Luxuries to some are owning expensive brands to show off to their friends, but for some, the biggest luxury is having pure water in their homes. Throughout the summer, a group of PPCHS students traveled to the Dominican Republic to dedicate their time to help families receive clean, fresh water. Blue mission’s trip was only a week long, but their impact will aid the townspeople of Los Anones for years to come.
Blue mission’s club went to the Dominican Republic with one goal in mind, and described by senior president Maria Estrada, it “Was to build aqueducts and connect pipes to each individual house [in Los Anones].” Prior to the trip however, Estrada alongside Senior Vice President Annabelle Acevedo found different ways to fundraise enough money to cover the cost of supplies and coordinate many events to aid their mission.
“We raised money by doing traditional chipotle [and litchi] fundraisers,” Acevedo describes. Blue Mission also fundraised through other sites such as Gofundme and family donations. A member of the club, junior Giana Marte, was able to raise around $1,000 dollars with her family’s help by doing a raffle, which all the money was put towards their trip.
As the entire team prepared for the trip, a few of the members already had good intentions since they would be returning to the island a second time. For Estrada, “This [would] be my second year on the Blue Mission trip,” so she wanted to make this summer’s trip the same as last year: unforgettable. Trying to help a less-fortunate country is also a lot of work, which Acevedo knew, so “[She] expected to work hard every day, interact with the locals, learn more with fellow PPCHS students, and have fun!”
After taking a flight to the Dominican Republic and arriving at their designated destination, they quickly started to get to work. Their days consisted of waking up at 6 am, eating breakfast, and then hiking upward to the river in which they would build the water tank and start trenching with a shovel and pickaxe.
There were previous Blue Mission trips before this one took place, so all the work for this trip was geared toward phase three of this project. Volunteers dug cavities into the soil in which they would place pipes to glue together. Once they were glued, the pipes would be connected to the plumbing of the homes so they could have direct access to water.
The trip had a kid’s day, water day, and a women’s day in which they had the opportunity to celebrate the humble people of this land. Acevedo describes women’s day as “Especially empowering as we were able to learn the struggles each of these women faced every day. Specifically, hiking with buckets of water to the river.” This allowed the group to further appreciate the resources found back home and give a piece of hope and service to the people of Dominican Republic.
Kid’s day was also filled with joy and emotion as the children from the town came down to the church and school the volunteers were staying at so they could be gifted with the many supplies that Blue Mission worked hard to provide for them. School supplies and toys were distributed among the many children who with joyful tears and grateful hearts took in their hands. The volunteers were able to play games with the children and see them enjoy their new gifts which many hadn’t yet had the opportunity to experience.
After hours of hard work throughout the day, the Blue Mission team gathered at night to “Hang out and bond with the villagers there. They taught us how to dance, play dominoes, and even shared details of their life in Los Anones with us,” as described by Estrada. These moments were found to be one of the most memorable times between the group who in just one week were able to become a family enveloped in the traditions of the Dominican people.
President Estrada exclaims, “This is worth experiencing because you meet so many new people, and just learn to appreciate things that you may usually take for granted. The smiles on everyone’s faces when they got the water was truly something to appreciate!”
During the duration of these seven days, the Blue Mission team was able to drastically impact the town of Los Anones in the Dominican Republic. These 26 individuals completely disconnected from their everyday lives to focus on the unprivileged citizens of this town.
After a strong and dedicated school year of raising enough money to pay for the expenses of the trip and provide donations, the PPCHS Blue Missions was able to successfully complete their mission to provide safe, clean water for the people of Dominican Republic. Leaving with full and contented hearts knowing they were able to “truly live in the moment” as stated by Blue Missions’ motto!
