- Thread starter Buffness
- Start date
Poor areas near Punta Cana
- Status
this is not exclusive to DR though. there are people all over the world that can harm or kill you for practically nothing. I don't want to discourage the OP from wanting to get involved. Giving to a local cause is a great idea. Seems like he is unfamiliar with the area so maybe team up with a local cause and donate items and work with them to distribute those items.
Kill two bids with one stone. My personally opinion and satisfaction comes from being involved. For example, I can write a check to a local charity and move on and that's that. However, I can get out of work and am in NYC and a I see a guy sitting in a corner with his face down. I say " hey sir, are you hungry? Can i get you a couple of hot dogs and a soda from my friend here?"
He says " sure, thank you very much. I don't know how to thank you"
I look at my boy (he operates a NYC hot dog cart) who I have known forever since I take the same commute every day and say hello. I say " Habbibi, give this gentelemen two hot dogs and a soda please"
We call each other Habbibi as a term of endearment. It's like saying "my homie"or " my boy". All I know is he is from Lebanon and someone I greet daily.
I can't put a price on what I did for the hungry guy. To me that is much more valuable than writing a check and just moving on. I encourage everyone to do both.
I disagree. Poor and hungry people will not be offended if they see you are trying to help them. I believe you will get the opposite reaction. Now if you go into Piantini then you we are talking about something else.
I agree that sometimes you see chaos when the government tries to distribute food to those that need help. This happens all over the world though. It's natural when people are hungry. You will also see local thugs who try and take advantage also.
As I mentioned earlier, the OP may team up with a local organization and do volunteer work with them in addition to donating to their cause whether it be with money or items purchased.
below is another charity which I like. David has been dedicated for years helping young kids get operations that they would normally not be able to afford.
http://www.davidortizchildrensfund.org/
send me relevant info and i will ship you a dozen by Caribe Tours. to reheat, use a toaster oven, not a microwave.
my empanadas are baked, not the fried stuff.
i wonder about that. i remember during the last election cycle, there was this truck that used to go around distributing free food. nothing special, just rice and beans. it was interesting to watch these guys with late model jeepetas rolling up with plates to scoff free food.
so you run the business out of your place only? no store locations?
Either way I would like to pay. It's only fair.
I'll be in DR soon. Maybe ship it to me in Santiago or we will figure something out. Heck, maybe I can entice you to leave your glorious life in PP and come to the Cibao region for a day.
Its done all the time in the USA. Stop by a food pantry anywhere, any city, any county.
Ha I love it, offer work and then everybody has a bad back or their skin gets damaged by the sun. Why help those who wont help themselves ?
I have helped many in Santo Domingo but generally they were working poor with legit health issues or hardworking folks who couldn't provide educational opportunities to their children. Help those who are helping themselves
I have helped many in Santo Domingo but generally they were working poor with legit health issues or hardworking folks who couldn't provide educational opportunities to their children. Help those who are helping themselves
Are you suggesting that the schools and churches steal from the donations to the poor. If you are I kinda feel sorry for you. If you haven't noticed they are poor too.
After reading all your posts on this thread you might want to consider volunteering to do some work with the poor. Then you might have an informed opinion rather than trolling people who have good ideas and do good work.
After reading all your posts on this thread you might want to consider volunteering to do some work with the poor. Then you might have an informed opinion rather than trolling people who have good ideas and do good work.
Are you suggesting that the schools and churches steal from the donations to the poor. If you are I kinda feel sorry for you. If you haven't noticed they are poor too.
After reading all your posts on this thread you might want to consider volunteering to do some work with the poor. Then you might have an informed opinion rather than trolling people who have good ideas and do good work.
Many years ago I visited so very poor people with my wife. Before we went into the house she said they will offer you coffee but tell them you already had some as they have no money to buy sugar....etc. Sure enough they offered me coffee which came from coffee bushes in their yard and was roasted in a tomato paste can. I looked at my wife and said thank you very much I would love some coffee, which I drank straight , black and without sugar. It was great. When we left I said we are going to bring them some sugar, rice, beans and oil. Now every time I walk by their home, which is not very often, if they are home they invite me in for a coffee , which I always accept. I think you can help the poor but you need to use judgement and pick and chose whom to help. A helping hand to working poor that are trying to educate their children or improve their lives is much different than helping those that will still be in the same state regardless of what help you give them.
Sometimes I read what some people write on DR1 and I just wonder if I'm living in a completely different country to them. So negative about Dominicans, so ready to accuse everyone of being lazy and dishonest. I'm also certain that the majority of those with these kinds of views don't speak Spanish and can't be bothered to learn it, only know a handful of Dominicans and spend their lives in gated communities.
I'm different because I run a company here which only employs Dominicans, all my friends are Dominican, I speak Spanish and moved here because I genuinely like the people and the country. My advice to the OP is yes, please do it. I give lots of things to Dominicans all the time, I never throw anything away. I even bring stuff from my country here which is being thrown away (for example this time I have six damaged cellphones). Sometimes people say no, they don't need it or want what I'm giving away, but it's never difficult to find someone who does and I've never offended anyone by offering to give them something. So many families here struggle, so many children don't get three meals a day, so many people are in so much debt and really could use some help.
It is worth walking around with a local who can point you in the direction of the right places to give out your food, and I am pretty certain that the food that you give will be very gratefully received, not by people who are rich with jeepetas but by the poor who need it. Especially if you have a local, who makes it clear that this food is to help poor people. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful day, and a day to remember. I just wish that some of those who post on here would get out a little more and meet some real Dominicans, rather than sit online all day in a cosy expat forum and insult the nationals of the country they choose to live in.
I'm different because I run a company here which only employs Dominicans, all my friends are Dominican, I speak Spanish and moved here because I genuinely like the people and the country. My advice to the OP is yes, please do it. I give lots of things to Dominicans all the time, I never throw anything away. I even bring stuff from my country here which is being thrown away (for example this time I have six damaged cellphones). Sometimes people say no, they don't need it or want what I'm giving away, but it's never difficult to find someone who does and I've never offended anyone by offering to give them something. So many families here struggle, so many children don't get three meals a day, so many people are in so much debt and really could use some help.
It is worth walking around with a local who can point you in the direction of the right places to give out your food, and I am pretty certain that the food that you give will be very gratefully received, not by people who are rich with jeepetas but by the poor who need it. Especially if you have a local, who makes it clear that this food is to help poor people. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful day, and a day to remember. I just wish that some of those who post on here would get out a little more and meet some real Dominicans, rather than sit online all day in a cosy expat forum and insult the nationals of the country they choose to live in.
Thank you Father Flanagan for what sounds like single handedly saving the Dominican people from certain peril.
outstanding post Paul. Ignore the people who will call you elitist because you are encouraging them to get to know real Dominicans. Your post clearly shows that you get it.
i was in the Cibao just yesterday. i shop for ingredients at Levapan in Santiago. and, yes, life is glorious in POP. it can be glorious wherever you are, since it is a frame of mind.
- Status