4North

It took less than 24 hours from when our plan landed in the Dominican for me to realize the trip I had been dreaming about for over a year was going to be even better than I had imagined. 12 hours after landing in the country I was jumping off a cliff and rising ATVs through the mountains. 24 hours after that I was inside a remote village working to provide eye care to 200+ individuals who, until Matt, we’re receiving care they could have never imagined. After watching the impact a simple gesture such as reading glasses could have on these individuals I realized I want to help people to such a degree that Matt does on a daily basis. This experience solidified that when I go to college in the fall I will be on the premed track with the ultimate goal of going back to places such as this in order to offer any care that I can. This trip and Matt himself truly changed my life and helped to create my future. Over the next week, we explored the country in ways such as rising horses on the beach, climbing through caves and spending the day at a beautiful Oceanside pool. Along with providing eye care to a village, we also distributed meals to 25 families funded by 4North as well as building a bathroom for a family who is living in conditions unimaginable to us. We ended each day with a dinner amongst my family, Matt and our two translators who were also fantastic. Matt enriched the trip as a whole and these dinner as well as many activities through the day ended in laughter due to him. This trip was life changing and I hope to one day do the kind of good for others that Matt does and he continues to do with the creation of the 4North project.