Dreaming of an education

I saw him sitting on a bench across the river from the Titans stadium in Nashville. That bench was also his bed for the night. The young man with high hopes told me that he last lived in Chattanooga before he was released from a hospital in Hamilton County, Tennessee. “I’m 18, but will soon turn 19,” he told me.

His clothes were dirty, as if he had not changed in a week or longer. His fingernails appeared as if he had dug a hole in the dirt, his hair wiry and wind blown. His beard untrimmed.

On a folded up sheet of notebook paper he keeps a list of college degrees that he would like to pursue one day. “I heard there was something new in Tennessee that allows people to go to college for free,” he told me. He then handed me the well-used sheet of paper while stating, “Whenever I come across something that interest me, I write it down.”

I started to read the list of about 30 potential college degrees aloud so he could hear them. I got to the word “Navigation” and paused. “What’s this one,” I asked? He then got wide eyed and smiled. “Navigation – land, sea or air – so I can travel the world,” he told me. I said, “You know, MTSU in Murfreesboro has one of the most well-known programs in the country that focuses on Aerospace technology and flight.” “M-T-S-U,” he said in a puzzling way as if his wheels were turning on figuring out what he needed to do to apply.

“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” - Robert Frost

A new backpack and socks

His name is Gary. I met him outside of my office one afternoon and talked to him for a while.

“I’m homeless, but I am staying with relatives,” he told me. “But, I don’t have a blanket,” he said with a smile as if it didn’t really bother him. He then told me that he only has one pair of socks, that bothered me more than it bothered him.

“I’m gonna’ get a job - I’m looking,” he explained as he told me he was disabled. “I just want a few hours so that I can get my own place,” he said. I could not help but to notice that his backpack was also ripped and falling off his back.

Today, thanks to an unnamed friend, I gave him a new backpack, a new queen size soft blanket, a pair of gloves and a pack of new socks.

Horace Mann, an American politician and educational reformer from the 1800’s once stated, “Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves.”

A Special Memorial Service

The memorial service for Austin Sienk, the 27 year old homeless man from Utah who was struck by a train in Murfreesboro was held Saturday morning. It was held under a bridge where he lived. Those who called the bridge home had positive things to say while some broke down in tears. It was a sad, yet positive event that took place.

Sienk was struck and killed by a CSX freight train around 7 o'clock this past Sunday morning (10/18/2015). The man was said to have been wearing headphones while walking down the tracks near South Church Street, close to Middle Tennessee Boulevard. The train was heading south to Florida.

Music changes people

Someone gave me a guitar to specifically give to a homeless person. I love that.

Today I met Tyler. One hand was tattooed “LOVE” and the second read “HATE.” I don’t know the reasoning behind his tattoos, nor did I ask. Traditionally, the words love and hate are a reminder of how thinly balanced life can be. Most, if not all of us, have an ongoing struggle between good and evil. After all, we are all sinners – despite the good we may do in life we will always fall short.

Tyler will turn 21 on Thursday and he told me how he has a love for music, “I play the trombone, the drums and the guitar – I got my first guitar when I was 7.” I asked, “Did you teach yourself how to play all of that?” He smiled, “I did, I was even in the band and while I could not read music, I did just as good.”

Tyler has lived in Ashland City, Nashville and now Murfreesboro. I am not real sure where he lost his guitar, but I would imagine somewhere in between those three cities while homeless. 
As he carried the instrument to his campsite he said that he can now play when he is feeling mad or down.

The guitar that was handed to me to hand to someone else will now be used as a soothing outlet for another.

“Music can change the world because it can change people.” – Bono (U2)

Not the face of homelessness, but homeless

This may open your eyes: It was a bright sunshiny day in Murfreesboro... Erica's brown hair streaked with gray lines was blowing in the wind as she described her troubled past and her current reality of being homeless to me.

However, her homeless situation is not that of her living under a bridge, nor is it of her feeling sorry for herself. She writes as a form of therapy. That being said, I asked that she write what I post under her photograph.

From Erica:

Mine is not the face of homelessness. 
Neither are the faces of my children. 
This is what I'd like to believe. 
But according to the state of Tennessee -- and my children's school systems -- it's not the truth.

Because we -- my 16 yo son, 13 yo daughter, & my 7 yo daughter, along with our 3 cats -- reside with my parents (& my brother and his boxer), where we've been since July... six months after our world flipped upside down.

I'd like to share the details but I can't. 
I have to protect my children. 
They are my heart. 
They are the reason I do everything I do. 
And they know it. 
I'm so grateful they know it.

In January 2015, I learned that my husband of 17 years had been making destructive choices. Choices that ruined our marriage and broke our family. Choices that destroyed life as I'd known it. Hopes and dreams, plans and expectations were dashed.

I moved in with my parents because it was the safest place for us. Other options given to me didn't offer the emotional, mental, financial security we needed. Squeezing 4 adults, 3 children, and 4 pets into a 3 br home is not ideal but we're making it work. It helps to know it's temporary. How temporary is still a mystery though.

I trust God has a place of our own in mind and when He deems the time to be perfect, He will provide it. Until then, I'll continue to work and we'll continue to live where we are... in stability and the beginning of healing. All four of us will continue our weekly therapy sessions; soon, we'll begin family counseling too. Our counselors are amazing. We are healing, step-by-tiny-step.

Until this year, I'd always been the lady with the heart to help others. I'd volunteered for ESTN and DOH. I'd donated clothing and toys to Club YES- Youth Empowerment Services. I'd given food to Greenhouse Ministries. I'd prayed for The Journey Home, Murfreesboro. I never imagined myself or my children needing to utilize some of the services these (& other) Middle TN/ Rutherford/ Murfreesboro organizations offered.

But here we are. 
In between who we once were
And who we will become.

If you didn't know me... if you didn't see my picture or read this story... you'd never know that this face is simply a different kind of homeless.

One who somehow, in some way, will continue to move forward step-by-step with the help of others.

One who someday will be strong enough to hold another's hand, helping her to see her truth and walk forward in health and healing.

I look forward to that day.

Heroin in a U.S. Veteran

He grasped my shoulder as he made his way down his front steps. He is usually in a wheelchair, but he wanted to walk outside on his own two feet. “I was once shot five times,” he told me as he pulled up his shirt to show me the scars.

We continued to talk and he continued to share stories about his past. “I was a heroin addict, but have been clean for a long time,” he said while rolling up his sleeves, “I have HIV from shooting up in the past.” 

He said that he was once ashamed of the fact that he has HIV, but now he does not mind sharing what was once painful because now it is simply a part of life that he has lived with since 1994.

I later realized that he served our country in combat while in the U.S. Army. I was standing before an aging Vietnam Veteran who shares a small apartment with several others. He came home from the foreign land with images that were likely unshakable which may have contributed to his past battle on U.S. soil with alcohol and Heroin. But, that battle is mostly behind him. Today, he battles balance, sight and age.

Pax Prentiss who opened Passages, a rehab center in Malibu, once wrote in the The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure, “Heroin was a coping mechanism that I had used to deal with my underlying fears. They were the real problems; heroin wasn't the culprit, my fears were.”

Visiting a bar in Nashville is not for everyone

“We drove down from Kentucky to see a family member sing at this bar in Nashville [pointing at the bar],” he told me. He hesitated, but added, “Some family members didn’t want to come because they serve beer there [slight laugh].”

I shot this with my 35mm lens on a Fuji XT1. 

Not alone in this crazy world

It was a cold night Sunday, with the temperatures dipping to 40-degrees. A slight wind swirled it's way through the maze of downtown Nashville buildings, making it feel more like 30. As I walked up Broadway from the river I came upon a woman seated on the ground, her husband parked in a wheelchair to her left. He sat quietly, a blanket in his lap, struggling to extend his hand in an attempt to sell newspapers to passing pedestrians. 

Grinning, he told me his name, "John Ross, but everyone calls me Johnny Pops. I’m 68." I laughed and told him I didn't believe him. He whipped out his driver’s license as proof of his 1947 birth. I smiled as his wife began to tell the story of how they became homeless. 

“We were living in a motel on Dickerson Road. I worked as a cleaning lady for the property in exchange for a room, but they fired me because they said I was too old to work for them.” she said, looking down at the sidewalk. We discussed the illegality of age discrimination in the workplace, but she was far more eager to get on with her life than to hold a grudge. 

I asked where they were currently living. “We live on the bench of the bus stop down the street.” said Johnny Pops. When I asked which one (because I wanted to bring them a couple of sleeping bags to supplement their lightweight  blankets) he got a huge grin on his face and said, laughingly "The one with the white columns, white picket fence and big front porch!” I love it when people have a sense of humor, despite their life's circumstances. 

This husband and wife team aren't at the bottom to stay. They told me they've been saving their money with a goal in mind. “We have an opportunity to live on a farm in Indiana and we're saving everything we make for that move.” Mrs. Ross said hopefully.

The late Robin Williams once stated, “The worst thing in life is not to end up all alone. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel alone.” I think Johnny “Pops” Ross understands that greater things are yet to come and he has Mrs. Ross by his side to remind him that he's never alone. Together, no matter where they live, they have each other. 

My Vietnam Ring

As I walked into his apartment that he shares with several others I noticed it was cluttered with clothing, food boxes and more. He smiled as I walked in. His hands appeared to be sore with arthritis, his body failing on him quicker than his mind. "I have a caretaker who watches after me," he was quick to say adding, "She is wonderful."

He held up his hands, “Take a picture of my rings,” he told me. As I slowly pushed the shutter closed he told me that one is for his tour in Vietnam and the second is his U.S. Army ring. “I love these,” he said with a grin.

Those very same hands and fingers likely grasped the American M16 Rifle, a gun that was prone to jamming on our troops. I wonder how many times he had to clear it in the midst of enemy fire? I did not want to ask those questions, but my imagination ran wild with thoughts of what those hands have been through. The sounds of bullet fire as he crawled on the ground or through rice fields.

He survived.

U.S. Army General William Westmoreland commanded U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. He once stated, “I do not believe that the men who served in uniform in Vietnam have been given the credit they deserve. It was a difficult war against an unorthodox enemy.”

The rings that some Vietnam Veterans wear were not given to them by the military, but instead purchased by the Veterans who posses them. Many wear them as a reminder of the life they have today, verses the life they survived so many years ago. Others wear the rings to remind them of the friends they lost or the friends that saved their life only to be delivered back to the United States in a flag draped coffin. Sadly, the government did little to thank so many who went through so much and continue to have their own battles today.

Heroin addiction and recovery, then a miscarriage

I met with Stacy, a former Heroin addict yesterday and heard her story. I have known her for the past year and have had the pleasure of bringing her food from time to time and listening to her boyfriend pray over me in thanks for the food provided by Feed America First. 

“I remember the withdrawals,” she told me. “I could not get out of bed, I felt so sick until my friend brought me that needle,” her comments continued in describing Heroin. I asked, “Did you ever fear needles?” She told me that prior to her using on a regular basis she watched some of her friends use and said that she could not imagine using as much as they did. Before long, she was using Heroin just as much if not more. 

The Heroin use left her feeling sick when she was not on it to feeling perfect when she injected the chemicals from inside the needle. She was twisted in emotions and pain as she shot Heroin on a regular basis multiple times a day. From the time the drug entered her veins to the time it followed the twisted red rivers like a fish swimming to her brain, the pleasures were overwhelming yet short lived. 

When Heroin is used it makes the skin feel warm as it goes into the brain and gives Stacy a rush of intense pleasure. Her arms and legs would likely have felt heavy as the drug starts to work, her mouth dry. After the initial feeling wore off, it leaves you slightly nauseated and tired, sometimes itchy for several hours. Her mental state would have been clouded leaving her vulnerable to the elements of other drug abusers around her. Breathing and heart rate are slowed as the high turns into pain. But, the initial altering of emotions kept her coming back, along with the strong addiction that is tough to overcome without the use of medical care and medication. 

Today she is clean, but her struggles continue. About three days ago she had a miscarriage and is facing the aftermath of losing a child and the medical aftermath of that happening. But, she is living on the streets as opposed to recovering in a home and in a bed. In fact, all she has is a sleeping bag and a boyfriend to comfort her. 

As our talks continued she told me about the day she got clean from Heroin. Her mother was dying of cancer in Kentucky and insisted that she get help. Her mother said, “You are not going to die before I do, we are getting you help.” Her mom took her to get treatment and she was eventually prescribed Suboxone. 

According to one website, “Suboxone contains a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine is an opioid medication. An opioid is sometimes called a narcotic. Naloxone blocks the effects of opioid medication, including pain relief or feelings of well-being that can lead to opioid abuse. Suboxone is used to treat narcotic (opiate) addiction.” 

The battles continued for Stacy when she dropped her tortured romance with Heroin, but this time with a prescription medication intended for her to drop Heroin. It worked, but now she was addicted to another drug. She told me that while Heroin may be worse, it took her even longer to get off of Suboxone. 

Today she is clean, but living on the streets. She hopes to soon be approved for an apartment using her boyfriends voucher. Together, they will be able to slowly start over and build a new life off the streets. 

Stacy told me she would love to share her story with parents in our community and does not care about her appearance of being homeless – just as long as she can tell others about Heroin. If you would like her to speak before your church small group or family, let me know and we will make it happen. You allowing her to do that will be a huge step in her journey of rebuilding and healing.

Mental Health in a Third World Country

We tried to understand what he was saying when we saw him walking on the downtown streets of Santo Domingo, but he made little sense as his words were slurred together. His appearance was disheveled and his clothing dirty. He was standing in the middle of the road when I walked away.

Mental illness in the Dominican Republic is similar to the problem we face in America. A lot of it goes untreated.

The World Health Organization reported on the Dominican, “With respect to financing of mental health services, this study shows that allocation of resources is very low. SESPAS allocates less than 1% (0.38%) of health care expenditures to mental health services, and 50% of these resources are directed towards Padre Billini Mental Hospital.”

In addition to the one dedicated mental hospital (only 150 beds), there are also 56 mental health outpatient facilities in the country, of which 4% are for children and adolescents only. However, there is no review body to oversee inspections at the mental hospital in the Dominican nor sanctions on any of the facilities that violate a patients’ rights. Furthermore, physical restrain or seclusion of patients is not monitored by any organization in the Dominican Republic, according to the World Health Organization in 2008.

What I found interesting is that the World Health Organization reported that 30% of the patients in the single mental hospital in a rural area of the country, have been patients for 10-years or more. In other words, new treatment for patients is hard to come by. Affective disorders (depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorder) and schizophrenia are the most common mental disorders in the Dominican.

Families have stepped up to monitor mental health care facilities in the Dominican. 45 family members have formed committees to defend the rights of persons with mental disorders in the country.

A 2011 report by the World Health Organization showed that the majority of primary health care doctors and nurses in the Dominican have not received official in-service training on mental health within the last five years. So the problems continue to grow. The American Public Health Association reported this year (2015) that residents in low income countries fail to receive care for mental health. The organization wrote, “80% of patients with severe mental illness do not receive necessary care.”

Clothing brands? Who needs that?

The kids, the shoes, the clothing… No one cares and you don’t hear children making fun of one another for the brand of shoes one wears or the other one does not.

In America we have become a brand driven society. I am sure that parts of the Dominican are like that today, but I have yet to see it with my own eyes.

In places like El Caobal, Dominican Republic most of the children wear shoes that were donated by churches in America. You see boys wearing pink and purple New Balance shoes, yellow Converse, Keds, Reebok’s from the 1990’s, girls wearing boys Nike’s and more, but no one cares. Another thing I noticed is that school uniforms are a part of the dress code at the schools I visited – and kids don’t care.

When the bell rings and school is over, I love how I see traces of Murfreesboro, Tennessee all over El Caobal and LaRepressa. I see MTSU shirts, Blackman High School clothing, Oakland, Riverdale and Smyrna just to name a few. I think it is neat that local residents in my very own community have made such an impact on the Dominican in small villages most of us will never see. New Vision in Murfreesboro has played a huge role in bringing love to these areas.

Protecting Schools:

Schools in the Dominican take the protection of school grounds serious. The schools I visited were wrapped with concrete walls topped with razor wire protecting them from the outside world during school hours.

The children at the schools in the Dominican, while poor financially, are filled with joy. For me, it was like stepping back in time watching kids play together without a playground or a video game to keep them occupied. They wholeheartedly played together.

Children, a camera and a little protest

I sat down on the hot concrete with my camera and was instantly surrounded by about 15 kids. I was in the city of Caobal in the Dominican. 

As I snapped photos of the children hovering around me, each one wanted to see what the photo looked like after I took it. I don't think any of them had ever seen a regular camera before. Sure, they have all seen cell phone cameras, but a real camera, no. 

While we were behind the concrete walled and razor topped confinements of the elementary school, there was fear of a protest taking place outside the building. Evidently, one had occurred the night before that included the burning of debris in the streets that acted as a road block of sorts. The problem... a lack of electricity for about five days. Residents feared that the government had shut down the electrical grid to their communities over political arguments. 

While there was not a protest going on when we left, there was one later in the day. It was said that when National Police arrived to disperse the crowd, they fired they guns into the air. No one was hurt. 

The National Police force in the Dominican is the largest police force in the Dominican Republic under the control of the Ministry of Interior and Police. When the U.S Occupied the Dominican from 1916 to 1924, the United States Military helped to create the Dominican Constabulary Guard (DCG), which acted as national police. It later became the Dominican National Police.

A group known as "InSight Crime" reported in March of this year, "A top-level prosecutor in the Dominican Republic said the military and police are involved in 90 percent of organized crime cases, putting a hard number to official involvement in criminal activity after years of high-level corruption scandals."

InSight Crime is a foundation dedicated to the study of the principal threat to national and citizen security in Latin America and the Caribbean: organized crime.

Diabetic in a Third World Country

For those who know me, you know I don’t like to be real serious. I prefer to see people smile and laugh. When I was in the area of LaRepresa I met this woman who had a great sense of humor. 

She lives in a small wooden home made of what appeared to be wooden slats or clapboard. My friend Leslie greeted her by saying “Feliz Navidad (Merry Christmas).” That is just about the only thing that Leslie can say in Spanish, but this young lady got a real kick out of it considering it is October. She even did a little dance for us and then invited us to sit on her front porch. 

Her home, with a thick concrete floor, was very neat and clean inside. I noticed on a shelf she had several whiskey bottles, all empty. I jokingly said to her with the help of a translator, “I see you are a big fan of whiskey.” She laughed and said, “No, no – I like the bottles, they are good for decoration (No, no - Me gustan las botellas, que son buenos para la decoración).” 

Our conversation then turned a little more serious. She told of how she suffers from diabetes and her blood sugar level is currently too high. I felt bad for her because high blood sugar levels can make you feel sick to your stomach, weak and groggy. Despite those pains, she still managed to laugh at some of the things I had to say when I told her I was a crazy American (Americano loco). 

She told me she receives her medication from the nearby Farmacia del Pueblo El Caobal (The Pharmacy in El Caobal). I asked if she was out of medication and she smiled and said, “No.” 

In 2014, there were 669,000 cases of diabetes in the Dominican Republic. Keep in mind the country is about half the size of the state of Tennessee, but has well over 10-million residents. 

Despite her illness she had a great laugh. She loves her husband who works hard daily and she loves her home. You can’t get much better than that. 

“I see skies of blue, and clouds of white,
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world.”

-Louis Armstrong

Speak Life to all

Photo taken in the Dominican Republic.

"Lift your head a little higher,
Spread the love like fire,
Hope will fall like rain,
When you speak life with the words you say."

"Raise your thoughts a little higher,
Use your words to inspire,
Joy will fall like rain,
When you speak life with the things you say."

-Toby Mac

Hide and Seek in a Third World Country

The traditional game of hide and seek is not just found in your backyard. It is also found on the small streets of the Dominican Republic.

This young boy was walking with a group of his friends when he quietly ducked behind a rock as his buddies continued to walk. He then peeked over the large stone to see if they noticed that he had mysteriously vanished. They noticed and started laughing when they saw his head appear behind the rock that was sitting in front of a small roadside store that normally sells fresh avocado's. However, the store was closed as it was a Sunday.

It was refreshing to see all the children in the Dominican playing outside as opposed to the quiet streets in America. It seems as if many children here lock themselves in their bedrooms while glued to gaming devices and telephones. In some areas of the U.S., sounds of children no longer fill the air because parents are overly concerned about their children being kidnapped or attacked in some way. I too have that fear at times, but have to remind myself that it is unlikely.

When I was younger, I would ride my bike to Kroger with friends and hit the candy aisle. I bet I did that when I was as young as 11 and we lived about 3-miles from the store. I know times are different, but I dislike the fact that a few thugs in our community have risen the fears that parents face to an unreasonable level. And to think crime is higher in most third world countries, but the children feel more freedom when compared to our own backyard.

"Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn." - O. Fred Donaldson

Sleeping on the streets

His bone structure could clearly be seen through his leathery skin as he slept next to the street. This photo was captured in Santo Domingo this past week. I shot this in an area that is well-traveled by locals and rarely seen by tourist. This man was asleep on a busy sidewalk using his hands to cradle his head and to protect it from the hot concrete. When I walked back by 30-minutes later, he was gone. 

WAGES: In the overcrowded and dirty capital of the Dominican Republic, the average wage amounts to $86 U.S. dollars per month. Those who are paid a bit more earn a whopping $172 U.S. dollars monthly. In Pesos, that is between 3,000 to 6,000 each month.

TRASH: While sections of the Dominican are beautiful, most areas are littered with trash, discarded tires, water bottles and more. However, most Dominicans are more resourceful than those in America. 

Here (America), we may gather with family for a cookout and utilize paper plates, plastic forks and styrofoam cups. After we use those products, we throw them away. In the Dominican, residents will re-use the same materials for a week and sometimes longer. While Americans throw their products into the garbage which will eventually head to a landfill, many residents there will throw the same items into the street and later burn them. In other words, our trash collects in larger quantities and it ends up in a nice neat pile. Their trash is less in quantity, but piles up in the streets to eventually be burned. 

CRIME: Crime in the Dominican is something that you can’t ignore. In a national report filed by the United States Department of State, the crime rate for the Dominican is recorded as HIGH listing Santo Domingo as one of the top cities for Robbery, Assaults and rape. Alcohol abuse and drug trafficking is also listed in the report as being major problems in the third world country. 

GOOD NEWS: Churches throughout the world are slowly taking notice of the growing problems in third world countries like the Dominican and Haiti. New Vision Baptist Church in Murfreesboro has literally changed the face of LaRepresa, Dominican Republic in more ways than one. The church is now aiming their sites on other nearby areas as well. New Vision has even opened a Christian School in one village that has a state of the art computer lab to help children learn more about technology. One missionary even stated that he feels more comfortable allowing his daughters to walk through the LaRepressa village than he does allowing them to walk around Murfreesboro. To me, that speaks volumes of the changes taking place in the hearts of those who call that area home. 

Ramone at age 80

80-Year old Ramone lives in a small concrete home with curtains for doors. He invited us in asking his guest to sit on his vanilla colored sofa. He then started to talk about the passing of his wife just two months ago. Tears of sadness mixed with the joys of his memory of her ran down his face as he talked about how she loved to sit and talk with visitors.

Prior to living in the village he calls home today, he lived on a mountain side in the Dominican Republic. He was a farmer by trade and spent years and years in the field. He would then sell plantains, beans and bananas that he harvested to locals.

A woman who was in the home helping him fixed us coffee just like his wife once did in years past. Ramone loved his wife so much and brought out a small photo album with pictures of the two captured by missionaries in LaRepresa. Those photos are his prized possession of his memories.

“Remember that creating a successful marriage is like farming: you have to start over again every morning.” - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Sitting in Santo Domingo

He was quietly sitting on a concrete bench in an area of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This is an area where locals shop the market that is filled with chickens, fruit, shoes and even cellphones. It is an area that tourist rarely visit, but filled with thousands of daily shoppers buying food and merchandise for their families.

Santo Domingo is the capital of the Dominican Republic and one of the Caribbean's oldest cities. The city was founded in 1496 and some of the roads are still made of old cobblestone. 

I was told that many of the clothes and shoes that are sold on the streets come from Haiti. Evidently, people donate clothing by the truckload in Haiti and some Dominicans will meet with Haitians at the border to gather the clothing and then sell it to support their families.

The population in Santo Domingo is around 3-million, according to some of the residents who live in the city.  lthough, the last census in 2010 showed just under 1-million. However, the census is next to impossible to get accurate counts as many live on the streets, under bridges and share small apartments with multiple families. 3-Million is likely more accurate. When you are in Santo Domingo you literally brush shoulders with thousands of people as everything is so busy. 

The city and the villages in the Dominican are filled with trash on every corner, some trash burning in the streets. The water is unsafe to drink for both locals and tourist. Therefore, water is sold in plastic bags, jugs and bottles. 

My birds

Residents in the small village of LaRepresa, Dominican Republic don’t have tons of possession’s, but what they do have are possessions they love. 

This older woman is showing us her prized birds that she keeps in her small wooden home with a rusty metal roof. The birds are kept in a cage hanging from the rafters in her home. As you can see, this room is her kitchen / living room. 

Electricity is scarce in most Dominican villages. The week I was in LaRepresa next to the town of Caobal - the electricity was out for about five days and the river where the locals go for bathing, washing clothes and recreation is nearly dry as rain has been something that has lacked in recent weeks. 

Despite the lack of “stuff,” residents invite strangers inside their homes and sometimes offer the only chairs they own for visitors to sit in as they stand. They also work hard to be hospitable by serving visitors coffee made with freshly harvested coffee beans. 

"Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens. If you have them, you have to take care of them! There is great freedom in simplicity of living. It is those who have enough but not too much who are the happiest." - Peace Pilgrim