future trips, please speak with your presenter,
Or refer to our website:
www.dominicanserviceprojects.com