Feliz Navidad in August for Batey Sabana Larga and Southwest Washington High School Students

Our group of 27 total, 6 chaperones and 21 students traveled to Batey Sabana Larga in East Central Dominican Republic. The group aimed to build our part of the large court with the small community. Their goal is to build a larger court that they will finish after we leave. Together we accomplished building a junior sized court.

In Sabana Larga the community is very small and connected. They take pride in their relationships with each other. A huge part of daily life is going to any of the 3 evangelical churches to practice their religion. The younger kids and teenagers are often found in the streets playing games including vitilla, a baseball type game involving bottle caps. A lot of the boys spend their afternoon paying baseball in the field down from the main road.

The group was made up of mostly students from Seton Catholic High School in Vancouver, WA. There were also two students from Columbia River High School and one from Skyview High School, also located in Vancouver, WA. We split up into boys and girls for the sleeping arrangements. The groups spent the nights in various buildings throughout the community. Everybody slept on an air mattress that was covered by a mosquito net. While it did save us from the mosquitos, around the buildings there were many foes including a massive cockroach, various spiders, a brown grasshopper, and even a very curious dog. The food was simple due to the low availability of resources. However, the food was still delicious. The main ingredients in meals were beans, rice, chicken, and plantains.

Day one of construction consisted of clearing large piles of rocks and clay to level the site. The next day we poured cement into a mold to form a pillar for the basketball hoops. We also continued leveling the site during the day. The following days were spent passing buckets of grave, sand, and water in an assembly line. Which was then poured into the mixer to lay cement. Throughout the construction we used many tools including shovels, buckets, cement mixer, a compacter, and various tools. Most of the mixing and compacting was done by the locals. Everyone was split up into three groups that rotated from thirty minutes of work to fifteen minutes of break. Our timekeeper yelled “ROTATE!” every time and eventually even the locals caught onto the phrase. They also learned other phrases including, ‘break’, ‘rock’, ‘sand’, and ‘water’. The breaks were spent hydrating, resting, and often entertaining the young locals curious about the new faces in their community.

Outside of construction, the community was very welcoming. We spent a lot of time making new friends with locals. Many little kids entertained us with new games and activities, favorites being group games and baseball. Even during large thunderstorms, we would run to the field to play games and slide in the mud. We had many unique experiences that the locals invited us to. Some included going to church services, and having dance parties each night at a local store. Many locals, especially teenagers our age were very interested in learning more English, while we took to learning more Spanish. Despite language barriers, the communication was received very well because of translators and improved comprehension. We even found songs to sing together, such as ‘Feliz Navidad’ which often got weird looks from locals because there would be a large group singing Merry Christmas in August.

We saw many new sights including tropical thunderstorms that contained heavy rainfall, bright lightening, and loud thunder, which constantly disrupted electricity in the community. Regardless of the situation, those in the community found ways to embrace and appreciate the circumstances we were in. We went on a tour of the countryside with locals where we saw many native fruits, vegetables, and animals, including a peacock. We also ventured to Salto De Socoa National Monument where we hiked through mud and mosquitos to swim in a river with the locals. Throughout our trip we not only formed bonds with everyone in the community but tightened the bonds with those we already knew and even those who we didn’t.

-Kingsley Williams and Josephine Diaz, HS Students

Community Quotes

 This group was very important to me and my community, during the eight days we had so much fun. For me, everything was a blessing from God, or rather, you are a blessing from God, because what I experienced was something unforgettable, something that really has no explanation, thank you very much for that great love and affection that all of you gave us, the truth is that we feel very sad to see that you are no longer here, we also feel very happy that you came here to help us build our much desired and needed court, that was something never seen before, those eight days were like eight years for us, our youth had never been seen in such a way united and as loved as it was with you, we learned many things from you, you will always be marked in our hearts, we miss you very much, and to conclude I want you to know that we love you very much. Thank You!  -Yeifri, Community Member

  I felt very good with the group and what I liked the most about the group is that they were very kind to me and they are very disciplined, for any thing they always said thank you very much. I ask God that every day of their lives  that he continues to bless them in a special way, thank you. -Pastor Dilia Sentilis

  For me it was quite a great experience, full of energy and great joy to have those students who came to help us build a court for the children and youth of the community, during the week that they were here in my community it was very useful, in which the integration with the children and youth of the community was enormous, the emotions and camaraderie were of the utmost importance.. -Anderson Jean, Community Leader

I had a great time working with Courts for Kids and the locals in Sabana Larga! It was incredible to see how well the group of Americans and local Dominicans collaborated, despite the differences in language and culture. Through the heat and the rain the work was challenging, but I thoroughly enjoyed teaching the Americans little Spanish phrases they used to connect with locals such as "que lo que." The evening pick-up baseball games were a blast as well. I would absolutely work with Courts for Kids again in the future if the opportunity arises. -Jake, Peace Corps Volunteer

U.S. Volunteer Quotes

One night I spent about an hour playing chase with a bunch of Little girls and they were so happy to just have someone to play with and be with . So overall hanging out with all the little girls was definitely my favorite part and I will never forget it. -Remy Jenniges, Student

I learned from the community the importance of family and close relationships. In this community, they are very family - oriented and everyone has a relationship with one another. -Tyler Tran, Student

My favorite and most memorable moment of this trip so far has been finishing the court. It was amazing to see how excited everyone was, and some even ended up sneaking onto the court early. However , I also loved hanging out with the local kids , playing games sports and especially communicating as best we could with them and getting to know each other better , in my opinion the best part of the trip was not only impacting the locals but the impact they had on us as well.  -CJ Moore, Student

Upon first arriving I was a bit nervous about the sleeping quarters , bathrooms , and especially the food , but over time I realized that if the locals spend every day in these conditions I can certainly for a week. - Avalea Tafoya, Student

My favorite memories from the trip were just bonding with the locals and making great memories with them. I also really liked building a court with the locals. I also made a good connection with Carlos, the guy who owned the store and we bought candy every time we were there. -Owen Pitzer, Student

 On this trip, I learned a lot about myself that I don’t think I ever would’ve realized if I didn’t come on this trip. -Lauren McCaleb, Student

 My favorite memories from the trip are playing Mickey Mouse with the locals at night. It was a hand game where a person got out of a catch round. But seeing how it brought people of all ages together was really great. Also playing baseball with the locals was a great memory. -Kingsley Williams, Student

 I learned again that joy and laughter doesn’t have anything to do with money. This community has such a strong faith and love for one another. They find the greatest gift in the smallest things. -Aaron Angelo, Chaperone.

My favorite memories from this trip was anytime we were with the locals. On the first day here I ran over to the field and played baseball with the kids for a few hours. On our third day of work, we were stopped short by a big rainstorm, but instead of going inside we all ran back over to the field and slid across the wet grass. 

I learned a lot of new Spanish from the community. I took Spanish classes at school, but I learned more here than I did in the classroom. 

-Jack Jenniges, Student

I learned that around them, things like what brand their clothes are not What’s important , the important part is that the clothes they have on will be functional for what they are doing . It is cool to see a culture that values more than just things that are measurable.- Max Ackerman, Student

My high point for the trip was seeing how excited the community was when we arrived they immediately made us feel welcome and comfortable , their enthusiasm continued the entire trip , motivating me to work hard every day - Eric McCaleb, Chaperone

My favorite memory would be the second night where we all started to get comfortable with each other, boys and girls, big and we were all playing a game similar to “down by the banks” in America. Even though they’ve was a language barrier, everyone still understood each other. -Hailey Hammerstrom, Student

My favorite memories from the trip were watching the entire community come together from the littles to the elders to all of the Courts for Kids and completing such an enormous project that seemed like it could never possibly get finished and then it did. 

Learning how to do all the chores here that I do back home and how easily I can connect knowing we both are taking care of our families and all the things you can do with such limited resources! How willing they were to teach me and made me feel like a part of their family! -Rachel Williams, Chaperone