Hey, my name is Kelly Williams, and I want to share my experience of traveling to the Dominican Republic on a service trip with FNE International to help a school construct a new floor. 

I traveled with FNE four years ago as a first year student in high school to build a home in Nicargua. Although that trip changed my life over the week spent in Chacraseca, La Romana changed it again within moments of being there this past April.


Coming from a small town in New Hampshire, USA, I’ve always had everything I’ve needed. Even as a poor child of the US, I still had everything I needed. The kids of La Romana FUCPE school don’t have everything they need because their home is much further behind in development than mine is.  When we arrived at the school first day, I was sitting in the center of a large group of younger students. They had many questions about my home and the nice things that I must have there. I stopped them and started asking questions about their home because I wanted to know too. One little boy asked me if I liked the Dominican and I explained that I liked their home more than mine. At first they couldn’t believe me but continued to say their home was beautiful and I never wanted to leave. They started to cheer and shout thank you. 

So, the way I see it, is the students of FUCPE are no different than I, we are exactly the same. We all have dreams, aspirations, and goals for our futures, our circumstances are just unfortunately different. After my time in the Dominican Republic, it’s been hard to come back and live the way I live here, with opportunities and access to unlimited resources. It’s an experience you don’t just forget when you step off the plane, arrive home. It stays with you everyday. I no longer waste food, complain about dumb luxuries I’m so blessed to have, or take the small things like having my own space in my home for granted. It can’t just stop there either. I now have 300 kids who are forever a part of my heart that I want to help change the world for.

FNE International didn’t just take me on a trip to a new place - I was shown that the world is so much bigger than New Hampshire, with so many problems and so many people who deserve better lives. If everyone gave just a week of their time, or a dollar that they probably forgot about in the wash, or even just opened their hearts and minds to the outside world that is calling for change, we could change the world.



HOMBRE (Hispanic Outreach Medical Brigade Relief Effort) trip to Peru 2023

Going into Peru as a fourth year pharmacy student, I didn’t really know what to expect. I was hoping to learn a little bit about the culture of Peru and expand my knowledge and comfort in the practice of pharmacy. I wasn’t expecting to leave Peru with a love and appreciation for their country and culture and a new sense of purpose in the pharmacy field. 

Over our 2 weeks we were able to help about 1000 patients from 10 communities who otherwise might not have been able to access the care they needed. Not only were we able to provide care for needs such as infections, asthma, and chronic pain, but we were also able to educate patients and bring awareness to conditions like anemia. I’m often asked why I’m choosing a career in pharmacy and my answer, like many healthcare professionals, is I want to help people. This experience reminded me of my why- many of these patients needed someone to listen to their story, listen to their hardships, and make them feel seen. More than the “help” I was able to provide with medications, the importance of helping patients feel seen is what I was reminded of on this trip. 

Most of the clinics were held at schools in the community and while providing medical care to these patients was important, I also hope we inspired some of the kids. We had some doctors from Lima on this brigade and a number of kids shared their interest in wanting to become a
doctor, so to see both providers from the US and Peru was hopefully inspiring to them. 

Coming from the south, I’m used to southern hospitality but I was blown away by how friendly and welcoming everyone was. From the time we got to Zaña we were treated as family! Flor generously opened her home to us and both her and her staff treated us as one of their own and helped immerse us into their culture. We learned about ruins in Zaña, saw an archeological site in Sipán, had a cultural exchange night, and took part in a library opening ceremony.


We also worked closely with a translator, Roger, and he was able to give us so much perspective on both his life in Chiclayo and some of the cultural differences between the United States and the communities where we held clinic. All of this gave me a deeper and more complete understanding of Peru.


Overall, I learned so much on this trip and hope I gave the people of Peru as much as I gained from my time in Peru. Thank you to FNE International for organizing an unforgettable medical brigade.

My 2023 trip to the Dominican Republic with FNEI (Kelly)

More Stories

My 2023 trip to Peru with HOMBRE & FNEI (Hannah)

Building communities amid the crisis

This New House – Mendez Vivas Family

Living with Hope by Al Cipoletti

Trip Reflections – Jon Hwang

FUCPE

Dominican Republic School Expansion Project

Brigham and Women’s Hospital

NicaLove

Stony Brook PA Trip

Leon Firefighters

Building a School in DR

Cusco Trip

Nuevas Esperanzas x FNE International

Kaylo Littlejohn – Running 240 Miles for Nicaragua

Sharon Trip

York PA Trip

July Peru Trip

Indiana 2018

FNE UM

Franklin Pierce

Sharon High School

Truck Fundraiser

Robin

Luis Ernesto Prieto

Guisell Gomez

Mariantonieta Anto Chavez

Emily Sendin: Tengo un Sueño

Jack Stalzer