Gift of Joy (Part 2)

We spent most of our days "hanging out" with the children of Los Robles & Don Bosco.  Don Bosco is right in the heart of the city of Barahona and mainly Dominicans live in this village.  Los Robles is out amongst the sugar plantations and mainly Haitian Dominicans reside in this village.  The living conditions can be called primitive.  Corrugated metal roof housing which may have mud floors and some cement floors, some have indoor plumbing but most don't, lots of garbage strewn throughout the villages.  In the midst of these conditions what has made it's indelible mark on my heart is the tremendous amount of joy which overflowed and was encountered not only with the children we spent time with but also with all the staff who worked for the Children of the Nations.

In both of the villages, we spent time reading English/Spanish books to the children.  Because of our project supplies were with the lost luggage and so the Ohio team graciously lent us the books they had brought along to donate to Los Robles.  As a parent, before this trip I took for granted the simple act of spending time reading books to my girls and saw it more as a chore. The look of joy and excitement on the children's faces as we read and interacted with them put a very different spin on that "chore".  Most of the children came either from single parent homes or were orphaned or were the head of the household taking care of their younger siblings while parent or parents were working.  So that the luxury of an adult's or anyone's undivided attention to a child is so welcomed and appreciated.

Most of the staff of COTN were Dominicans.  Some of them had benefited through COTN's child sponsorship program , which provides tuition for school and feeding program and medical expenses for the children.  Others were Dominicans who have chosen to work for COTN to reach the marginalized Haitians and yet others live and work in the villages like Don Bosco. I was very struck by their hospitality, joy, and specifically their sensitivity to us as a team with young children.  I appreciated how they were concerned with how our children were handling the humid and hot weather and making sure that our children were getting the "siesta" they needed.  But their dedication and desire to serve their own community and children was inspiring.