In March 2026, members of Mission Gait’s Walking Free team and the Chair of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy Program traveled to the Dominican Republic for a week of meetings, site visits, and conversations that deepened our understanding of what a meaningful international partnership should look like.
David Lawrence, MSPT, GRS, AT-ret, Founder and CEO of Mission Gait, Holden Russell, MA, Director of Mission Advancement at Mission Gait, and Ben Darter, PT, PHD, Chair and program director of the DPT Program at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), departed from Richmond, Virginia on Sunday, March 8, 2026, en route to Santiago, Dominican Republic. Already in the country awaiting our arrival was the fourth member of the team, Gilberto “Gil” Mejia, CPO, a Certified Prosthetist and Orthotists and longtime Walking Free volunteer.
This trip was far from a first for Walking Free. David and Gil have volunteered alongside partners in the Dominican Republic for more than two decades, strengthening sustainable prosthetic and orthotic care through education, training, mentorship, and long-term collaboration. David first began traveling to the country in 2001, with Gil joining the effort in 2003. While the foundation for this work was already well established, this visit marked Holden’s first trip to the country and provided an opportunity to introduce Dr. Ben Darter and VCU to organizations and partners throughout the Dominican Republic, opening the door to new relationships and future collaboration built upon decades of partnership.
While the team traveled with three large duffel bags filled with prosthetic and orthotic components for donation, the trip was never about arriving in-country with all of the answers. It was about listening carefully, learning from local leaders, and taking another step toward relationships rooted in mutual respect, shared purpose, and long-term collaboration.
For Mission Gait, international work has always been most meaningful when it is guided by local expertise and shaped by the realities of the communities we hope to support. That truth was evident from the moment we landed, when we were welcomed by Ranvier Villegas and Jhoan Polanco, partners with the Institute for Latin American Concern, or ILAC, and part of a relationship with Walking Free that has now spanned more than fifteen years. Their hospitality set the tone for the week ahead.
After checking in at Hodelpa Gran Almirante in Santiago, the team began a packed week of collaboration and connection building. On Monday, March 9, we visited ILAC and met with an impressive group of leaders and partners, including Dasmeili Peralta, Ranvier Villegas, Radalme Peña, Jose Miguel Portes, and Gisselle Medina. We toured the clinic and prosthetics and orthotics lab, gaining a closer view of the infrastructure and commitment that support ILAC’s work in the region.
One of the most meaningful parts of the day was reconnecting with Dasmeili Peralta, a physical therapist at ILAC and the first participant in the Walking Free Exchange Program.
Earlier in the year, Dasmeili traveled to Richmond for two weeks to observe therapy and rehabilitation education in the United States. Her two week stay in Richmond, VA consisted of shadowing sessions with well known organizations like Sheltering Arms Institute, Hospital Corporation of America, Hanger Clinic, American O&P, Lawrence Rehabilitation – The Gait Center, AccentCares Home Health. She also shared her experiences and perspectives in a presentation to faculty and students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy School within the Department of Health Professions at VCU. If you want to hear from Dasmeili on her Experience in Richmond, VA, here is her interview.
Being able to connect back with Dasmeili in her home environment gave our team a fuller picture of what true exchange can look like. It was not simply a visit in one direction, but part of an ongoing dialogue where learning moves both ways.
We also met with representatives connected to Creighton University, where the main campus is located in Omaha, Nebraska, but their work at ILAC is so prominent they employ individuals who represent them on site, including Margarita Dubocq and Jhoan Polanco. Their partnership adds another dimension to the work being done in Santiago, showing how academic and clinical institutions can come together across borders to support sustainable rehabilitation efforts.
Later that day, we traveled into the campo to see where ILAC is working on community initiatives. There, we met with local residents, spoke with elders, and observed firsthand the realities faced by rural neighborhoods that need greater access to care and support. It was an eye-opening experience and an important reminder that the success of any international effort depends on understanding daily life at the community level, not just the structure of institutions.
Tuesday brought another full day in Santiago. In the morning, we visited Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, or PUCMM, where we met with leaders from the School of Health Sciences and the physical therapy program, including Josefina Yajaira Sanchez, Maria Castillo, and Jonathan Palatz Cedeño. Our conversations centered on physical therapy education, academic collaboration, and opportunities for deeper partnership in the future. A campus tour helped us better understand the setting in which future clinicians are being trained and reinforced the potential for long-term educational exchange.
From there, we visited Premier Physical Therapy and met with owner Lic. Milagros Martes Velasquez. Touring the facility and speaking directly with leadership offered a valuable perspective on private practice rehabilitation in the Dominican Republic. Every clinic and organization we visited contributed a unique piece to the larger picture of rehabilitation access, innovation, and need throughout the country.
Later that day, we also visited Patronato Cibao de Rehabilitación Santiago, where we met with María Seneida Jaquez and toured the hospital. This visit expanded our understanding of the institutional side of care delivery in the region and highlighted yet another avenue for future relationship-building.
On Wednesday, March 11, the team traveled from Santiago to Santo Domingo. There, we visited Omega O&P, where we toured the facility and saw skilled prosthetic and orthotic work taking place up close. During the visit, David and Gil had the opportunity to support a patient with a hip disarticulation through therapy and fitting efforts. Moments like this underscore how technical skill, compassion, and collaboration all intersect in prosthetic care. They also remind us that even in a trip centered on meetings and relationship-building, direct patient impact remains close at hand.
Thursday, March 12, was one of the busiest days of the trip. We began at Innovation O&P, where we met with Freddy and Daniel and toured the facility. We were so impressed by the unique organizational techniques employed by the team that we discussed the possibility of including their clinic in a video series that highlights different organizations around the world who are global representations of their field in their operations, initiatives, and overall abilities. Through Mission Gait’s educational platform, this video can be shared internationally to highlight innovative approaches to clinic management, patient care, and sustainability, providing both inspiration and practical guidance for organizations working in underserved regions. Unique in its style, their clinic is extremely organized and remains a staple of success in their field. This conversation reflected one of Mission Gait’s core strengths: using storytelling and education to elevate local expertise and make knowledge more accessible to clinicians and patients alike.
We then visited Asociación Dominicana de Rehabilitación (ADR) and met with Jilmary Josefina Tiburcio Pena, Maria Luisa Labernia Pruñonosa, and Celso Marranzini. During our time there, we toured the facility and discussed several exciting possibilities for collaboration, including future courses, having Jilmary travel to Virginia to experience our facilities, and translating videos and course materials into Spanish. These conversations were especially energizing because they pointed toward practical next steps that could increase access to educational content and strengthen professional ties between our organizations.
The day continued at El Centro de Atención Integral para la Discapacidad (CAID), where we met with Licda. Priscilla Socorro A. and Marianela Antonia Guzman and toured both the facility and operations. CAID’s focus on children with autism, down syndrome, and cerebral palsy added an important pediatric dimension to the week’s learning. Discussions there centered on pediatric certification and continuing education, and the visit reinforced the diversity of rehabilitation needs across the country.
We also connected with leaders at Universidad Católica Santo Domingo (UCSD), including Ynmaculada Torres, Jose Amado Tavarez, Omar Diaz, Dilenia Lizardo, Jose Coronado, Maribel Paniagua, and Marianela Guzman. These meetings continued to build our understanding of the Dominican Republic’s academic and clinical rehabilitation landscape and opened the door to future cooperation across multiple disciplines.
On Friday, March 13, we visited Technological Institute of the Americas (ITLA) to learn more about their work in 3D printing for prosthetics and orthotics. There, we met with David Rosario, toured the facility, and had the opportunity to speak with a patient who had been using a printed socket for one year. Hearing directly from someone living with the results of that innovation brought the week to a powerful close. It was a reminder that technology has its greatest value when it improves the lives of real people, and that local innovation should be recognized as an essential part of the future of rehabilitation.
Throughout the trip, one theme remained constant: partnership is strongest when it begins with humility. We did not go to the Dominican Republic to impose a model or deliver a one-sided solution. We went to listen, to learn, and to better understand how Mission Gait can contribute in ways that are responsive, respectful, and sustainable.
That lesson matters deeply to us. Too often, international work is framed around what one group brings to another. But the most meaningful work happens when both sides bring something of value, whether that is technical knowledge, clinical expertise, cultural understanding, educational opportunity, or simply the willingness to build trust over time. What we experienced throughout the week was not a series of isolated visits, but a growing network of relationships that have the potential to shape rehabilitation education and care for years to come.
We returned home grateful for every conversation, every tour, every introduction, and every honest exchange. We are thankful to ILAC, PUCMM, Premier Physical Therapy, PatronaPatronato Cibao de Rehabilitación, Omega O&P, Innovation O&P, ADR, CAID, UCSD, and ITLA for welcoming us so generously and sharing their work with us. We are especially grateful to the individuals who took the time to host us, answer questions, and imagine with us what future collaboration could look like.
Our March 2026 trip to the Dominican Republic was not the conclusion of a project. It was another step in a longer story. We left with a stronger understanding of the people and institutions already doing meaningful work, a deeper appreciation for the importance of mutual exchange, and renewed excitement about what can be built together.
Next steps include following up with the organizations we connected to, signing Memorandiums of Support and Understandings, and planning a true exchange in 2027, not only bringing members of the Dominican Republic to Richmond, VA, but sending a team of practitioners and students back to the Dominican Republic to learn from them, as well as teach.
