The DR

The first time I went to the Dominican Republic was in summer of 2006 a couple of weeks before starting undergrad with a group from Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church to work with Kids Alive International, a ministry that rescues at-risk kids in Jarabacoa. Its not your typical orphanage - the kids are orphans or at-risk kids who are taken in to be raised by foster parents who raise up to ten children along with their own. I got to paint the houses that the children are raised in, play soccer, vaccinate the kids (MMR, TB, polio - yep I gave lots of shots) and hold a flash light to see my first dental extraction.

Forgot about the shirt I'm wearing - iron on campaign shirt "Vote 4 Me, Eunice Lee 4 Soph VP" (I won FYI)

I went again during my year off - between college and Dental School in the spring of 2011. This time with Here For Kids International to work with Kids Alive again in Jarabacoa with a focus on running sports camps with college athletes. I got to see the same kids 5 years later - many all grown up! This time I got to mix cement to reinforce a wall for the school, run PE activities, cheer on the school's soccer team at semi-finals, and apply topical fluoride on all the students in the school's new one chair dental clinic.

A couple of weeks ago, serendipitously I got an email then a phone call about a potential trip this August to set up a dental clinic in Constanza, another city where Kids Alive has a school and homes. I am pretty giddy with anticipation.

That spring I was taking B&W photography and took pictures of the adorable kids. They won't be the same in Constanza but they are what make the trip.