Polo
Aaron
and
Kaleab make their home in Polo in the
Barahona province.
Located up in the mountains at around 3,300 feet, Polo claims 10,000 residents,
but that includes the "
greater Polo" - the city
of Polo itself has about half that.
Aaron,
Kaleab and Pichu
are standing on the mountianside - click image
at right for full-view!
Aaron
pictured with his host family
at left.
Kaleab
pictured with his host family
at right.
Aaron and
Kaleab are also placed with
Habitat for Humanity.
We were forewarned by the Paraiso people, that both Aaron and Kaleab had
been assigned new names because their current ones were too hard to pronounce...
So
Aaron is now Alex and
Kaleab is now Carlito. Their work
with Habitat has been less strenuous than the Paraiso people.
Their houses are in the "finishing" stage so
Aaron and
Kaleab are putting on doors and such. They hope to start mixing
cement like
Tim and
Carlos in the near future when 20 new
houses get started. Fifty three houses have already been completed in
Polo during this latest project and their owners are now starting to make
their monthly payments (for fifteen years). This payment basically covers
materials and some labor. The owners also help provide labor for a group
of houses. In the D.R., given the threat of hurricanes, the roof is also
made out of concrete. This increases the cost and the complexity of building
the houses, but in the long run makes for far safer homes.
Carlito
and
Alex always have their buddy Moreno at their side. Moreno plays
baseball and has Dominican Sammy Sosa as his hero. Moreno is 15, but is
only in the second grade, not uncommon for kids in the "
campo".
They go bathe in a dammed up river which was quite eventful a couple weeks
ago when Carlito was stung by a scorpian! During our visit, we also had
the pleasure of driving up the "
loma" (
hill
for Dominicans,
mountain for a Goshen native) with Carlito's
dad Pichu. It was a bit cloudy at the top, but still a nice view. We also
played
Dominoes. The team with the Dominican player won again,
but Carlito and Alex were not bad.
Aaron
and Kaleab make their home in Polo in the Barahona province.
Located up in the mountains at around 3,300 feet, Polo claims 10,000 residents,
but that includes the "greater Polo" - the city
of Polo itself has about half that. Aaron, Kaleab and Pichu
are standing on the mountianside - click image at right for full-view!
Aaron
pictured with his host family at left.
Kaleab
pictured with his host family at right.
Aaron and Kaleab are also placed with Habitat for Humanity.
We were forewarned by the Paraiso people, that both Aaron and Kaleab had
been assigned new names because their current ones were too hard to pronounce...
So Aaron is now Alex and Kaleab is now Carlito. Their work
with Habitat has been less strenuous than the Paraiso people. 
Their houses are in the "finishing" stage so Aaron and
Kaleab are putting on doors and such. They hope to start mixing
cement like Tim and Carlos in the near future when 20 new
houses get started. Fifty three houses have already been completed in
Polo during this latest project and their owners are now starting to make
their monthly payments (for fifteen years). This payment basically covers
materials and some labor. The owners also help provide labor for a group
of houses. In the D.R., given the threat of hurricanes, the roof is also
made out of concrete. This increases the cost and the complexity of building
the houses, but in the long run makes for far safer homes.
Carlito
and Alex always have their buddy Moreno at their side. Moreno plays
baseball and has Dominican Sammy Sosa as his hero. Moreno is 15, but is
only in the second grade, not uncommon for kids in the "campo".
They go bathe in a dammed up river which was quite eventful a couple weeks
ago when Carlito was stung by a scorpian! During our visit, we also had
the pleasure of driving up the "loma" (hill
for Dominicans, mountain for a Goshen native) with Carlito's
dad Pichu. It was a bit cloudy at the top, but still a nice view. We also
played Dominoes. The team with the Dominican player won again,
but Carlito and Alex were not bad. 