One of our awesome volunteers, Jordan, recently took supplies with him to Dominican Republic! Way to go Jordan, thanks for being so much more than just a tourist! <3
“Jordan here (Angela Qin’s husband). On July 6 I dropped off a duffel bag of medical supplies to a rural clinic in the Punta Cana area in the Dominican Republic. Here’s something of a quick story.
I was down there (solo) for a wedding and Angela had pointed out “why don’t you take some supplies down?!” So I picked up a duffel at the church a few days before I flew out. Unfortunately Air Canada declined my request for a suitcase allowance for humanitarian aid so I put the duffel in my checked suitcase. I didn’t find a clinic before I left but ended up finding one once I was down there by chance of some lucky Google searches. Inquiries with the hotel staff were fruitless as they kept suggesting I take the supplies to the largest hospital in the area (that serves a lot of tourists) or other private clinics. No thanks. I had found a tour company (Outback Adventures) that works with the Packs for a Purpose organization that helps collect and distribute donations (medical, school etc.) across various destinations. The tour company had offered to pick up the supplies at the resort and drop them off for me and to send photo records of the drop off for my comfort but I elected to go with them instead. It took us about 40 mins to drive to the clinic from the resort. It was quite a different lifestyle once you left the golden gates of the resort and drove through the local roads and also a unique experience to walk up to the small clinic on a dirt driveway with just a few rooms and not much else. The tour company staff was helpful in explaining the purpose of the supplies and the doctor understood enough English to recognize the labels of the supplies. Overall it was a great experience and addition to my trip to not only help those in need but to force me out of the norm and to get a small glimpse of what life is like for many of those who are not as fortunate.”
