2025 Virginia 4-H Dominican Republic Program (Second Group: July 28-August 5, 2025)

Today we had lots of stops planned for our schedule. A trip to the traditional basilica, Our Lady of Altagracia, souvenir shopping, another traditional Dominican meal which was cooked over an open fire, and even dancing the Merengue and Bachata. The market hit me first. We didn’t even buy anything, but just being in the middle of it felt like a whole new world. The colors, the smells, the sound of people talking,

It was so vibrant and alive in a way you can’t express in a photo. It was easy to be caught away in judgement; however, it was about stepping into someone else’s everyday life, and it made me realize how much I take for granted in mine.

Lunch, once again, completely shifted my perspective. We were invited into someone’s home, and from the moment we walked onto the property, it felt warm and genuine. The food was homemade and so good, but what really stuck with me was how open and welcoming everyone was. From pulling out all of the chairs they

owned to taking us on a tour of their countryside ranch, I feel I got welcomed from the second I stepped off the bus.

Then came the dancing. I was nervous. But after a few steps and a lots of laughs, something clicked. No one cared if you messed up. It wasn’t about being good, it was about trying, together. And that made it one of the best parts of the day!

Leah Johnson, Roanoke Co.

Today, we visited two Dominican Schools to deliver our donated supplies. At the school, we got to see all the different classrooms and other learning environments. I really loved seeing how passionate the community was about their education and the education of their youth. The administrator at one school invited us to meet his family and experience a piece of his everyday home life. His family was very lovely and it was very interesting seeing how common it is to be so hospitable, especially to strangers.

We also visited Domingo Maíz, which is a small neighbohood in Veron, in the Dominican Republic. I was so happy to get to see some of my campers and meet some of their close family and friends. A kind lady named Jaqueline kindly let us into her home where she made us an authentic Dominican meal. I really appreciated how happy she was to host our group. I loved getting to see such a close-

knit community where neighbors constantly support and love each other.

Overall, today was definitely an amazing experience. The amount of love and care that circulated in these places will always stick with me, and I hope I can bring some of that love back home with me.

Cole Morgan, Wise Co.

Wow!!! Today’s was definitely a day to put in the books and one of my favorites for sure! We all had the experience to go to Domingo Maiz and do a service project there, eat a meal with a local member of the village, and spend some quality time with campers and kids we met through our day-camp. I enjoyed seeing the mural of the 4-H clover and motto on the wall and showed how much of an impact and how much they truly care about us.

The service project was another fun thing we got to do where we picked up trash and many younger kids joined along and helped us along the process, which really showed how much pride they have and how they wanna help out their community. We got to see many of our campers which we didn’t know if we would or wouldn’t see, but thankfully got to give all of them an “adios” and a goodbye hug. I had a great time in Domingo Maiz, and thought it was a great opportunity to see how people really live their lives, and be super grateful for what we have, where we live, and all of the things we have in America, and most of the usual things we do are so delighting for the Dominicans and so many others, because they don’t always have those kinds of resources.

Another wonderful opportunity we got to experience was visiting two different schools: Caricoli and Juanillo, both of these schools were very well developed and had so much history behind it, which was fascinating. I enjoyed learning how the Juanillo principal truly cared for each and every one of his students and tried to find a high school education for each kid. A very unique thing we got to do was visit the principals house, see his family members, try fresh fruit grown on the trees, and visit the EK hotel nearby. All of the experiences that all of us engaged in were truly life changing and have made a huge impact on my life. I have really learned to cherish everything and have gratitude because not everyone has those resources. I will truly miss the DR, but hopefully will be back and trying to help more people out like this, because it was an experience worth remembering.