The Encuentro Dominicano Program is an enriching academic and personal opportunity. The cohorts that visit the Dominican Republic each year to participate in this program at the ILAC Mission have been primarily comprised of students from the Creighton University College of Arts and Sciences. This program includes an experience living with Dominican families in the countryside, as well as time at the ILAC Center studying Spanish, Theology and Dominican History, from a social, political and economic standpoint.
In addition to studying, the heart of this program are the two immersions in the countryside. The families open their homes to the students with generous hospitality. And in that exchange, the students are adopted as sons and daughters. The tears and hugs at the end of each immersion are testimonies that this experience is one of love and service.
Throughout their time in the countryside, the students work alongside community leaders in projects such as the construction of aqueducts, schools, greenhouses and latrines, as well as rebuilding homes. The Encuentro Dominicano program provides the funding for these projects.
The integration of the students with their families in the countryside is possible due to the Dominican tradition of offering everything one has, even if it is little. This enriching formula of experiencing the local culture, of learning how to “love in a Dominican way,” is the spirit of the Encuentro Dominicano program.