Meet Erlande! On our trip to Maggiolo (hole of the pigs) this morning, Antoinio, William and I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with her during her morning routine. Erlande (pictured in the black & white dress) is 28 years old and is originally from Haiti. She moved to the Dominican Republic in 2010, which is when she met her husband, and has lived in Maggiolo for 2 years. They have been married for a year and a half and have a child who is a year old. Erlande spends most of her days in Maggiolo cleaning out silverware and glasses to make them look new, so she can later go sell them in Haiti. Her husband, a former teacher, currently isn’t working so he spends a lot of his days in the garbage dump nearby, looking for whatever he can to make some money to provide for his family. Erlande, her husband, and their baby live next door to Erlande’s sister, Natasha (pictured in blue) who is also from Haiti and they have 2 brothers nearby. They pay 600 Dominican pesos per month for the rent of their home—which is around $13 in America. Erlande goes to church on Saturday’s and says that she hopes to one day have a better job, if it is God’s will and He provides. I look forward to getting to build a better relationship with Erlande and gettings to know her more as the summer goes on!
