Twenty-five Somersfield Academy students from the Middle Years 4 and 5 went on a community and service expedition to Puerta Plata in the Dominican Republic from April 14 to 21. The trip was organised by Global Leadership Adventures, and was chaperoned by Mrs Melisa Judd, Mrs Rita Bateson and Mr Jason Hammer. Here a few of the students reflect on the experience.By Conor LohanMy trip to Dominican Republic was nothing I could ever have expected. Coming from my sheltered Bermudian life, I had a real culture shock when I landed in Puerto Plata. Everywhere I looked there were people with tattered clothes living in meagrely built houses, with dirt floors and limited electricity. I was thinking to myself, “How could people live a life like this?” but as the days went on, I realised how sustainable their life really is. Even though they lived in tattered houses, they had all the basic necessities. They could cook their own meals from their own ingredients and would work only for themselves and neighbours. These locals were always outside, being active in their community, and enjoying their family.I saw the same thing when I went on a hike up the mountains of Brison, but what really stuck out for me were how many smiling faces there were. Kids were sliding down drainage pipes into the river, riding pet donkeys, making slingshots, and rolling tyres down hills. They were outside, making the best out of their situation and were obviously very happy. During our hike, we stopped off at one woman’s small, dainty house, who did not bat an eye at having a dozen strangers in her kitchen. She showed us her kitchen where she had everything she needed to cook her own meals. This lady had a biomass stove, built by the last GLA group, to cook her meals made primarily of natural ingredients in her kitchen. Most of her food was grown in her garden or purchased from a neighbour. Her lifestyle was without materialistic things but completely sustainable. Our programme director, Dave Addison, told us that she had lived in the city for 15 years but didn’t like it because she couldn’t grow and make her own food. Moving back up to the mountains was the right decision in her eyes because she is happy and can take care of herself.Further up the mountain, we stopped at another local’s house where they served us lunch. This was a similar sort of house to that of the first lady we met. Three ladies were nice enough to cook a huge meal of chicken, plantain, rice, bread and vegetables for the whole group. Our lunch was produced from their natural, homegrown ingredients. It tasted amazing without the chemicals and preservatives that are in our food! These people were living a happy, healthy life even though they are considered to be in poverty. It is interesting to see because many of us in our society are not very happy even though we are very well off.I think our society has been focusing too much on making as much money as possible instead of spending time with family and being happy. We have all become self-centered and need to get our priorities straight. I think everyone should take the time to travel to a third-world country like the Dominican Republic for a service trip. It is important to break out of our bubble where the world revolves around us, and see how hard and different other people are living their lives. Seeing the world as it really is has left a profound impact on me.By Ailey McLeodOn April 17 the two groups combined and we visited a Haitian Refugee Camp. When I got off the bus, a little girl named Melinda ran up to me and held my hand. I was pleasantly surprised, as I had no idea what to expect from the camp, and this was certainly a good first impression. We then split up into two groups. The first group was given a tour of the camp, while a second group went to work on a garden.The tour of the camp was very sad. We had been told that these people were some of the poorest in the world, but I don’t think any of us were prepared for or expected what we saw. We saw children running around with ragged clothing, and sometimes none. They were playing on rusted metal slides, and running around by themselves; some of them must have only been a few years old. We were surprised at how happy most of these people seemed. People would wave and smile at us, saying “Hola”, “Hello” or “Bonjour”. Some of the children came around with us on our tour, and laughed and played the entire time. I was inspired by how genuinely happy these people seemed, even away from their home.After the tour, we switched and my group worked on the garden. We had previously been told that the Haitian camp was not sustainable, as they had to be given all of their food and supplies. GLA’s goal is to help make the camp more sustainable, by providing them with a garden, so that they can grow some of their own food. The garden had been used last year, but had been left overgrown with weeds. Our job was to churn the earth and to make it able to be planted by future groups. Several of us formed the dirt into rows that will later be planted with seeds.Many of us brought clothes, school supplies, and sports equipment for the children of the village. We were told to carry our donations into the church so that they could be equally distributed among the children and to avoid any fighting over the items. We ended our day by playing a friendly football match against some of the Haitians. Everyone seemed to enjoy the game and the opportunity to interact with the Haitians this way.Visiting the camp was a rewarding experience for everyone. It made us more appreciative of all the luxuries we have in our lives. Seeing all of these people, who seemed happier than we do sometimes, definitely made us realise that we don’t need materialistic objects to be happy.By Camila PapadopouloVisiting the Haitian Refugee camp was one of my favourite experiences on this Dominican Republic trip because it made me realise how fortunate I am to have a loving family, a home, and a bed. When we were given the tour around the camp I saw many children without shoes or shirts; therefore after seeing all the donations we had brought for these kids, it made me feel good that I made a small difference in one of these children’s lives by giving them a pair of shoes, toothbrush, a shirt, or even a pack of cards. Also, when we arrived at “Asencion” (the Haitian Refugee camp we visited), one of the things that stood out to me was the greeting from the children living there. I found the smiles on their faces eye-opening, because it amazed me that even with the small amount of things they had, they lived happily and cheerfully. After witnessing the lives of the children and people in this Refugee camp, I realised that we all have so much and that it only takes so little to be happy, and with little actions of generosity, it can make a big difference in someone’s life.