Poor areas near Punta Cana

Buffness · Jun 10, 2017

For my bithday , coming soon , I am thinking of giving food gifts to the poor . For example , go to an Almacen to buy , rice, beans , milk , oil, avena, etc in bulk and distribute them in individual bags to the poor . The intention is to give to the needy not the greedy . My questions are

1. Where are the poor villages/areas near Punta Cana ? Where will this be needed/apreciated the most ?

2. Is this really worth doing ? When I talk to some people about this , I get the impression that I could be wasting my time and money .

Any good advice / pointers will be welcomed .

Fulano2 · Jun 10, 2017

You are waisting time and money. And could get robbed. Third world mentality is quit different, some see kindness as weekness.
And, in my opinion you are doing No good to the impression dr's have of foreigners .

caribmike · Jun 10, 2017

Pueblo Bavaro. My ex wife always needs more money...

:bunny:

the gorgon · Jun 10, 2017

Fulano2 said:
You are waisting time and money. And could get robbed. Third world mentality is quit different, some see kindness as weekness.
And, in my opinion you are doing No good to the impression dr's have of foreigners .

it is really sad that people have this idea of kindness as weakness, but it is so true.

i am the king of empanadas in this part of the world, and decided to make some for the guys i play dominoes with. for three days in a row, i made a dozen, with different fillings, partly as a marketing exercise, partly as a gift. on the third day, one guy suggested that everyone should chip in a few pesos to offset my expenses, so they could keep on having an afternoon empanada. not one of the 15 or so guys thought they could contribute. if it was free, they would each eat a dozen. if they had to pony up to help, fluck that..so, they will get no more .

melphis · Jun 10, 2017

In Bavaro there's an area referred to as "the hole". Its across from the Texaco in Friusa. You could take dry goods to the school there as it is a very poor area. Also most churches accept donations and get it to people in need without administration costs or scamming.

dv8 · Jun 10, 2017

the idea is sound. my SIL does it every year around xmas. however: you will need transport and help from local dominicans. a pickup truck or a jeepeta will take that heavy load for distribution. local dominicans can direct you to most needy areas and assist you during the process.

it's a good idea to buy in bulk. i recommend rice, beans, sugar, oats, powdered milk. and almacen will also have small plastic packages with oil and tomato paste. add to this some pasta and sardine cans and you are set. another good item to buy is big bags of lollipops so that you could throw a little something for the kids. do not buy anything that may spoil easily, lots of these folks have no means of storage and refrigeration.

what my SIL does is divides the loose items into small bags, each weigh the same and the exact amount depends on the item and the number of food packs she wants to give away. so it may be 5 lbs of rice but 1 lb of sugar. you only need to weigh them once, say, fill a large cup or some other container, check the weight and figure out how many cups/containers you need for each bag. each year i spend whole goddamn day packing that stuff so get someone to help you out, it's a lot of work.

best of luck!

Buffness · Jun 10, 2017

Thank you dv8 - this is exactly what I had in mind . Your advice is very useful .

southern · Jun 10, 2017

Save the world I say, they certainly will appreciate the help. It will free up more money for el presidentes, rum and gas for thier SUV or new Moto

chrisgy · Jun 10, 2017

Buffness said:
For my bithday , coming soon , I am thinking of giving food gifts to the poor . For example , go to an Almacen to buy , rice, beans , milk , oil, avena, etc in bulk and distribute them in individual bags to the poor . The intention is to give to the needy not the greedy . My questions are

1. Where are the poor villages/areas near Punta Cana ? Where will this be needed/apreciated the most ?

2. Is this really worth doing ? When I talk to some people about this , I get the impression that I could be wasting my time and money .

Any good advice / pointers will be welcomed .

Luke 6:38

Fulano2 · Jun 10, 2017

melphis said:
In Bavaro there's an area referred to as "the hole". Its across from the Texaco in Friusa. You could take dry goods to the school there as it is a very poor area. Also most churches accept donations and get it to people in need without administration costs or scamming.

Sure, they will hand everything to the poor ??????

carlos · Jun 10, 2017

the gorgon said:
it is really sad that people have this idea of kindness as weakness, but it is so true.

i am the king of empanadas in this part of the world, and decided to make some for the guys i play dominoes with. for three days in a row, i made a dozen, with different fillings, partly as a marketing exercise, partly as a gift. on the third day, one guy suggested that everyone should chip in a few pesos to offset my expenses, so they could keep on having an afternoon empanada. not one of the 15 or so guys thought they could contribute. if it was free, they would each eat a dozen. if they had to pony up to help, fluck that..so, they will get no more .

under what brand name do you sell empanadas in the DR? Are you a distributor to the smaller empanada vendors or do you also have any stores? I would love to try them if I have not already.

thanks

carlos · Jun 10, 2017

Buffness said:
For my bithday , coming soon , I am thinking of giving food gifts to the poor . For example , go to an Almacen to buy , rice, beans , milk , oil, avena, etc in bulk and distribute them in individual bags to the poor . The intention is to give to the needy not the greedy . My questions are

1. Where are the poor villages/areas near Punta Cana ? Where will this be needed/apreciated the most ?

2. Is this really worth doing ? When I talk to some people about this , I get the impression that I could be wasting my time and money .

Any good advice / pointers will be welcomed .

I think your heart is in the right place and commend you for wanting to help those that are in need. I also admire that you want to be hands on. I share that with you. I believe it's not only about writing a check but also getting involved. Kudos for that.

Try contacting the below organization. They are involved in different parts of DR. Good luck.

http://www.beyondthebeach.ca/

Derfish · Jun 10, 2017

Buffness said:
For my bithday , coming soon , I am thinking of giving food gifts to the poor . For example , go to an Almacen to buy , rice, beans , milk , oil, avena, etc in bulk and distribute them in individual bags to the poor . The intention is to give to the needy not the greedy . My questions are

1. Where are the poor villages/areas near Punta Cana ? Where will this be needed/apreciated the most ?

2. Is this really worth doing ? When I talk to some people about this , I get the impression that I could be wasting my time and money .

Any good advice / pointers will be welcomed .

GReat idea. I don't know about that area of the country. But I do believe in giving and helping. We have a couple of people on this forum whose lives seem to revolve around helping others. One more is not too many. You may want to get in touch with Lindsey Kaufman and her Strength for the journey. She works in the Sosua area. It is a difficult thing to do, knowing exactly how to give and where. At one point i ran a small restaurant and when I'd buy groceries for the restaurant I'd buy a few dozen boxes of raisins. Driving thru the poor neighborhood I would slow down and pass them out thru the driver's window. One fine day as I was stopped giving kids raisins my other side door was opened and 4 or 5 kids swarmed in and started going thru the bags of groceries tearing stuff up and helping themselves to sliced ham and even handfuls of rice. A Local man opened the door and started dragging the kids out. I don't like seeing kids beaten as he did with a branch off a tree, but was glad he came to my rescue. I stopped buying raisins after that. But yes help when and where you can. Be proud of it. I am not religious but believe in the quote from Jesus that says "Ln as much as you have done it to the least of them you have done it unto Me."
Der Fish

keepcoming · Jun 10, 2017

Very nice idea giving back on your birthday!!!... There is a poster here on DR1, PCMike. I know he does tours (which are excellent) and is very familiar with the Punta Cana area/needs. I would send a PM to him for suggestions. You need to go to these areas with someone trustworthy and that knows the area/locales. Again you want to target the area/people that need it. Not those who just want freebies. Hope all goes well....

karnes · Jun 10, 2017

In Punta Cana/Bávaro there are so many poor areas. You have el hoyo in fuisa, little Haiti, Vila plywood, and cristinita.

It's a great thing to do but doing it yourself would be hard to know the right areas. My wife works at the city hall and has done some of this during the Christmas time and for the start of the school year

Tashi Siu's Dad · Jun 10, 2017

Last year, we re-decorated our condo in PC and decided to donate all the near-new old stuff locally. Got the aid of a local to help me find the right, deserving people and promptly got rid of the stuff. It's tough to sell used here, but it flys-out the door free.

dv8 · Jun 10, 2017

one man's trash is another man's treasure, i say. few months ago we changed old kitchen door. i took it outside, frame and all. maybe 10 minutes later someone rang a bell and politely asked if i was going to throw it away. i said: god bless you man, take it if you want. the guy was so happy. maybe that old door was better than a rice sack that was in his doorway.

anyways, coming back to food giveaway. my SIL always distributes it with an "escort", usually few male friends help her out. this way it's safer and she is not bothered. and rather than going to a barrio where there are more people and things can heat up pretty quickly she goes out to rural zones where houses are further apart and there are less chances of getting under siege.

when we lived in a barrio i saw government food packets distribution and it was a mess beyond believe. people were very aggressive and they literally swarmed the truck like zombies in "the walking dead".

Fulano2 · Jun 10, 2017

And there are No Bells ringing when you need escort to "do good"?

Derfish · Jun 10, 2017

Fulano2 said:
And there are No Bells ringing when you need escort to "do good"?

Nor sirens wailing!

rfp · Jun 10, 2017

I question the point of providing free things to people who would kill you for 500 pesos.

Give to a known local cause that can help itself and needs just a little push

Poor areas near Punta Cana

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