The faculty of MSM has spent almost three months preparing for this, our first outreach trip to the Batey Lecheria. We have spent many hours discussing various aspects of our stay, and we have all talked openly about both our excitement, and our apprehensions. Having grown up in the Dominican Republic, and having spent many years volunteering at SHCJ, Ms Alejo (Lilian) has done her best to prepare us for our visit, but we are all keenly aware that words and photos can only give us a glimpse into what lies ahead. We have all done previous charitable outreach work in many different types of communities, yet it is still almost impossible to imagine experiencing the abject poverty of the Batey. We know that most of the children we are about to meet will not have had any meal this week, other than the cereal, bread and milk that the Society of the Holy Child is able to provide. We know that for most of the children, the only clothing they own is their one little school uniform. We also know that for many of the teachers at SHCJ, an entire month's salary is what we spend on a Venti cappuccino at Starbucks. We know all of these things, but we haven’t yet felt all of these things. The next 5 days will be a life altering journey; there is no other way to characterize it. We welcome it, knowing that we will all be different people at the end.
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