Community Travel
Students will have the opportunity to put their theory into practice by engaging with biotechnology oriented businesses in the Richmond community and in the Dominican Republic while working with our partner organization, Esperanza International.
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
October 11–15, 2014
The Business of Science community will go to the Dominican Republic over Fall Break to visit with the non-governmental organization Esperanza, which provides low-interest microcredit finance loans to women in the Dominican Republic. During the trip students will:
- Meet and interact with Esperanza loan officers and employees to understand how microcredit finance works
- Meet and interact with associates receiving microcredit loans from Esperanza; visit their businesses and communities
- See Esperanza's "plus" programs: health clinics, water purification projects, baseball projects
- Learn about HIV/AIDS in the Dominican Republic by meeting with people living with the disease, doctors and counselors
- Visit a batey community (sugar cane field community) and observe a bank meeting
- Visit Heart Care Domincana
The students will also present their speaking book project ideas that will address a health need in the Dominican Republic. These speaking books will be the student's capstone projects and will be given to Esperanza for distribution.