Dominican Republic Summer High School Leadership Program

I had the privilege to travel to the Dominican Republic, an experience for which I am truly grateful and blessed to have lived. It was a true honor to have been a part of this project and work alongside the friends I made on the trip that are now like family. My cohort fully cemented two houses and started building a home from the ground up. From this moment I felt we were already making such a huge impact and our hard work was paying off. The day before we began our service-learning project, we spent time getting to know the community. We played tag, freeze tag, pato pato ganzo, hide and seek, hide and seek tag, and we also face painted with the kids. I allowed them to wipe my face out in paint; watching it cause them so much laughter and seeing their innocent smiles light up with so much joy was truly heartwarming. We also shared a meal together with all the families! My CAP days were the most beautiful moments that I have lived and it made me feel so satisfied with my work, I learned to appreciate the things I have to another level, made me more compassionate and aware of the different lifestyles we all have but what unites us is the shared love and happiness that are hearts have to express. It is in that very moment where nothing else matters but to have love and compassion for humanity. In the first week, we played baseball with kids from a foundation called Impacta. Impacta is a program for children to play baseball in hopes of reaching the major leagues and becoming professional players. A few days later, we learned about the inequalities and discrimination that occur in the Dominican Republic, especially in the sugar cane industry. We were shown a demonstration on how to cut sugar cane, which is an intense process. Luckily, a foundation called Ascala helps people from Haiti, the neighboring country of the Dominican Republic, receive assistance with legal documentation to stay in the country. This allows Haitians to be allowed to work, usually in the sugar cane fields in which they are exploited. There is a system and foundation that are designed to protect people, and they are work in progress. I learned so much about immigration policies in the Dominican Republic and how the governmental leaders are using strategies from the United States to minimize Haitian migration. We had a power and water outage when we were finishing up our nightly reflection. I am truly grateful my cohort made the most of what was supposed to be a bad experience, but we ended up playing hide and seek in the dark, and it was one of the most memorable times of my trip. One way my cohort made a collective effort to keep everyone healthy was having “water fiestas” a fun way to share a moment to hydrate and keep each other accountable. Towards the end of the trip, my cohort and I enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Dominican Republic at the beach with a close-out dinner. The friends I made on the trip are people who I admire because of their passion and drive to make an impact. Our trip was filled with a lot of time to reflect, relax, and maximize time together as a global glimpse family. We played a lot of card games, banana grams, and shared pool time together. We had a fun day and free day where we went to local stores to buy souvenirs for our families and friends, we bought a lot of snacks to bring back as well! There is a special ice cream shop we went to at least four times because of how good it was! The dulce de leche was the best. During my time in the global glimpse trip, I realized how passionate I am to help others and to be a leader. This experience only made me so much more confident and motivated to pursue a career in medicine to share and contribute my knowledge, skills, and passions to communities. This was only a global glimpse of my leadership journey, with endless memories that I will carry in my heart forever. Gracias, Republica Dominicana, por abrirme tus puertas con tanto cariño, es un honor haber compartido con tu gente hermosa!

This summer I experienced the opportunity of a lifetime with Global Glimpse! This non-profit organization allows High School students to travel internationally during the summer of their junior year to a country to impact the designated destination positively. Once I heard about them I was heavily interested not only to travel but to gain new insight and knowledge. Thanks to them and their donors, I could travel with them to the Dominican Republic with Financial help. My group and I had the honor to help a community in Jarabacoa of around 24 families by giving them access to clean water for their daily use through an aqueduct system! We worked 3 days straight, and on the final day, we saw our progress with the community. Seeing the results and the happy faces of the people we helped felt amazing. I was so happy to impact someone's life positively. Throughout the two weeks, we went to other places to learn and help different communities. We went to help a sustainable community in El Sonido Del Yaque with chores and cooking, Learned about the Indigenous people the Tainos, and their culture, and even helped at a coffee farm! We also had fun days of exploration and going to the beach! I learned leadership skills and gained valuable knowledge. It was a powerful life-changing experience which gave me a new way of looking at life. Our parents back at home could see a vlog on the official website that we glimpsers would update daily after our nightly meetings which made us feel close from miles away! I made many tight-bonded friendships in two weeks, everyone got so comfortable so quickly. You think at first that two weeks is a lot but those two weeks go by so fast that at the end of your adventure you don't want to leave. There were times I got homesick but everyone always made sure to be there for each other which helped me a lot. Every part of it was enjoyable and I'm glad that I was able to experience this unique adventure. The Global Glimpse team was so kind to us all and made sure we were always comfortable and safe. I will forever treasure the things I gained from this trip. This trip helped me to become a better person. I wanted to be able to support communities and leave solutions that will stick with them for a long time because the service-learning and experiencing other people's situations made me more sympathetic. It was truly a great experience, and I heartily recommend it to anybody eager to understand different cultures and want to give back to the community!

Hello my name is Janize Ocampo and I was on the trip to Constanza Dominican Republic C2A. One thing that I do have to say is that I have never had an experience like this one, and I am so happy I was able to experience this amazing trip with the people I had on my trip. Everyone made a contribution to making my trip a 10/10. So did our PC’s and GGL’s, Noe was my favorite personally. He interacted so well with everyone single one of the student and always made sure we were all having a great time. This trip has for sure been the best experience I have ever had. Would recommend always!

This was a amazing trip something I haven't experience before. At first I was nervous about going out the country, but when I got there I felt welcome. The GG Leaders and PC made it ever more enjoyable. The things I learn were great like learning a dominican dance, learning how coffee and chocolate is made, and learning about the culture of the Dominican republic. This wa truly a experience I will never forget. My favorite part of trip was learning the dances and working to help the locals any we can.

I travelled with Global Glimpse to the Dominican Republic in June 2024. The trip was very structured, with each day holding something new and exciting for us. Some days we would visit locals in small communities and talk about various subjects, other days were set aside for activities like going to the beach or shopping in groups.

During my trip, my group learned about immigration from Haiti to the Dominican Republic and were able to go see where many underpaid workers made a living, in these large sugar cane fields. Seeing the vastness of these hot fields where people had to work everyday for very little pay was really shocking and a powerful experience.

At the end of every day we had reflections as a whole group that really helped highlight what we all learned and how we could take what we learned and saw with us back to the US.

Through this experience I was not only able to travel to another country for the first time, but really learn about its history and culture in a rare and exciting way. Through this program I also made lasting connections and memories that I will never forget.

Going into the Global Glimpse program I really didn’t think it would have such a huge effect on me as a person and my perspective on the world. I’m more of an introverted person but doing the program really pushed my personal limits in the best way possible. The first day at the airport no one knew each other but we all started talking to each other instantly. All of us tried to make conversation with everyone and included everyone in a conversation so no one felt left out. We all got to meet each other and our Global Glimpse Leaders who were really wonderful. Once we all arrived to the Dominican Republic we were greeted by our wonderful Global Glimpse Coordinators at the airport who were the ones in charge of making our itinerary and tried their best to make everything comfortable for all of us. During this trip we were not allowed to have our phone for the 2 weeks, so once we arrived to the Dominican Republic they took away out phones. Although it seems like it’s really hard it really helps you disconnect with social media and actually connect with people and nature itself. The very first days were sort of hard because as someone who is really close to her family, not being able to contact them for the first days was hard but with the help of all the students there and everyone else you really get distracted with everything going on. The place we stayed in was really nice and comfortable for our group. The people we met there were really nice and patient with all of us there. Not only was this trip really fun but it really brought to my attention many problems going on around the country. We not only got to hear about them from someone who personally goes through them but we also got the opportunity to talk to him and what his experience has been. This person was able to tell us about his own personal experience and others on immigration and racism which was a really sad but eye widening story to hear about. The fact that we got the opportunity to talk to people from the around the community and that they let us into their home which was really nice of them to do because your home can be a very personal space, was such a great experience. What I really enjoyed about this was like I said being able to talk to locals. Although not everyone spoke and/or understood Spanish we had the global glimpse coordinators and leaders as well as some of us (the students) who spoke Spanish translate for both sides which gave everyone the opportunity to learn. We also got to go to the community and place we would be doing our Community Action Project (CAP). During the last 3 days of our trip we worked on our CAP and we were lucky enough to finish in time although we did face some challenges with the weather. We were lucky enough as well to have some of the kids of the community come in and seeing their reactions to our work was really awesome and heartwarming. Although we did get to have great learning experiences and opportunities at the community we also had out fun days which got all of us to get closer with each other and make all of our bonds stronger. It was really nice because we would all play card games which brought all of us together all the time. Overall, it was such a fun and eye widening experience. Really made me be grateful for everything I have and made me want to do more in my community to help out. If I could do it again I totally would and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for an experience which will bring you out of your comfort zone.

My experience was unique because it was my first time leaving the country and being on a plane. The GGLs did an amazing jobs ensuring everyone’s safety and well being in the airport, and for the entirety of the trip. Jarabacao was beautiful, the sights of the mountains, Caribbean Sea, and the rivers there were amazing. The culture of the land was amazing to experience, I learned of yuca, Meringue, bachata, and coffee. I was able to make meaningful connections and became less dependent of technology.

My name is Diego and I'm a rising senior from the Bay Area and I recently returned from my trip to Constanza, Dominican Republic (C2A) through Global Glimpse. The opportunity to travel to a new country and learn about a new culture was something that I could not pass on and had to experience. Thankfully, Global Glimpse made the trip very affordable to my family which was incredible because I probably would not have gone on the trip without the help of them and all the donors who support the students who want to join the program. The trip was such an amazing experience and has left a great mark on my life that I will truly remember forever. During my trip, I was able to engage with the communities in the Dominican Republic and learn about their everyday lives, something that I will forever cherish because it was so much fun but very eye-opening at the same time. Getting to play with the kids made me feel like a kid again and being surrounded by the welcoming people of the community we visited made all of us feel right at home. I was also able to learn about the immigration crisis that is going on in the Dominican Republic with Haitian immigrants who face much oppression and prejudice in the DR which really was extremely heartbreaking. Getting to hear the stories and visiting the sugar cane plantations in which these immigrants have to work was something that truly changed my outlook on the world and made me realize how fortunate and privileged my life is. My trip to Constanza also provided me with many great friends who I was able to connect with, we all came as strangers at the beginning but left as best friends by the end of our journey together. The program coordinators and leaders were incredible and made the experience so fun and memorable. They always made sure we were safe and that all of us felt included and heard. The food and accommodations were also amazing and way much better than what I was anticipating, the food was delicious and the accommodation was really comfortable and cozy. The experience I had on my trip was unforgettable and if I could do it again I for sure would. Letting go of my family was hard at first but the people who you share your trip with really help ease any feelings of homesickness that you might have on your trip. I highly encourage any student who is open to new experiences to apply and just do it because it's truly such an awesome experience! It helps disconnect you from your everyday life with social media and truly connect with the world around you.