Relationships

This is an essay I wrote for the Esperanza International website, and hopefully it will be posted soon!

“In the Dominican Republic, relationships are key to a fulfilled, successful life. People strive to create bonds and enrich lives. I have been amazed at how caring the people are in the country, and they accepted me with open arms. My home stay mother, my coworkers in the office, and the people that live on my street have made me feel loved.

“Relationships affect every aspect of life here, and Esperanza has used this to their advantage. Each bank has solidarity groups of five associates, and the bonds that these women have contribute to the success of Esperanza and the alleviation of poverty in the Dominican Republic. The peer pressure and solidarity of these groups both play a role in the repayment of the loans. Associates do not want to damage relationships with the other members, so they pay back. In addition, the solidarity of the associates helps in times of distress and need. The associates, mostly women, come to value each other in more ways with the presence of Esperanza.

“At the bank meetings that I had the opportunity to attend, all of the associates were so kind. They were excited that I was there. The kissed me on the cheek and introduced themselves. They wanted to get to know me and tell me about themselves. They were so optimistic about their lives and the work of Esperanza. They accept people from different backgrounds because they value the soul and personality.

“Back home in the United States, when people arrive to the office in the morning, they get their coffee and glue themselves to the computer. It is all about productivity and efficiency. In the Dominican Republic, one will be much more successful if he or she greets every coworker and asks about their family. I began doing this in the office the first day, and it paid off. People in the office asked me how I was in the mornings and gave me a kiss on the cheek. The loan officers were patient with me when I tried to speak Spanish, they helped me talk with associates, and they invited me to meetings. All because I made an effort and took an interest in their lives. I could not have asked to work in a better place than San Pedro de Macorís. Lastly, on my last day in the office, everybody threw me a going away party. I felt so special, and they said that I really made an impact on them. They asked me what I have learned while here, and I replied friendship and human relationships.

“I made some great friends with other young adults that live down the street. Though not always, I have been used to judgmental people at home. The friends I have made here were a nice change. They were so welcoming and I loved spending time with them. Many people spend their time sitting on the neighborhood sidewalks just talking with friends, and I loved spending my weekend afternoons getting to know the people. All of my friends were so eager to show me their lives and their country. They gave me taste of being a local, and I made my friendship with them a lot stronger.

“Here, people strive to surround themselves with good, kind people. They value tender, human relationships rather than money and efficiency. I cannot imagine a better experience, and I cannot wait to return to the Dominican Republic.”

Hope you like it!

Sincerely,

Chappell

Positive Things

I have talked a lot about the hardships that plague the Dominican Republic, so I should really point out all of the positive things about this place and my time here.

It is wonderful to see successful bank meetings when women are energetic and optimistic. When they have all of the repayment and they are praising the Lord. They love to ask me about myself. Seeing the fruition of microfinance in a positive manner is fantastic. To listen to these women talk about their dreams for the future; many want to be able to send their children to college.

The friends that I have made here have been wonderful. The people my age down the street have accepted me with open arms, and they have been really good friends. The great people that I work with have also been so sweet, and they have really helped me get the most out of my internship.

I am living on an island in the Caribbean. Beautiful.

AIDS patients have access to loans. Esperanza is the only bank that will give them loans. They need to support their families too. To see their success has been great. I am writing a story about one woman, Isabel, and I will post that later with pictures that mark her success.

Personally, finding the strength from within to live in a developing country for five weeks has helped me grow a lot.

Seeing children playing anywhere. Whether in the slums, mud, sugarcane fields, street, or park. They are always so happy and full of energy.

The few people that speak English around here.

My parents has been so supportive emotionally (and financially) while I have been traveling all around the world over the past year. They have been there when I have been homesick, upset, lonely, energized, and happy. They have graciously paid my phone bill so I am still able to talk to them while abroad!! hehe

Seeing so many people affected in the best way by Christianity and the Lord. These people are so invested and they put forth so much energy in praise.

I am thankful for all of these things from the bottom of my heart!

LOVE, Chappell

Home

Over the past year, I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel all around the world. I have been to Ecuador, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Dominican Republic. In every one of these developing nations, I have been exposed to poverty that some people will never see in a lifetime. But, I feel as if I have become overly sensitized. I am not sure if that is the correct use of the word, but what I am trying to say, I am not as shocked as I once was when I see horrendous poverty anymore. Don´t get me wrong, I am still appalled and still bothered, but that gut-wrenching feeling isn´t there anymore. I enjoy helping people and it is my passion. For me, the problem with helping people away from home is that I always know I will go back to my comfortable lifestyle. Once at home, it can be easy to forget all of the stuggling people that I have seen during my travels. I hate to say that dirt floors, naked babies running around, trash-filled streets, and shanty houses have become something I am used to. I still stive to help these people, but I don´t have the same feeling that I remember feeling when I rode through the projects in Birmingham, Alabama as a little girl.

We would always cut through the projects in downtown Birmingham near St. Vincent´s Hostpital growing up, and I just remember seeing little kids my age walking around on the street. I was a privlidged little girl riding around in the back of my mom´s Volvo station wagon, wearing new clothes, and going to a private school. During a shortcut through the projects one time, I asked my Mom “Who lives here, Mommy?”, she replied, “Bill Clinton pays for these homes”, and I responded “I want to live here when I grow up then..it is free!”. To me, there was no difference between my life and theirs. During every one of my experiences this year, I have always felt the desire to go back to Birmingham and help people there. Even now when I drive around at home and see people waiting at the bus stop on the side of Highway 280, I feel guilty in some ways. Why have I been given so many things and so many opportunities while people in my own backyard are struggling? That gut-wrenching feeling has stayed with me in Birmingham, because I cannot leave. I cannot escape back to the United States, because I am already home.

Therefore, this internship in the Dominican Republic has assured me to the core that I am meant to help people in my own backyard. And, if our city, our state, and our country are stronger, then we can help those stuggling in other places all across the world. Do not get me wrong, I have learned so much during these travels and my internship has been trying and great experience. I am so happy that I have had the opportunity to travel, and I would want to have spent my summer any other way.

Love,

Chappell

P.S. Despite how it may sound, I am still in the Dominican Republic until August 11th!

Saludos!

Hi everyone!
Everything is going well! It is very, very hot here just like the states.
This past weekend I didn’t travel, because I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone in my neighborhood. Last Saturday night, I went to this religious neighborhood gathering where there was dancing, food, and a lot of people. It was really great to bond with my friends there and see what a local party was like. It lasted until 2am!

On Sunday we celebrated the birthday of my 8 year old homestay cousin, Nestor. He may be the cutest thing ever. So lots of kids from the neighborhood came. As a present, I gave him this really cool gadget that my sister, Julia, had given me a Christmas present a few years ago. I enjoyed being able to pass it on to someone.

Earlier this week, I was at a meeting, and I bonded with the cutest little girl. I am not sure what her name was, but we just played and played while her mom was attending the meeting. We played peek-a-boo, next she would mimic my actions, and then she played with my hair. She was so sweet and we laughed and laughed. I really enjoyed it. I wish I had taken a picture, but I accidently left my camera at home.

I went to a batay meeting yesterday. I explained in an earlier post what a batay is, but just in case you weren’t able to read it: “A batay is a village next to a sugarcane field, and home to some of the poorest people in the Dominican Republic. These are the poorest communities in the Dominican Republic, because sugar prices have decreased dramatically over the past few decades. The “dead season” is May to November, when sugar isn’t harvested, and the whole community suffers. For almost everyone, sugar fields are the only source of income”. Here are some pictures

Each one of those blue doors represents one room for one family.
And, the picture taken inside is the church for the batay.

I have also been writing stories about some of the associates for a program called Kiva, which connects regular people to associates/borrowers through a microfinance network. I have to do them for my internship, but I will post some in the near future.

Love, Chappell

Enjoying it here!

I really love it here! Last weekend, we were treated to a weekend at Casa de Campo by another intern’s parents. It was beautiful to say the least! I have really enjoyed my internship. I have two projects that I am working on: a comparison/contrast between Esperanza and Grameen Bank and how to educate young people on microfinance. Earlier this summer, I studied Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. So, I am excited to be using what I learned! It has been really interesting to see how microfinance institutions are implemented differently depending on the country. I may even stay an extra week to work on these..not sure yet. Because I am just an intern, I am really only observing. I have so many ideas about how to improve or change things, but I am not in a position to propose all of these changes. Yesterday, I was out in the field from 7:30am to 6pm. Now, that seems like a normal work day, but we were out in some of the poorest communities I have seen yet. Plus, the working conditions are a little different. Lots of trash, mosquito-infested waters, no bathrooms, no paved roads, mud floors, and more. We traveled an hour and half away to serve associates (borrowers). At one home, I asked the woman if she had a bathroom, and instead she washed my shoes. I stood there and she cleaned the ends of my pants and my shoes. It really moved me, and it was very, very sweet!

This internship is really what you make it. I have to make the effort to go to meetings, because I don’t want to sit around in the office all day. This is my one opportunity to do this internship with Esperanza, and I am not going to let it go to waste! My Fellowship Coordinator told me that she was very impressed at how well I am doing in this environment; that meant a lot. I am so thankful that I have a work ethic, and I have to thank my parents for that. My Mom and Dad have been some of the hardest workers I have ever known, and they have instilled that same motivation in me. I am happiest when I am working.

Last Monday was my birthday, and one of my girl friends from down the street, Acuarela, her brother, and his friend to a bar/club along the Malecon. The malecon is the avenue bordering the Caribbean! It was interesting..haha partly because I really stood out! Also, everyone here does a dance called merengue. It is really difficult and fast, but last night Richard, a friend from down the street, gave me my first lesson. I was a little embarrassed! But, it has been really fun hanging out with people my age!

I am so blessed to be here and helping people. I am blessed to have a great homestay situation and a great work environment. I feel like I have so much to give, and these people have given me so much already.

Sorry if there are spelling/grammatical errors..my English has really suffered since I am immersed in Spanish!

Love, Chappell

Dominican Republic Pictures

Turmoils

Yesterday I went to two meetings with one of the loan officers, Yanete, and they were strikingly different. The first meeting was a very active group, and all of the borrowers repaid. Everyone there was so nice, and business’ in the batay were thriving. A batay is the community attached to a sugarcane fields. Over the past century, companies built batays for seasonal workers to live in while they harvested the sugarcane from November to May. Over the past few decades sugar prices have dropped around the world. Now, these sugarcane communities and the whole San Pedro province is suffering because of the fall in sugar prices. I am so thankful that I am interning in this province, because it is home to the poorest communities that Esperanza works with. Moreover, I want this exposure so I will know how to help the poorest of the poor. When some of these large, international companies left the batays when the prices fell, squatters moved in and have never left. Sugarcane is still harvested, but it is not beneficial like it once was.

The second batay we went to was really struggling. Only 9 out of the 15 borrowers were there, and no one had their money. This is the second time a loan officer has come to this village and has not recieved a repayment on the loan. The problem is that the whole batay/community is suffering so no one has any money. Therefore, if people need something from a store they basically write out an IOU until they have some money.These people don’t have money, because the community depends on the sugarcane for income, and it is the “dead season” right now. Unfortunately, a lot of these stores are owned by associates of Esperanza, so if they aren’t being paid, then they cannot repay their loan. I just wanted to find a way to make it better for these people living in a very remote, desolate, barren community.

Adjusting to the culture hasn’t been as difficult as I thought it would be. If I had not been to a developing country before this internship, then I would have had a panic attack. The Dominican Republic is a lot like Belize and Ecuador, thankfully. Getting used to the food has been a little tough, and I have lost a pant size in a week and half. I really need to find some food that I like asap! On another note, men like to “hiss” here. Literally, when I walk by they hiss like a snake. Very annoying. Also, there are a lot of stray dogs here and I have been easily grossed out by them. The spay/neuter movement in the United States has not taken hold here. In addition, the street kids also make me really uneasy as well. In Ecuador, I learned that kids are sent out by their parents to earn a little extra income by juggling at stoplights or polishing shoes and such. Overtime, the kids start to go home less, and eventually they stop going home at all. They have been earning their own money, so why should they give it to their families? The other street kids become their family.

My homestay mother has a 17 year old girl, Amanda, that comes and helps clean every night from 8-9 and I have really enjoyed talking to her. She is your typical teenage girl and she has a work ethic. She is fun to joke around with and talk about regular teenage/young adult things!

Lastly, today has been a rather tough day, because my Uncle Dick passed away yesterday from a hard battle with lung cancer. And ironically, he never smoked. I get very emotional when death is concerned, and I have a huge amount of empathy for the rest of my family. I just wish I could be there with my grandmother, Gran, and her sister, Marion. I just hate to see my family feel pain, and I wish I could be there to comfort them. When I went off to college, I learned that your family is always there for you, and they unconditionally love you. I have really come to value, respect, and love my family a lot more since I started college two years ago. I have a strong desire to help them in times of sadness, and so my heart goes out to them now.

Love,

Chappell

Weekend

Last Friday afternoon, I went to a remote village with two of the loan officers. Because everyone there was filling out a lot of paperwork, I went and played with the children. They loved my digital camera! The girls were doing model poses, and they played my hair, which turned out interesting to say the least. The filth that those children played in was astounding, but they didn’t think twice. I can’t even explain the living conditions; they were walking around without shoes on trash-cluttered ground and in muddy puddles. One girl was using a stick to play with a basketball that had a massive hole in it.

The interns use the weekends to travel, and this past weekend we went to Santo Domingo (the capital) and Samana. Samana is a peninsula that is amazing; it is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. On Friday night, my friend JJ and I went to the Zona Colonial and walked around. In the morning, we went to Samana to visit another intern, Natalie, who goes to Sewanee as well. One thing that bothered me was all the trash everywhere. This is a common problem in Developing Countries, and if Samana is the gem of the Dominican Republic, why don’t people take more care of it? JJ and I took public transportation all the way up there and back with no problems, which is surprising, because traveling can be pretty confusing here! One bonus is that the roads are pretty well maintained, unlike Ecuador, Bangladesh, or Cambodia. So it doesn’t take too long to get anywhere in the country. Next weekend, we are going to Punta Cana. It is the number one tourist destination in the Dominican Republic, and we are going because we are having American withdraws! My cousin, Libby, went there on her honeymoon, and said it was fabulous.

Back to the daily grind this morning. At every Esperanza office, there is a mandatory devotional on Monday mornings for 2 hours. I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I enjoyed it regardless. We sang songs, which were really moving, and I was able to use my new Spanish/English Bible.

Yay for Espana!!!

Adios,

Chappell

Today is a great day!

Saludo!
This is my first day in the office without another English speaker. There was another intern, Laura, but she left for home today. This morning, I went out with a loan officer, Ramona, to visit borrowers/associates that have HIV. I asked them all questions and their answers were truly inspiring.
First, we went to the Esperanza Clinic (literally means Hope Clinic) and met with a few associates, and one of them knew how to speak English! One woman had a bread shop and another had a clothing store. Both were HIV positive and have children, albeit their children are not infected. The other women I talked with all lived in a shanty-town that is home to the worst poverty I have ever seen. Three women had small corner stores, or calmados, and they are using the loans to help rebuild their business after long periods of turmoil. In one store, the woman, Isabel, was building shelves with her loan and she just purchased a fridge so she can sell fresh juice.
All of the women I talked with have dreams for the future despite their infection. They have learned to push on and care for their children. Esperanza gives loans to these patients because nobody else will. Even though they are sick, the women still need to provide for their families, and Esperanza helps make that possible.
The loan officer, Ramona, and the driver, Hector, were very, very patient!! I kept on trying to say something in Spanish and they would not understand. I was very frustrated, but Hector would stop the car and try and walk me through what I was trying to say. It is a great feeling to be able to convey something in a foreign language after trying and trying!!
Back in the office, I was showing the branch manager pictures of the associates that I had just taken, and we began talking in broken Spanish. She told me that she wants to learn English and I told her I would be happy to help her, as long as she helped me with my Spanish. We have set up a time to tutor every afternoon at 4:30pm starting next week. I am so excited!
The internship coordinator told me that I have to be very, very persistent with the employees of the branch (goes for anywhere in the DR) if I want to get the most out of my internship. The employees see so many interns that they go about their daily business, and if I want something I have to approach them. I am always asking how they are doing, what are their names, etc. to help build relationships which are crucial here in the DR.

I am off to Santo Domingo tonight and then Samana tomorrow. Samana is a beautiful beach up north. I cannot wait!! I’ll be back Sunday, only going to Samana for Saturday night…it’s only a two hour bus ride.

Peace,

Chappell or Capi

Chappell is hard for spanish speakers, and Capilla is spanish for Chapel. So, Capi is easy for everyone here!

Bangladesh Photos 2