Hunter Isgrid , a junior in biological sciences, has a problem with the missionary approach to service. He doesn’t like the one-directional, paternalistic dependence it promotes, and that’s why he joined with Brian Gaudio , a junior in architecture, to start a service team that veered in a different direction.
Isgrid and Gaudio created Que Lo Que , a service organization dedicated to building relationships with the town of Lajas in the Dominican Republic. Que lo que is the equivalent of “what’s up” in Dominican Spanish slang, and the organization is working to assess the “what” of Lajas . That includes what are the community’s resources, what infrastructure exists, where is it located and what needs to be done for the future.
The organization traveled last year with a group of students from N.C . State, but Gaudio and Isgrid are the only ones returning this summer for five weeks. During their first trip, the team assessed community needs in Lajas , this trip, they’re looking to create a map of the village.
“We’re going to map everything out and bring all the data back to the U.S . to analyze,” Isgrid said. “We want to present this to the community, as a map of their own town. They don’t have that, and if you think about it, if you don’t know what or where your resources are, you’re not going to use space efficiently.”
This project is a small peice of a five-year program that Gaudio and Isgrid spearheaded two years ago, as part of a strategy called asset based community development, or ABCD .
“ABCD allows people in any community, for us Lajas , to learn about what they have to use for themselves,” Isgrid said. “We’re not going in there telling what to do. We’re having conversations and prompting thought. We don’t know how Lajas should develop itself, but we can learn with them on how they can do it on their own.”
For Gaudio , his first experience while serving in the Dominican Republic was what he called a one-way street.
“I had a bad taste in my mouth after leaving the D.R . my first time,” Gaudi said. “I wanted to see how could we move forward as opposed to continuing the same thing. International aid is everywhere, but is it doing any good?”
The vision of Que Lo Que is two fold: It’s creating cross-cultural relationships that are sustainable, and connecting those experiences with middle schoolers in Raleigh, according to Gaudio . The program started a global citizenship program at Centennial Campus Magnet Middle School, and throughout the four weeks of implementation, middle school and college students have discussed emerging social issues.
“We’re looking to establish ways to allow Lajas and our students in Raleigh to achieve,” Gaudio said. “Not by implementing projects, but building relationships that last longer than short term solutions.”