The island nation of the Dominican Republic is one of the most culturally vibrant and historically rich countries in the Americas. Despite the country's poverty, the warmth, energy and resilience of Dominicans have charmed and inspired VISIONS participants since 1991. VISIONS's history in the communities where we live and work has created great mutual respect and lasting friendships with people such as Lydia and Santos, Alberto and Henri, members of the Lions Club with whom we collaborate every summer; our cook Victorina and Santiago our trusted gua gua (bus) driver since 1991, and a large group of enthusiastic young Dominicans who have literally grown up with us over many VISIONS summers and who mix with our groups each summer.

Poverty is a fact of life in the Dominican Republic. So precarious are resources that the nation rations electricity in the poorest neighborhoods by turning off power for up to 10 hours daily. Our home base is in El Milloncito, less than one hour from the center of Santo Domingo. While Santo Domingo is the DR's most populous, prosperous city, it is also arguably one of the nation's most impoverished regions as well.

Your service in the DR will be demanding, eye-opening and immensely rewarding. Our work is primarily masonry construction. We work daily with local maestros, often the families themselves whose homes we build, and our young Dominican friends. Past participants have built over a dozen homes, a medical clinic and several public schools (our Sabana Perdida home base was a past VISIONS project), renovated housing and created a public park, constructed playgrounds and picnic pavilions. Every summer we organize and supervise Campamento de Juveniles, a daily summer camp for local young children.

In the DR, our service is hard work and labor intensive. Therefore, afternoons, evenings, and on weekends we work just as hard to enjoy all this vivid country has to offer. We visit colorful marketplaces where we bargain for fruits and vegetables and other goods, and stroll through the historic colonial district of Santo Domingo, the oldest Western city in the hemisphere. We dance to pulsing merengue music at the famous Guacara Taina Discoteque, built within enormous caverns deep underneath the capital city. We spend relaxing time on white sand beaches with clear blue waters perfect for snorkeling and swimming, and travel to a spectacular fresh water pool fed by three waterfalls. On our overnight trip to the country's interior, you will summit one of the Caribbean's highest peaks in the 'Dominican Alps'. Our days include relaxed time with our Dominican friends-perhaps a game of dominoes, or bitilla, played with a broomstick and a plastic bottle cap, the skill-sharpening precursor to baseball. Participants also will have a home stay with a local family.