Dominican Republic

Welcome
We enjoy meeting each new MMI team and appreciate the opportunity to work alongside you in the clinics. Our staff is ready to help in any way they can. Our patients have prayed that someone would come and help them with their illness, and you are the answer to their prayer.

Teofilo Beato, MD, directs MMI DR Projects. Teo and his wife, Frida Luna, MD, are both general practice physicians. They have two sons, Miguel Andrés and Rafael Eduardo who were born in 1988 and 1990. Dan Copeland also directs projects in the DR & Haiti.

Geography
The Dominican Republic is located in the Caribbean east of Haiti. It is slightly larger than twice the size of New Hampshire. Its terrain consists of rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed. It also has some semi-arid areas in the south and west.

History
Discovered in 1492 and received its Independence from Haiti in 1844.

Weather
Tropical maritime with little seasonal temperature and rainfall variations.

Goverment
Representative democracy with its capital city being Santo Domingo.

Economy
Currency: Dominican peso
Industries: tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco.
Agriculture: sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs.

Project Sites
Accomodations: Teams that fly into Santo Domingo spend the first night in Los Alcarrizos at Campamento Buenas Nuevas (a.k.a.‘Chicken Hilton’). It is about an hour drive from the airport. The Chicken Hilton has dorm rooms and bunk beds with mosquito nets. There are some double beds for couples, but pack separately just in case.
We travel by bus to the project site. Accommodations are in rustic dormitories with bunk beds and cool showers. You may bring a solar shower bag if you like a hot shower at the end of a busy clinic day.
The second workweek ends Thursday and the team heads back to Chicken Hilton and a four-star restaurant meal at Vesuvio’s in downtown Santo Domingo. (Starting cost: about US $20-25.)
Electricity is 110, same as USA. Mosquito nets and blankets are furnished. Some like to bring a sleeping bag.

Barahona: Near the Southwest Coast, desert area. Our camp has ample dormitories, bathroom facilities, and a large grassy area for R&R. We will go to a hotel on a quiet beach for the weekend for a cost of US$10 per person (includes buffet lunch).

Dajabón: Extreme NW, on the Haitian border. Large rustic camp with pine trees and an open air dining room. Bring a jacket and winter pajamas. Expect cold showers and an opportunity to bathe in the creek if you like. We work with the Evangelical Missionary Church and clinics are in schools. We go to the beach on the middle weekend.

Gaspar Hernandez: North Coast. We stay in dorms at a Brethren Church facility in the small town of Joba Arriba. We visit the beach on the middle weekend.

Las Matas de Farfán: In the desert area toward the Haitian border. We stay in a Catholic retreat center with small rooms and bunk beds. A double-folded top sheet is enough cover. Clinics are held in Mennonite churches or schools, and the pastors preach and distribute Christian literature. We go to the beach at the end of the project.

Higuey: In the eastern part of the DR, Higuey is located in the sugarcane producing area of the country. Many of our patients will be impoverished Haitian immigrants.

Nagua: One of the larger towns on the North Coast. We stay in dormitories at a Catholic Retreat center and will go to one of the Samaná beaches on the middle weekend.

Sabana de la Mar (El Valle): On the beautiful Samaná Bay. We stay in the hospital dormitories. The middle weekend we will go to swim.

Sabana Grande de Boya: Accommodations are rustic dorms in an evangelical school. We work with the Christian Reformed Church. It frequently rains. You'll need rain boots and a change of shoes. We go to the beach on the middle weekend.

San José de las Matas: Beautiful setting with dormitories. Elevation is about 1500 feet. A sweater is good for cool mornings and evenings. Long pants help keep "no-see-ums" from biting your legs. We work with the Missionary Church, and clinics are held in schools. We go to the river on the middle weekend and the beach at the end of the project.

Jarabacoa:  Located in the mountains in the center of the island, Jarabacoa is cool with lush vegetation.  Although the town has a decent tourist industry, the outlying communities where we work are just as needy as on our other projects in this country.

People

Population: around 8.4 million.
Ethnic groups: white 16%, black 11%, and mixed 73%.
Literacy: 82.1%

Religion

95% Roman Catholic

Language

Spanish