About the Summer Program

From ILAC: "The summer program gives students and professionals the opportunity to live with and become a part of a family and community in the campos of the Dominican Republic.  It focuses on building relationships across cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic barriers as well as creates the opportunity for Dominicans living in rural communities to receive basic health care.  While living in the campos for 4 weeks, students and professionals work in a small clinic in the mornings and the afternoons are left to spend time with families or to give 'charlas' (educational talks) on techniques to improve the quality of life through preventative health care."

Our trip this past summer was the 35th anniversary of the summer program.  At its core, the summer program is an opportunity for health professional students to gain experience by opening a health clinic in the rural areas of the DR.  However, the program is much more than simply providing health care to the impoverished.  It is about learning to live in solidarity with the Dominicans one encounters and creating relationships with them.  It is truly an immersion experience, giving all participants the opportunity to experience what it is like to live in a different culture.  This year, we had 6 different groups of students that went to 6 of these rural areas, called campos.  Each group contained a mixture of nursing students, medical students, dental students, pharmacy students, helpers (ayudantes), coordinators, and professionals from each area. Clinic is held in the mornings 4 days a week for a month.  Afternoons vary greatly among the groups, but time is normally spent doing home visits, hikes, trips to the river, or spending time with family.