Hands in Service has been sending medical teams around the world since 2008. Our teams bring generations of Christians together to serve the Lord by serving those in need. Team members can be as young as 14 (accompanied by a parent or guardian). Many retirees donate their time to participate in these teams. In 2026, we had an 89 year old nurse join us to administer vaccines!
In 2017, we took our first team to the sugar cane fields of the Dominican Republic. The communities in the sugar cane fields are called "bateys". The word batey is a Haitian Creole word that is translated into English as "battle, struggle or fight" (Batey in English, (n.d.). Haitians immigrate to the Dominican Republic with the hope of improving their standard of living. However, Jonas Pierre, a Haitian immigrant and cane cutter in Latey Los Pelao stated it this way: “Life here should be better than in Haiti,” he says, “but the work isn’t good. They don’t treat us well in this country. Sometimes you go a week without enough to eat” (Bracken, A. 2015). In an effort to share the gospel, decrease the suffering of the Haitian immigrants working in the bateys, and decrease the prevalence of antihaitianismo, Hands in Service and Pastor Isidro Mejia of Ministerio Casa de Restauracion in La Romana, Dominican Republic have been serving together since 2017. Mary Tornetta RN and Dr. Gerald Montas Inirio work together to plan the medical aspects of the clinics. |
Pastor Isidro sharing the word during clinic.
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References
A Manual: Measuring and Interpreting Malnutrition and Mortality [Pdf]. (2005, July). Center
for Disease Control and the World Food Program. http://www.unhcr.org/45f6abc92.pdf
Batey in English. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2018, from https://glosbe.com/ht/en/batey
Direct translation from Haitian Creole to English
Bracken, A. (2015). Blood, sweat and sugar: Trade deal fails Haitian workers on DR plantations.
Retrieved April 20, 2018, from http://america.aljazeera.com/multimedia/2015/7/blood-sweat-and-sugar-trade-deal-fails-haitian-workers-in-dr.html
Jung, Y. (2006, May 9). HEALTH AS A RIGHT: Haitian Immigrants in the Dominican Republic
[Pdf]. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University. http://sph.rutgers.edu/service/dr_outreach/health_rights.pdf
Lemione, M. Bitter Sugar: Modern Slavery in the Caribbean. Banner Press: Chicago. 1985.
A Manual: Measuring and Interpreting Malnutrition and Mortality [Pdf]. (2005, July). Center
for Disease Control and the World Food Program. http://www.unhcr.org/45f6abc92.pdf
Batey in English. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2018, from https://glosbe.com/ht/en/batey
Direct translation from Haitian Creole to English
Bracken, A. (2015). Blood, sweat and sugar: Trade deal fails Haitian workers on DR plantations.
Retrieved April 20, 2018, from http://america.aljazeera.com/multimedia/2015/7/blood-sweat-and-sugar-trade-deal-fails-haitian-workers-in-dr.html
Jung, Y. (2006, May 9). HEALTH AS A RIGHT: Haitian Immigrants in the Dominican Republic
[Pdf]. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University. http://sph.rutgers.edu/service/dr_outreach/health_rights.pdf
Lemione, M. Bitter Sugar: Modern Slavery in the Caribbean. Banner Press: Chicago. 1985.
