Not everyone has the opportunity to study abroad, and not all study abroad programs present the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a certain field.
Recently, I was blessed enough to share this experience with a handful of the most dedicated, altruistic and genuinely beautiful souls I have ever met. Our mission was to provide medical treatment and resources to the people of the Dominican Republic; these individuals have dangerously limited access to healthcare and resources. Personal care items such as floss and toothpaste were scarce, whereas those items are only a 10 minute drive from most American households. Clean water was delivered to some areas rather than flowing from a faucet just feet away. We find these things to be so easily accessible that we oftentimes forget there are other human beings struggling to possess them.
We treated over 700 patients; provided them with multivitamins, scabies medication, antiparasitics and antibiotics. That all sounded fine and dandy until you remember they don’t have clean drinking water with which to take their medication, you could only give them enough to last two weeks, and after that, some return to the same condition in which we met them. And you have to face the harsh reality that the medication won’t return their amputated limbs or bring back the parents that abandoned them or died.
But, it was never enough – the clothes, the toys, the medication, the love. We could’ve brought enough to supply the entire country, and it wouldn’t have been enough. They deserve the world. They deserve it, not because of what they lack, but because of what they possess – unconditional love, undying gratitude, stubborn patience, selflessness and boundless generosity. We made more than friendships in the Dominican Republic. We made brothers, cousins, fathers, sisters, mothers, second cousins and third cousins. Each day, I was ready to die for another nephew, and each night, I knew there was another aunt willing to do the same for me.
We learned a great amount about the medical profession as well; the best way to diagnose anemia, high blood pressure, and bacterial and fungal infections. We practiced dental assessments and cleaning.
We learned more, however, about ourselves and one another along the way. We learned that Shruti has this ability to smile with every word she speaks, that Clayton is more than just the comic relief, that each of Michelle’s tears carries the burden of every patient down her cheek, that Claudette is a true creator of her own world, that Samantha’s beauty is overshadowed only by her willingness to experience all life has to offer, that Adriana’s words flow into your heart rather than your ears, that Jairet is a friend to few and a sister to many, that Fariah’s ambition is even bigger than her laugh, that Sarah’s mind is more focused on you than it is her, that underneath Rachele’s shell is a soul too beautiful for the average human, that Zee is simply too good for us, that Vimal does not lack vision nor insight, that Maria’s spirit is free and sole and vibrant, that Madhuri is the manifestation of class and elegance and that Ada’s sense of humor complements quirky personality. These people are only a small fraction of my new family.
It was more than a trip to the Dominican Republic, it was a trip home.
photo by author