Weekly Article

Last week I had the opportunity and privilege to venture to the Dominican Republic with Derry Church. This trip is organized by Bridges for Community, a non-profit that has had connections to Derry Church from its inception. We were partnered with a group from Morgan Stanley that was comprised of mostly young professionals who worked in AI, investment banking, algorithms, and more. We also had a wonderful range of belief systems represented: agnostic, atheist, Church of Latter Day Saints, Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, and Presbyterian. Many in the group were first and second generation immigrants. This led to hours of conversation where we shared our stories and created new ones together. This group was driven, sharing a common goal to do the most good possible. Bridges helped to direct this energy into tangible results. Over the course of the week, we built three houses from concrete and block, each one about 400 square feet.

Bridges for Community is a secular, non-profit organization that attempts to aid impoverished communities in the DR in the areas of housing, education, and health. The impact they have is dependent on how many people make the trip. Their model is simple in that nearly all the money raised goes directly into the community. They have eight consistent staff members (two from the US and six in the DR). They contract out all the cooking, masons, construction, cleaning, and laundry needs to the people in the local villages.  They buy all supplies from local vendors. This helps the local economy in the communities that we are serving.   

Bridges has built 53 houses for communities since 2018, and while there is still a need, this has created momentum and energy from within the community.  While we were shoveling and mixing cement, people from the village walked up, grabbed a shovel, and helped. I later found out that these were often recipients of houses previously built, or they are related to someone who received help. Their help was much appreciated.  What we could do in our boots, gloves, and hats, was often doubled by the locals wearing crocs and using their bare hands.

I was impressed by this organization and have seen firsthand how being a consistent presence that offers aid through a relationship that offers dignity can truly make a difference.  While there is still much to do, this community can thrive, and it is amazing that Derry Church through Bridges of Community gets to be a part of that. We had five from Derry go this year. I hope that next year we can double that number.