I Left My Heart in the Dominican Republic…

So I’m back from my travels to the Dominican Republic and the first thing everyone asks me is “Melissa, where is your tan?”. I’m fair-skinned, ok!! I tried to get a tan, I really did, but lounging on the beach wasn’t themain focus of this trip people! I’ve returned to good ol’ Ontario not feeling like I changed the world, but knowing that I made a difference in the lives of a few people who really needed it, and that’s where it all starts.Over the 10 days our group spent in the DR, I would confidently say that we accomplished quite a lot: We trenched through piles of garbage collecting recyclables  alongside Haitian refugees who call a garbage dump their place of work; spent a morning at an orphanage for physically and mentally handicapped children colouring, laughing and helping with lunch time!; started building a new house for an elderly woman and her grandson that won’t flood everytime it rains; painted a new children’s ward in a hospital and experiencing the true value of music as therapy; throwing a huge fiesta in one of the villages with a pork roast, soccer match, and gifts for all of the kiddies; and making tons of new little amigos that we’ll never forget.Without a doubt I’ll be returning to the Dominican and other places in need to keep spreading the love and giving hope to the people who need it the most. Oh, and now that I’m home  I have a minor, but unnecessary, panic attack everytime I see toilet paper in the toilet…the things we take for granted.~ Melissa, a Hero Holiday Participant.