How does this medical mission work? Twenty years ago, a man in Abington had this vision for developing a hospital in the Dominican Republic. Through our church [First Baptist Church of Braintree], for the past 10 years, we’ve been going there. It’s in the town of Laromana, that’s where we camp, and from there we go out to these bateys. A batey is like a village for the Haitian sugar cane workers. There’s thousands in the Dominican Republic. Primarily they are places for indentured servants. They have no rights, they have no citizenship, they have no privileges. They have nothing. They are sent to these places and they become manual laborers for cutting the sugar cane. I think they’re paid like $4 a day. We team together with groups from all over New England, and about 24 weeks in a year different groups go for a week and provide medical help to these places.

Do you have a medical background? I was a nursing student, so I have a bit of knowledge dealing with preliminary stuff like blood pressure, pulse and temperatures. From there they go to our health care providers who are doctors and nurse practitioners. Rob used to be an Army medic. He did the same sort of things I did.

What kind of ailments did you see? We saw a boy with bilateral pneumonia — it was great that we could catch that. We saw a lot of high blood pressures. There was one lady, I took her blood pressure and it was like 230/110. She’d be stroking out — they’d be calling 9-1-1 — if she was in our country. So I took it again and, yep, it was 230/110. I asked the doctors, ‘Can you double-check this?’ and it was right.

What is it like seeing how these people live? Travel to a third-world country is always a big shock for us Americans. It’s overwhelming because the poverty is just unimaginable. We take so much for granted and they have virtually a bungalow that’s four-feet-by-four-feet to live in, raise their families in and die in. The sugar cane companies do provide the buildings, but that’s it. Most of the bateys have no sewage, no water. So when you see this for the first time, it’s really hard to wrap your head around it. Though they’re extremely happy people.

Being so close to Haiti, did you notice any effects from the Jan. 12 earthquake? A team left after our mission — people who had prepared in advance to go to Port-au-Prince and who had had malaria medication. The team from the hospital that we are connected with there had gone over during the very first week and brought some people back with them. One little boy traveled with us all week out to the bateys, and he had lost his family [in the earthquake]. So it was really touching to be with him.

Do you plan to go back? I’d love to go back. I went eight years ago, my first time, and it was so horrific. It really blew me away. I was so frustrated to see that there are people who are treated this way in this day and age. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. It took me a while to get the courage to go back. So when I went back this time I felt better about it because I saw some improvements. There’s a reduction in malnutrition, which is associated with worms with the children, because they have been educated to treat their water and wear shoes so they’re not getting infections.

Do you feel like you made a difference as part of this mission? You’re really helping, even just bringing simple toiletry care items or identifying things you need to follow up on. Like high blood pressure is extremely rampant in these places because of their diet, a lot of salt and spices. If we didn’t come and bring six months supply of high blood pressure medicine, they would be in a bad way. We also help with things like common childhood illnesses and dental care — a dentist goes out with us and does extractions primarily — and we educate on how to care for their teeth.

What is it like, returning from this sort of trip? I feel so blessed. I feel like not until you go on a trip like this and see how other people are living do you appreciate what we have. It puts life in perspective.