Fellow ACC members and friends,
The Good Samaritan hospital is the primary focus of the mission’s construction efforts. The hospital was founded to serve the medical needs of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. It now serves all residents of La Romana and the Dominican Republic, regardless of race, creed, or national origin. Construction started in 1985.
Our construction teams are tasked with working on projects to maintain the finished parts of the hospital and to help with new construction. We receive our assignments through local translators. We frequently work with local laborers.
The work, so far, has been quite straightforward. Some crews have spent a lot of time moving sand, concrete blocks, and bags of cement for the ongoing construction of the upper floors. My crews have been painting on the second floor of the hospital while hospital business continues around us. Small crews made up of more skilled members has been doing electrical work and masonry work in the new construction areas.
We have had the usual challenges while working on construction projects. There’s always a shortage of basic tools and supplies. It can be hard to find a wheel barrow, step ladder, drop cloth, or any number of other tools. We all borrow and improvise and wait our turns. The last could days have presented a different challenge to crews working in open air environments. We’ve had wind gusts up to 40 MPH. It all goes with the territory.
Through all this, we’ve been able to see progress. There are rooms where concrete blocks were piled a year ago. And more importantly, we continue to receive the gratitude of the staff of the hospital and those able to use its services.
Please keep us in your thoughts as we return from our mission. We look forward to seeing you all soon.
Faithfully submitted,
Tom Kohls
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