The lushness of the countryside and the warmth of the people enchanted Tricia Thorndike Suriel as she bicycled around the northern part of the Dominican Republic scouting the routes for her adventure travel company, Iguana Mama.
But at nearly every turn, the Pittsford native confronted poverty. It was particularly wrenching whenever she cam upon a school. She saw pupils sitting two to a desk. They had no books. The one-room buildings didn't have proper bathrooms.
It didn't seem fair. "These kids want to go to school and they have nothing," she said.
For ten years she ran her business in Cabarete, a city on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, Thorndike Suriel also recruited philanthropists and volunteers in that country and in the United States to aid schools. They built libraries, bought supplies, recruited volunteers and even constructed bathrooms in one school.
Since selling her business a year ago, he has expanded her efforts into the Dominican Republic Education And Mentoring Project.
The DREAM Project's mission is to supply the money, supplies, and volunteers to enhance the education of the rural children by improving the school buildings and adding volunteer teachers. Her goal is to raise $200,000 this year. Already, she said, she has $52,000.
"I grew up in a family of educators," she said of her father, Ed, who teaches at the University of Rochester, and mother, Liz, who teaches a course at Cornell University in Ithaca, Tompkins County. "Maybe that's why I chose to do this and not vaccinate everyone in town."
While the nonprofit group accepts contributions from anyone, Thorndike Suriel is creating partnerships to connect tourists with residents of Cabarete and the north coast of the country.
"It's unique to have a private organization focus on doing something good, and use tourism to fund it," said Thorndike Suriel, 41, the project's executive director.
She's targeting the perfect issue and going about it in the right way, said Michael McCabe, deputy director of the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. Ironically, he graduated from Pittsford Mendon High School two years after Thorndike Suriel, but he did not know her until they met in the Dominican Republic.
The country ranks low in many educational indicators, while tourism is a growing source of income. But not everyone is sharing in the wealth. "She's helping tourists be aware of the region," McCabe said. In the past few months, he and Thorndike Suriel have swapped stories about their hometown as they talked about ways to help in their new surroundings.
"This is a super important project," said Lisa Kirkman, general manger of the Sea Horse ranch in Sosua, near Cabarete. The resort is one of the 25 businesses listed as partners on the Website, dominicandream.org. "It will greatly improve the lives of the children in the area."
Kirkman has posted information about the DREAM Project near the concierge desk, and already has had several inquiries from clients about how could donate or volunteer.
"I believe in humanity. People just want something to believe in, to give a donation and have something work."
Thorndike Suriel grew up without many wants, yet she has been attentive to others' needs.
"She's very much a people person," Ed Thorndike said of his middle child. "It's difficult for her to be involved with people without getting concerned their lives, as well. She's working hard to make the world better."
Her worldview may have been formed through a lifetime of travel and early years spent leafing through copies of National Geographic in her family's library.
She first came to the Dominican Republic in 1992 on a vacation after stops in other Latin American countries. In 1993, she returned to found Iguana Mama. It was one of the country's first ecotour companies, which combine adventure with social responsibility.
Right away, she showed a philanthropic side. She offered discounts to clients who donated Spanish-1anguage books, and the company sponsored a child attend a private school. She worked with Dartmouth College to bring volunteers to Cabarete to teach English.
She married Freddy Suriel, a native of Cabarete in 1995. They have two children, son Nico, 7, and daughter Tati, 5, both born in Rochester. While. Thorndike Suriel has a house near Ithaca; she has made her home in Cabarete.
"Having come down a gringo, she has become very much a part of the community," said her father.
Thorndike Suriel's commitment - she's talking about a 10-year plan and eventua1ly reaching preschoolers- and her track record convince people that the DREAM Project is no fantasy.
