Dominican Republic Love

FRIENDS!

I’m hoping this email finds you very well! I’m sure you’re just as surprised as I am on how quickly this year has already flown by. Can’t believe we’re already almost at the half way mark! It always feels like there’s so much to do but never enough time. :)

I wanted to share about a trip I’ll be taking to the Dominican Republic about 2 months from now as a volunteer with my church (Crystal Church). It’s a week-long volunteer trip at the end of July that I’ll be taking with about 13 other team members.

The trip we’re taking will be very interactive in nature where we’ll be visiting the inhabitants of Batays, teaming up with local medical doctors and nurses to provide basic medical aid for the undertreated and underserved peoples. Batays are shanty settlements serving as housing for workers that labor tirelessly on sugarcane plantations, living and dying on the meager earnings made (less than a penny an hour). For those that have seen or visited batays, they often compare the conditions to slavery. While these people may not be slaves, their earnings are so low that they can’t afford to eat, don’t get any medical treatment, live in filthy conditions, receive no education and are silently bound to these workplaces without any options to pursue freedom. It’s heartbreaking to think about how these people, in the 21st century are living the same, binding lives that slaves endured in the US over 200 years ago. Most of the field workers are of Haitian decent; having immigrated to a neighbor country in hopes of finding a better life. Because of this, they don’t have legal status in the Dominican Republic and are not acknowledged by the government, receiving no aid or support. Being at the mercy of the wealthy landowners has not helped them in anyway. They really do need and appreciate the love & support they receive from outside sources. I’ve had the privileage of visiting children of these Batays once before and they are awesome people, filled with a lot of love. I mentioned providing medical aid (a necessity!) but the greater joy we all experience while playing with the kids, doing arts & crafts, and singing songs is something that only God can create and imprint our hearts with.

We need your support in making this trip work! Each team member has been tasked to raise $600 to account for items such as transportation, housing, food, supplies and other funding that will go directly to the people on the batays. We’ve also set up longer term committments to building schools and churches within these Batays so all your contributions will help build a long lasting, far reaching future for our friends here. I will be funding my portion fully so all the contributions you guys make will be an incremental blessing, going directly to my team and to the supplies and goods we need to make this visit effective and more impactful than any of us can even imagine!

Please visit http://crystalchurch.org/missions to make your donation and remember to specify me (sangheehan) as the teammember. If you prefer to send me a check, please email me at sangheehan@gmail.com directly and I’ll send you my contact info.

With much love & thanks,
sanghee han