This week our volunteers spent the most time sharpening their teamwork skills and taking their volleyball team to the next level. Surely they enjoyed their practices and got closer to their communities and local youth. All teams participated with one goal in mind: playing in the Amigos de las Americas Volleyball Tournament.

The towns of Cabral and Oviedo hosted the contests, and everyone witnessed how much effort each team had put into mastering volleyball and becoming a strong team. Only one team could win the first place, but it was clear that everyone enjoyed the process and that good friends, joy, and lots of sweat can make anyone become a strong player in just a few weeks.

Bachata and good food accompanied our volunteers during the tournaments, and the heat was intense as usual in Barahona, but even the weather was not enough to drain the energy out of our fearless competitors. They also had a great time catching up with other volunteers from different communities and preparing for their last week in community.

Now, our volunteers are getting ready to finish their summer strong as they are closing their community projects this week.

We are glad to say that they have made Barahona very grateful for having them! Here are some highlights from Alex’s route:

This week all of my communities completed their Community Based Initiative Projects! Emily and Emma in La Lista painted their town’s local basketball court and aside from it looking amazing, the local youth love it and play everyday. Thomas and Jack in Las Salinas worked with their friends on the local girl’s volleyball team to design new jerseys, order them from Santo Domingo, and acquire brand new volleyball equipment. Finally, Emily, Aerin, and Kerawin in Saladillo painted the basketball court in their town’s elementary school with official lines for both basketball and volleyball, so that both community members and future students can practice and play everyday!

Our volunteers have made this project an incredible success. Session A has been filled with laughter, teamwork, cultural immersion and lots of sports practices!