Tara's Visit

Our visit at the Dove Missions Rec Center in Puerto Plata this past December was absolutely the highlight of our vacation. We planned ahead of time to bring with us school supplies and clothing in order to help the center and the kids in some small way. What we didn't expect was the amount of joy and heartfelt moments that our short time spent at the center would bring us. Eye-opening moments.

As someone who lived full time in Puerto Plata for 5 years in the 90's, I thought I already knew what doing something like this would be like. I thought I had already experienced the emotion, excitement, pride, curiosity, and appreciation of Dominican children during my time living amongst them in their own environment. Spending time with these kids now gave me, my boyfriend Brooke, my brother Mike , and my niece Cassandra memories to last a lifetime.

It sounds cliche, but they truley gave us far more than we gave them.
If this is something that you are considering doing (even just a little bit), I encourage you to take the time and 100% visit the center. Cathy, Liz and all the kids will forever leave an imprint on your heart. These are good people doing good things for others. Plain and simple.

Tara Schlatman
Hanover, Ontario, Canada