(Some are direct quotes, others are statements we created from listening to them tell their stories. Calle Seis refers to the name of a street the group visited.)
Calle Seis was the moment when I realized we were really doing something to help people.
It's hard to communicate even with words, we met a young girl at the school who was deaf and had no language (sign or speech), yet she found a way to talk with us. Awed and inspired I couldn't imagine what her world must be like.
"As I realized how similar I am to those I met, I stopped thinking of or noticing the severe differences in our life styles."
Dominican Republic - full of beautiful people with big hearts and open arms.
These girls were able to state their dreams and goals because of the existence of the Mariposa DR Foundation, in a country where women have few opportunities.
Walking down Calle Seis you can tell the people had so much less than us, yet they were all willing to invite us into their homes, talk with us and share their lives with us. I realized instead, they had so much more than us.
Visiting Calle Seis, seeing the houses of the girls we were working with and the poverty they faced daily was a defining moment for me.
I met a girl who has been deaf and mute her entire life, she wanted nothing more than to give her time and communicate with us.
The kids and adults are so much friendlier, despite the language barrier they still wanted to work with us.
