The Compassion Experience | Motherhood Unplugged

The boys and I had the pleasure of attending The Compassion Experience. I had been looking online for a cultural experience to take the boys on before school started and this was the perfect opportunity and timing. The Compassion Experience allows you to explore another world without leaving yours. You are able to walk through an immersive exhibit touring another part of the world all while learning about a specific child's experience, culture and story. We walked a tour in the Dominican Republic and learned about a young girl named Yannely. The Dominican Republic (DR) is a country on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola; the other country on the island is Haiti. The DR has a variety of different landscapes, beautiful beaches along its coastline, mountain ranges and fertile plains. It is a very popular tourist destination, home to many fancy hotels and golf resorts. Though slavery to other humans is no longer a legal threat, poverty still enslaves a large portion of the Dominican people.
Half of the country does not have access to clean water, and over half of the country does not have sanitary toilets. 41% of people live below the national poverty line of $1.90/day (2013).
Since the main industry of the Dominican Republic is tourism, rural areas are often overlooked when it comes to government investment. In a country that is home to hundreds of luxury tourist resorts, one in five citizens is chronically undernourished.In the southwestern rural areas of the DR, five out of 10 young people are school dropouts. Site

Now, while I have visited the country of DR I have never actually gone into the cities and witnessed the levels of poverty many of them experience day to day. It was quite eye opening as a person who has also grown up in an area populated by impoverished people, poverty in America still does not compare to the levels of poverty elsewhere. The boys and I were given a headset to listen to her story as we walked through the different rooms of her house. After the walking tour, you have an opportunity to view packets of various children's stories and contribute to their well-being through sponsorship.

Overall, I believe this was a great cultural experience for a 3 + 5 year old to witness. Along our family travels they have not really been made aware of the sufferings of others throughout the world but this definitely was an eye opener for them. I explained to them what it means to have compassion for others and also what it means to be appreciative. I started thinking how we could do more personally for the children and I decided to create a line of shirts that would directly benefit their cause. Below you will find our 'Compassion' tees. 10% of all proceeds from the sale of these shirts will go towards the benefit of child in The Compassion Experience.

You can learn more about The Compassion Experience here.

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