Timothy McDonough of Canton, a senior at Boston College High School, accompamied by three BC High teachers and ten fellow students, volunteered during the April vacation to go on a service immersion trip to the Dominican Republic . The group was based at the Spanish mission-styled ILAC Center in Santiago (Institute for Latin American Concern) affiliated with Creighton University.
McDonough took part in a number of activities including visits to an orphanage for mentally handicapped children , a home for the elderly, and an elementary school. The group also traveled to the small city of Dajabon, a city on the Haitian border, where they learned about some of the difficulties faced by the people of that region and where they witnessed the weekly market delivering of goods and food to and from Haiti.
They learned the history of the region through a visit to Solidaridad Fronteriza, a group that works closely with the Jesuit Refugee Service. Lastly, they traveled to a village in the countryside where they assisted in a large project whose goal is to bring clean water to sixteen rural communities.
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While the immersion experience lasted only a week, all involved remarked that what they took from the Dominican Republic was a life-altering experience that will last a lifetime.
Boston College High School is a Jesuit, Catholic, college-preparatory school for young men founded in 1863. The school enrolls approximately 1600 students from more than 100 communities in eastern Massachusetts. For more http://www.bchigh.edu