Medical trip - DR 2012
We often think of beaches and tanning when we think of the Dominican Republic, but it is here where we first realized how much work we can do together with our Live Different Hero Holiday volunteers. We are based in a city called Sosua, approximately 15 minutes east of the Puerto Plata Airport. With the help of all of our amazing volunteers, we have completed many houses, schools, community centres, and medical clinics in Dominican and Haitian communities that have been deeply entrenched in poverty and exploitation.
If you are in university and planning a career in the health field then this trip is for YOU! As a future medical professional (nurse, doctor, pharmacist, dentist, physio therapist, etc), you have such a gift to offer those in developing nations and beyond. The communities that we work in have very few opportunities to receive free medical care; consequently, simple illnesses such as bladder infections and dehydration have been know to kill its members. Our hope is that together we can help to change the tide of injustice and stop this cycle.
While in Dominican Republic the group will be divided into teams of 15 - 20 people. In your teams you will have an opportunity to:
- Facilitate medical clinics.
- Facilitate educational health seminars.
- Work alongside Haitian families in the local garbage dump as well as other relief projects
Trip Details
Aug 18, 2012 to Aug 27, 2012
Registration deadline:
Jun 1, 2012
Minimum fundraising amount:
2,000.00 CAD
Registration steps
Step 1: Register NowStep 2: Send your initial 300.00 CAD to confirm your registration and secure your spot. Click here to donate
Step 3: Download and print
- consent package
- paper donation form(for donors unable to give online)
Step 4: Mail consent package to:
Box 25103 RPO West Kildonan
Winnipeg MB R2V 4C7
- $2,000 This is a minimum amount each volunteer has been asked to fundraise/contribute to Live Different.
- $300 due with Consent Package.
- $1700 due June 1st, 2012.
- Emergency travel medical insurance.
- All ground transportation needs in the Dominican Republic (including all airport shuttles and daily transportation).
- 9 night accommodations at an all inclusive resort.
- Interpreter(s).
- All Medical and/or Dental Packs (HPI)
- Dominican and Haitian medical staff
- Dominican and Haitian interpreters.
- Local contractors to work along side the teams and help facilitate the work being done.
- General hosting, supervision, debriefing sessions, evening activities and security.
- Flights to and from Puerto Plata.
- Tourist fees for entrance into Dominican Republic ($10 USD per person)
- Trip interruption and cancellation insurance.
- Private room at resort - everyone has an option to pay an additional $300 to have a private room.
- Excursion options. (approx $70 - $100 USD)
- Team meal on the beach of Cabarete $20 USD.
- Resort staff tip $25 - $30 USD (suggested amount).
- Fly to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
- Settle into resort: Sosua by the Sea (www.sosuabythesea.com).
- Meet the staff, training and orientation.
- Awareness Tour - Meet the family you will be building for and get to see past projects that Hero Holiday has completed. This tour will help you understand the way of life in the Dominican, the relationships between Dominicans and Haitians, and why and how poverty is affecting this country.
- Project Rotation
- Medical Clinics - Our focus is on communities without access to proper or dependable health care. We will be setting up open air tents (don't worry they are only small gazebo type tents!) and have members of the community visit our Dominican and Haitian doctors, plus receive free medications. You will get a chance to rotate through the following stations: registration, check in, physician consultation, pharmacy, general hosting, and entertaining the children. You will receive some more in-depth training on all the different areas of the clinics in DR plus meet all our medical staff. Please note that if you are not in a medical course in Canada you will not be required to be in stations that are not suited to your training. Our goal is to come along side these people as friends to help, while showing them the dignity and respect they deserve.
- "In Their Shoes Work Experience" - (Possibility) Imagine being able to step into someone else's shoes (if they actually owned a pair!). What would it be like to work daily in a garbage dump, desperately seeking ways to support your family? Hero Holiday works alongside of an incredible community of Haitian people who have no choice but to do this every day. During this experience, we provide a safe and practical way to help to triple the daily earnings for a family entrenched in poverty. By assisting them to find recyclable materials that they are able to get payment for, we are able to experience life from their perspective, and realize the power of hope.
- Day off to RELAX! Hero Holiday also recognizes that part of our name is HOLIDAY! Each team member will be afforded one day off for relaxation and/or adventure. We want you to experience some of the natural beauty and adventure that the Dominican Republic has to offer.
- Preparation for what is next - Hero Holiday is going to be one of the most intense and life-changing experiences you will ever have. Because we believe that this is just the beginning of something for you, we want to help you to prepare to return home and integrate this experience and the lessons learned. We will have a final debriefing that will help you to take this experience and help others understand how we can make a difference in our local and global communities.
- Community Party - Take the time to enjoy some friendships made over the course of your trip. Whether it be some games, cake, dinner, or adventure you will find this a great way to close your time in the DR.
- Fly back to Canada.
- It is important to understand that Live Different Hero Holiday is a charitable program of Absolute Leadership Development Inc. This means that "participants/travelers" are functioning as volunteers of Absolute Leadership Development, to with assist our charitable humanitarian work. Hero Holiday Participants are not the beneficiaries of this charitable program; they are volunteers, approved by our Board of Directors, that carry out the humanitarian work.
- Due to the expense and logistics of coordinating a volunteer humanitarian development project, an important qualification is for each volunteer to meet their trip's minimum individual fundraising goal. To meet this minimum goal, volunteer's can solicit tax receiptable donations on behalf of Live Different, for the specifc project they are volunteering on. According to charity law, a donation is a voluntary transfer of property without valuable consideration to the donor; donors cannot choose the beneficiaries of their donations, and a charity must have full discretion in deciding how to allocate its funds. It is the volunteer's obligation to inform donors that all donations are given to the project/charity, and are not being given as a direct monetary benefit to the volunteer.
- This means that ALL donations are absolutely, 100% non-refundable. In event of any form of cancellation whatsoever or overpayment, funds will instead be allocated towards other charitable programs.
- A Donation/Payment Form must accompany all monies submitted to Live Different.
- Do NOT put the volunteer's name in the memo on a donation cheque.
- Alternately, if a person does not want to give a donation to the charitable project, but make a non-tax receiptable payment on the volunteer's behalf that will have the benefit of falling under our refund policy, they can indicate this on the Donation/Payment Form.
- This Refund Policy only applies to monies that have been explicitly marked as a "payment" on the Donation/Payment Form.
- Up to 50% of trip payments (not donations) may be refunded until Apr 15, 2012.
- After Jun 1, 2012, no refunds will be given except for extreme circumstances such as death or severe illness/injury resulting in the individual being unable to participate. In such cases, up to 80% of trip payments (not donations) may be refunded. Requests for refund must be made in writing and be accompanied by a death certificate or a doctor's note.
- Donations are 100% non-refundable.
- All requests for refund must be forwarded to Absolute Leadership Development Inc. in writing.
- Payments cannot be forwarded towards a future Live Different Hero Holiday or transferred to another volunteer.
- In the event of failing to meet application requirements (i.e. not obtaining a valid passport, not meeting minimum fundraising goals, etc), Absolute Leadership Development Inc. (Live Different) reserves the right to cancel participation with no refund of payment.
Minimum Fundraising Requirements
What this amount includes:
What this amount does not include:
Saturday, August 18th:
Sunday, August 19th:
Monday, August 20th - Friday, August 24th:
Saturday, August 25th:
Sunday, August 26th:
Monday, August 27th:
All of our Hero Holiday staff are experienced professionals in each area they facilitate. We have professional drivers, builders, youth workers, administrators, cooks, mechanics and interpreters. We maintain excellent community relations and work diligently alongside of community leaders and government officials in each country that we work in. We take our responsibilities and your expectations very seriously. Safety is always our number one priority. All of our key staff are first aid certified and we always have immediate access available to quality medical attention (if needed) in all countries that we work in.
Before a Hero Holiday begins, all parents are given contact numbers and emails for Hero Holiday ground staff. We are available at any time for parental concerns or emergencies. Our staff also works hard to keep family and friends back home updated on a daily basis with stories and pictures of what is happening with each particular group.
