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In November, we visited three schools with toys, clothing, school supplies, candy, and other necessities.
The only time Americans show up at the school is when the doctors come to give them shots. This little girl wouldn't stop crying. She was sure we were going to give her a shot. We gave her a doll but she thought this was just prepping her for the inevitable shot!
The mothers at this school were very grateful for all the hand-me-down clothes.
The kids lined up and were very grateful for everything.
My boys really enjoyed sharing. We worked for months to collect all this stuff; that made giving it out even more special.
On the drive back, I told the taxi driver to STOP THE CAR! He pulled over right away. I grabbed a doll and gave it to this little girl. As you can tell, she was not sure what to think of all this.
We gave a baseball to her brother. When she figured it all out, she couldn't believe it! She was so happy!
We stopped along the way and gave out more dolls and toys to the children.
These kids have nothing. Most of them have never owned a toy car or a doll.
There's nothing quite like giving a little girl her first doll!
So fun!
We stopped at this Hatian village that was really poverty stricken.
They were very happy we stopped.
If you have never done something like this before, you have not lived. It's life changing.
My boy, Andan, earned and saved his money to buy this. He took great pleasure in giving it away to this girl at church.
The kids at church were all very grateful.
So cute!
We filled our suitcases with clothing and toys from home. Most of it was used stuff that we found kicking around our home. We walked a couple hundred yards from the resort and started handing stuff out. To the Dominican's, it was a treasure!
These kids have nothing. They have never owned a toy car or a doll.
Even a sucker was thrilling for them!
It was like Christmas morning!
The boys were SO excited to have their very own baseballs!
My brother gave away some old baseball cleats and some suit coats. They were cherished by these boys!
The kids were so excited! It was so fun! Each time we took a photo they would ask to see it. They don't have cameras or even mirrors. They acted as if they've never seen a photo of themselves before.
The feeling we had was indescribable. What a fantastic experience for my kids. This was a real eye opener for them.
While we were driving to some of the housing projects of the
Dominican Starfish Foundation, we would sometimes stop when we felt inspired to stop and give stuff out.
This little girl was so cute...and so happy to have her very own doll!
This boy loved his monkey stuffed animal!
The kids were so nice. Even though they didn't speak the same language, they somehow found a way to communicate and become friends!
When I saw this little girl on the porch, I stopped the car and told Carson to give her that HUGE stuffed dog. She clung to it and wouldn't let it go!
The
Dominican Starfish Foundation collected and brought in a container of 65,000 pairs of used shoes. We got to participate in one of the events where they distributed some of them.
It was quite an experience. My kids have never seen people so excited to get a pair of old shoes before. The experience made quite an impression on Andan.
Later, when we visited one of the homes that the Foundation had built, Andan noticed that one of the boys didn't have any shoes...so he took off his shoes and gave them to him. This caused quite a stir. The adults were so moved that a child would do this that they cried. The Dominican parents gathered everyone together and taught the children a lesson that day. They taught them that everybody can give something...even those who think they have nothing to give. It's the giving, not the receiving that matters most. And, you don't wait to be told to do it. When you see a need...you just do it. It was a very special experience.
