DR

This last week I was in the Dominican Republic at an all inclusive resort, but once I was there I started to think about the fact that it really was not that inclusive. I am not talking about the fact that it cost so dam much, I am talking about the fact that it was physically not accessible to meet everyone’s needs. This got me thinking about a few things like who could travel to the country for a vacations but more importantly what life would be like in the DR if you where in a wheelchair or had other disabilities. The average labor makes 10 dollars a week, while people at the resort make 40 Dollars a week. This amount of money is barely enough to live on so I am wondering how people would be able to afford some of the technological advances we as Canadians are use to or can find for are children. When I got home I started to do some investigations into this and though not surprised I found out that children with disabilities in DR normally do not live as long, and if they do they are the responsibility of the family and do not receive government money. One thing I did find out that L’ARSH Halifax also supports a home in the DR; the only other money comes from the Catholic Church. I then talked to the head of L’ARSH Halifax about the fact that there is no technology available to the people that need it down there; it was a heart breaking conversations. Especially talking about what I learned about switches and how they can open up so many doors and ways of communication which everyone has the right to. I only hope that one day soon they can have the same opportunities that children in the developed world have.