Poverty in The Dominican Republic

My, how time flies when you're having fun. We are now half-way through our mission. Because we live in the same building with approximately twelve other missionary couples plus we have regular contact with others who do not live in the building plus other Americans we see at church on different kinds of assignments (some are church employees, some embassy staff, etc.) we do see quite a bit of going and coming. We find the going affects us the most. It reminds us of our own mortality. Next month a counselor in the temple presidency goes, the following month, Sister Santana, the only Dominican who has been a full time temple missionary with us, and in November, the temple president. Others go as well but these individuals will affect us the most since we serve with them on a daily basis.

There is a lot of poverty in the Dominican Republic as well as a lot of prosperity. The prosperity comes largely from individuals who work for American companies and drugs. We see the prosperity in the SUVs clogging the streets, the fancy apartments, and the fancy stores with prices we're not willing to pay.

Even the poor seem to be able to get clothing, I think largely from donations from charitable organizations which ship used clothing in here. Below is a picture of a primary from a branch where the best paid individuals in the branch are the maids who clean for the missionaries and are paid $15 a week. The kids are dressed in clothing that looks relatively new, and is obviously store-boughten clothing. Also, the poor also seem to be able to get food. I suspect those that live in the country grow their own or barter. Where it never has a time of the year when you can't grow something, that makes things a little easier. Probably the ones who suffer the most from hunger are those in the city where they can't grow their own and have very little income with which to buy anything. Even so, these people seem to somehow get food as they don't appear to be starving, at least the ones we know.

It is the housing which really bespeaks poverty. To see examples of some very colorful shacks and also some pictures of different kinds of street vendors, click on the attached folder.