April 6th: More and more volunteers contact us to help Dominica and the children. Dominica appreciate A LOT those helpers as she does not feel alone doing the work. I just sent 6 suitcases = 300 lbs  Shoes, towels, garbage bags and medicine and essential oils were a hit. Here is what Dominica had to say:

 

 February 1st, 2009:I just made it back and have lots of pictures to edit (3 to 400). So please be patient. Kids are in good shape and

Allana and her group of 16 volunteers just did an amazing job with water (coming from a well now, no more expensive trucks coming 2/3 times a week), the new gas tank upstairs is functioning - no more trips twice a week to get a new portable gas tank); new earth in the park/garden so vegetables could be planted; new ceramic project; some kind of credit so women in crisis can work on their own project; new trash area, separate from the kids playground, etc. etc. Bravo Allana and your group.

I took 3 + 4 children for a week each to the hotel, + 4 days at Jean and PB for a fabulous new year celebration, + 9 kids for one day .  

at the beach (see the ones left behind!) and the fun for the 9 we took

Magical Allana is working on many projects with her team of 16: from current water from a well to gas tank installed upstairs to save time and $$ with cooking. Financial help is definitely needed. Just updated the wish list.

for some photos click here: http://www.4dshift.com/Orphanage06/2009photos.html

More to come soon - Marie

 Dominica and Patrizia with Keith, a caring visitor, in December and Nikos and his back pack

December 8, 2008 : Dominica and the children send their gratitude:

November 11, 2008:  Accomplishments in 2008 and Urgent Needs for next year

1.  in 2008, the biggest efforts and rewards were around the new dormitories now hosting 56 new children desperately in need of a home: a fantastic cooperation between the donors - mainly Blue House Effect and Jean Dye and their supporters. See the pictures on the web of those happy faces who moved in in July.

2.  And a very necessary multi-room where children do home work, computer classes, music, and are able to meet.

3.    A wonderful six week visit to MD by 7 from the orphanage. Those are never going to be the same!

     4.   The park turned into a garden to feed the children: 9 eggs/day; bananas, zuccini and melons, tomatoes etc

     5.    A dining room back, as classes are limited to the school side and this room is mainly reserved for the orphans  and the meals. 

      6.   Taking care of 77 + children thanks to all the donors.

       7.  And  Dominica who works 24x7 so the children have a chance to study and be fed etc. 

     8. Patrizia Pierantoni is back!!! Teaching English, working on the curriculum for the older children and being a true right hand for Dominica.

   9. A cemented ground so Kids can stay cleaner longer!

And Dominica's 6 most urgent needs

       A.  $5,000 /month to feed and take care of  the kids on a regular basis. They just lost a major food contributor and Jean and Don (who assumed this donation since July) are not sure if they can find  commitments to support  the orphans for 2009!  I told Dominica to stop giving chicken, fruits, etc and go back to rice and beans only.  And no Christmas dinner is planned at this time as there are too many bills to catch up with.

      B. The water project $2600 need $1600 or more for the pump and the well, so Dominica has unlimited water to bathe the children, wash their clothes and cook their food.

       C.  The installation of a big propane gas upstairs (for safety) and cheaper in the long run as the current set up lasts only for a week . This system will last 2.5 to 3 months.

        D. Buy an industrial stove (Allana group bought new burners), but the problem is the stove and there is a need need for an industrial stove  About $1,000.

        E. A commitment for $450/month for telephone and electricity. There are 3 telephones disconnected right now because 2 months are due  = $600 or so. Also staff taking care of orphans are at least 2 months behind.

F. Down payment for a newer jeep as the current one is 10 years old and often in the shop.

 So we need donors and  magicians to help her and the 77 children.  Thank You!

October 22: What happened to the older children Dominica raised?!?!
Dominica explains: "Everything goes under daily plan, and we just trust so much our Heavenly Father and welcome him to be permanent in our  life and to give us the strength, love and capacity to do his work here in the orphanage. Is it possible to send us funds for last month urgent needs like bread (the owner stopped delivering last week, until we pay the last bill),  the garbage,  the telephone will be disconnected. The truck to put water into the cistern, made six different trips, with three trucks each. Nice man, but asking for his money. Also four staff person expecting their September salary.
The funds under monthly basis received from Don and Jeannie go to feed the children. It does not include fruits. The higher cost here in the orphanage is to feed the children, but we also need $$ to have everything cleaned, washed. Our orphans are  treated like real children but the costs are much more expensive than our adolescent group.
The rent of the house where I live has two months behind now. The electricity in my place, isn't paid either. I had to take  my small salary and an advance to a company for  installing a well, which is an emergency so we stop buying those expensive  truckloads of water. When the well is in place, we will have our own water and will be able to share with our close community  if they need it. This water will be good for cooking, cleaning, bathrooms, washing the clothes and uniforms, but not for drinking.
The cost of this well is $2600. The company comes, digs a deep hole until they find water. It should take one day to dig the hole  and install the pomp which will solve a very difficult and costly situation. The regular water from the government is a real lottery.
.
I am using two addresses to receive emails. I think dominica@tricom.net is not working correctly or i need to pay it. Please send to this new address: <dominica_rosario@yahoo.com>  and send it to the old ones as well.
Now, I am so proud of our children David, 7, is a good leader; he is assisting many of the younger children.  Erika, 8, is one of  the best disciplined children and helping as well. Pena Gomez (= Junior), 13, is responsible to clean the whole area of the new park and the side of the school, on Saturday and Sunday. He needs to broom all the area. Antonio. 16. is responsible to clean the dormitories, fix all the beds, sweep the floors, the bathrooms and the whole area, just on the weekend.

Armando is in charge of maintaining the jeeps, and giving some assistance to the computers and equipment for the Art and Cultural classes twice  a week. Very soon Armando is going to organize short videos in CD format for the orphanage and school to pass to you and the donors, so they can have an idea of who we are. Antonio and few of the older children are part of the team. Julissa, 16, is working every afternoon with homework given by the teachers. Also she sleeps two nights of the weekend replacing the women sleeping in during the week. Athenas, Justin and Cheitania, 11, are working really hard around the dining room and the meals, cleaning all the  time to keep away the flies. Making sure the little kids are getting well behaved etc.

Paola Patricia, 14, (in green) is working with special children in the afternoon who have learning difficulties and following the psychologist's recommendations; who is coming twice a week now. Also she is feeding the babies who drink bottle milk, making sure that they all do. Rosanna, 16, is now, a good  supervisor to make sure that everyone is doing their work, including the women that are under monthly salary. Rosanna will be a good leader and she has all the keys to assist and take care of the items that we have in the storage room.
And Yeli, 16, is teaching in the morning with grade first, she is my assistant. I am the one behind Yeli and mark the needs of each one of the kids in first grade. I plan the curriculum  so she can follow it. Mairenis, 17, is following the 6th grade curriculum and  working with this group of children. She is  an excellent teacher and is putting all her energy to  teach this group of children. Stephanie Martin, 16, is working with the curriculum of Kinder Garden children. Giving these children just what they need.
I am so proud of them, Marie! They multiply the work I can do so we can meet our mission goals. They are passing on and giving back what they received, just like me! I knew that it was possible, if I give all my time and efforts, like I received when I was growing up in the old orphanage, giving a few hours as well.
Thank you  and all the dedicated sponsors for allowing all this to happen. You have pushed our ministry to be a true one and able to serve the special children of the Universe. the orphans, the abandoned and bitten ones. They will always love you here on  Earth and in Heaven. Blessings,  Dominica"
in red photo of latest who joined, Adrian, locked in all day while his father worked!
And Thank you LeAnne for the fundraising you just did in your Maine restaurant. As always it came just in time of urgent needs  to be addressed so we could continue taking care of the little ones. Thank YOU to the hundreds of your clients who made it possible!

October 21: "Dear Marie, I spoke to you in August about the money my son Michael,15,  raised for the Dominica Orphanage. In his 9th grade social studies class he was asked to find a way to help someone in need outside of the United States. He selected the orphanage in Santa Domingo in honor of Davis Ortiz who plays baseball for the Boston Red Sox and because he wanted to help needy children. He contacted a family friend, who donated 2 Red Sox tickets that he raffled off to students and staff at his school. And here is a photo of Michael Bilynsky with the $350.00. that he raised."  - Bravo

September 22: Thank you Ali and Celine for your timely help. Even though many of the children got conjunctivitis and other skin problems after all the rain in the island, Marie's oils like. Virus-out, Tiger, Immune Up and Mosquito out  have helped the children really well.

September 15: Update on the hurricanes -
"I had to borrow US$2,100 to pay for  the emergencies caused by the hurricanes and storms: water, food and medicines as I opened the doors to a group of women living in the shanties.

May I remind you that I am still paying the interests for the $10,000 check that I cashed from a donor and spent in March. But the check bounced and the bank wants its money back!!.
The orphanage with the 54 children at this point are all well and having three meals and two snacks per day.
We are trying to do our best feeding the little children. At night there are two women plus two of our older
orphan girls that sleep with them for the nights. Most of these children are between 2 and 6 years old with
 few babies. Milk is very needed most of the time. Pampers as well.
As far as our children in the middle school who are on our Social Plan, they come half of the day and few gather
for breakfast and lunch. They all require our help every single day as they are the poor and needy children of this
community, though we rescued children from different provinces of the island who  were roaming the streets looking
 for a safe place.

 The kids two years and older are attending classes in the morning and they really love to be involved in their Pre- School
 for the first time. I would like to invite all of our friends to come and take a look at the major improvements
we provide now for the benefit of these young souls. We are calling upon all the supporters who in one way or another have
 been helping us in the past. Their love and financial support show in every corner of the orphanage as we invested those
donations  in the education and health of the children.

We ask and pray for continued support for this wonderful cause. If it were not for you, our Angels, many of this things wouldn't
 be possible Marie. You and they know who they are. The grace of our Divine God, will re-pay  them back with  happiness,
 peace and health. Thank you again for being our "mouth" and able us to improve lives of the little ones here in the D.R.
Much blessings,  Dominica"

September 6: Hurricane season started. Please pray. Here is what Dominica just sent:

"Dear Marie, Thank you for thinking of us just as first hurricane hit us. I need to get prepared with enough food,
water and blankets, for my children and the people from the Cry of La Urena who live in the shanties. These are the group
that the major office told us to protect and provide safety for. The public school gives shelter to many people stranded and all the few strong  buildings need to open their doors and protect against this hurricane.
I am planning to use your funds for the emergencies caused during and after those hurricanes.

 I am able to send this email with a small battery that I still have in the computer. We lost all the  communications,
including uncharged inverters, and cell-phones etc.. Electricity usually gets back after a month. Many things are out of
service for a month or more.  If you and your friends could first pray for the island, it has a lot of possibilities and
God watches over us. Pray with your circle of friends please. Thank you.

We are getting everything prepared like taking down some of the things that can get blown away (the winds have
 been horrendous and the shade and post flew away with the rain four days ago). I am giving special  attention
 to few of the kids that are in Athenas's room to spend two days in my house. I will write to you, if I can charge
 my computer battery in some place.  Thank You for your timely support.  Blessings,  Dominica".

September 1, 2008: Another school year started today with 250 children enrolled. One class less because of lack of room so the 20 students go to a different school (8 are covered by the Florida church and Junior = Peno goes to a private school  thanks to his new sponsor). There are 2 classrooms operating with the orphans living there out of the dining room. (instead of 4 last year). Dominica is thrilled because Allana manifested an inverter for the orphanage side and Jean Dye's friends took care of making patio covered in  cement for both the orphanage and the school side.  Niko's picture, this is why Dominica work so hard.

Now the biggest concern is paying for the 8 teachers and helpers taking care of the little ones. The $2500/month she receives from Jean Dye's friend is covering the food and emergencies, but NOT the extra staff those children need 24/7. She told me the 51 new orphans are now trained and well behaved.

July 22: Message from Connie for the Michigan group

"We rode home in 2 separate cars with my husband, Russ, driving one vehicle and his friend Mike driving the other one. We talked their ears off the entire 3 hour drive home. Thank you so much again for your lovely hearts, your hospitality, your beautiful God centered ministry and for sharing all of the lovely children with us! I have been praying where God may like me to move and get involved next. I will continue to pray for each of you, the children, the staff and the community.

 Please continue to keep me informed of the immediate and ongoing needs of the orphanage and I will continue to seek God's will and where I may fit into the picture to assist you in your ministry.  I love you both! You are amazing women of God!

Dominica, continue to follow Christ with your strong amazing faith! In Christ alone is our strength!"

July 15:

"Marie, Here are a few pictures of what is happening this week. A Mission Team of seven from Michigan who found us through your Web page, is sharing such delightful and cheerful moments with all our children, who will keep in their memories for a long time. The children love all these tender and bright faces when they stare up and hold them in their arms. This group remind me the history of Jesus Christ living here on Earth. Every time when we receive these special beings here in the orphanage, it gives us a lot of strength and hope to continue God's work. They are talking about coming twice a year and it just make us extremely blessed!

 Thank you dear Connie, (the leader) Mama Evie, Miss Josie, Dawn, Lorrie, Eddie and Raquel.

With the completion of the new dorm and life skill center, God bless the two TRUE ANGELS Jeannie Dye and Allana Rose and their contributors, as many children now have a REAL home, where they are completely secure. Now I do not have to worry about hurricanes or storms!! Please know that this facility will be a safe haven for many orphans and under-priviledged children, and for the future generations who will benefit of good values, respect, wisdom and being raised with discipline in the love of Papa Dios. 

Muchas benediciones, Dominica"

Celine just got married in Provence. Instead of presents, she asked her friends to donate to Dominica. What a fabulous idea. The total collected is 3,000 euros!!! Bravo. I have friends here too who write a check for Dominica instead of buying a presents for their friends. Lets spread this habit.
 Another group of 7 from Michigan just arrived for 10 days to help and teach the children.

New beautiful dormitories opened June 26!

      Dominica's dream for 4 years to be able to rescue the children at risk was accomplished. Thanks to the contribution of Allana and the Blue House Effect from Canada who have been with Dominica for 10 years at least. They are coming in August and will have a nice shock to see the happy faces sleeping in now. Dominica has 5 people taking care of the 50+ children, Roxanne, 14, and her sister are doing a fabulous job. She was raised by Dominica. We need another washing machine and an inverter as this side does not have electricity which is open lacking still. Cost with batteries about $1500.

Click on photos and Dormitories to see lots of pictures of the kids and their new surroundings. They are so happy, as they feel secure for the first time in their lives. http://www.4dshift.com/Orphanage06/08Dorm.html or http://www.dominicaorphanage.com

And Multipurpose Room too

It was a joint effort to support the groundwork which Allana and the Blue House Effect began with the second floor project. Donations from the newly organized Dominica Orphanage and School, Inc., in Fort Myers, Florida, contributed  $30,000 toward the finishing of the orphanage dormitory and multi-purpose room.   Jean Dye indicated what a pleasure it was to work together with the Blue House Effort to accomplish the goals set out to house and feed these sixty children who now have a bed in which to sleep.  It is so good that organizations can work together with a common goal to support children and their needs.

June 28:  The 5 children are home safely. I am heading there so you will have photos. the 5 youngsters here had a ball. They had red carpet everywhere they went. A big thank you to the host families and Maurice who organized it all. The families are now there for 9 days of teaching and sharing. The 12 teachers and parents helped and taught. 2 teenagers had a real hard time to readjust to their surroundings.

June 6: I went to the Signing Ceremony linking Dominica School and Orphanage to James Madison Middle School in Upper Marlboro, MD. I was very impressed by the amount of work involved to make this happen. Paola Santos, 14 spoke for Dominica in perfect English. The children were very much honored and appreciated it immensely. See the pictures.
Here is the talk I prepared about Dominica. We seem to forget how unbelievable she is and the work she continues to do 24x7! Above the 6 lucky one!

-"Orphan,  and 10 years old,  Dominica started to teach other kids.
As orphanage closed, kids went back to the street  and Dominica, invited by the Rotary Club studied 4 years at Kean's University in PA to get her BA in bilingual Education. The idea was, for me to learn and be educated in the States in order to bring hope and give back what I received, to all my brothers and sisters living in another world. Years later, while working for the orphanage,  she also managed to work on her master in Psychology in Santo Domingo. Maurice Kingle to right who planned it all.
- In 1994, her brother asked for her help as he took in a dozen orphans from the street. She immediately started a school
In 1995, I met Dominica and promised to help.
In 1999 My family and friends bought the land., then built the walls
In 2000, we started the foundation of the school
In 2002, we opened the 5 classroom school where now 325 children attend
In 2003, we opened the computer room Paola in green delivered speech.
In 2005 Dominica was invited by the vice president of her country to find out HOW she produced the best students of the island!!
In 2006, Dominica School was ranked as No 4 in her school district, after 3 catholic schools (and plenty of $$$)
In 2007, Dominica School and Orphanage was ranked No 1 over 400 schools in her district<<Lizardo & Delgado to right, Emmanuel and with Peno/Jr. below.
This year, she received a big REWARD for good work as a private school. The Minister of Education said: "We need 10 more Dominica Rosario on the island!!"
In 2008 Allana built again dormitories. We now need 4 more classrooms upstairs.

.MAY 29: Great news as 5 children are here in MD with teacher Delgado for a month but Dominica's visa was not granted.
  "The Embassy considered that it was not necessary for me to attend  the signing ceremony.  They already granted  a visa to our teacher who is already there, and did not consider it an emergency and I should have applied the first time around!
 Sorry to miss your open house on June 7th and meet all our loyal sponsors.

Here things are not well. As you know, there are many problems to solve to function properly and allow the daily routine to keep on going for the  whole orphanage and school. As I always say, it is so difficult to keep the program running without a
stable amount of  funds coming every month. This is an organization like everyone else and people do not realize it. I have a staff of 19  and a  large group of children and adolescents who constantly have needs. I have to deal with maintenance, food, and drinkable water costs, and the foster families hosting so many of our children also requests $$$ for food etc..

There are many people and organizations that know us and represent us in different places and it would be very helpful if we
could count on them to help with contributions every month. If they were like City of Joy or Blue House Effect, we would not
experience those difficult end of the month needs. We were able to pay severance pay to 3 employees we had to let go after
3 years of service, buy food for 2 months and pay urgent bills thanks to Mr. George's friends. THANK YOU! kids waiting for dormitories to open

I will be sending you the cost per child and per month of each lucky child going to the new dormitories. We should have the $$$ to
cover these costs before they arrive in June or July so we know we can take care of those little kids 24 hours a day.

Well, this is enough for now and in the meantime, we keep up working hard and dealing with all the responsibilities until someday
soon we receive steady donations to help us plan better. We pray and hope that more people hear about our needs. Thanks Marie,

Dominica"

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