Merry Christmas              and Happy New Year from all the children

12/9: Dominica is all excited because construction has started for the dormitory above the dining room, thanks to Allana and her group Blue House
Effect. She received close to $12,000, but she needs US$$29,000 to finish this project. My experience with Dominica is that when she starts
 some projects like this one, money just manifest! So keep your prayers and visualization going so 60 young children will have again a place to stay.
The 2nd phase is a library and a large room for multi function as there are none now. Allana's group is coming back to build January 22nd: 22 of them.
 Bless you all.

AND the 7,100 meals for the 45 hungry kids on waiting list has arrived at the customs. Dominica should get them this week
and Bryan Cruz who allowed this to manifest will come himself From January 3 to 7 to check and fill out his questionnaires.

AND PB and Jean Dye will treat the children again for 3 Kings Day at the park next to school. Everyone is SO EXCITED! Thanks.

12/3/07:

11/26: 
"We absolutely need a second floor for more space and beds for our children. This is becoming  a big emergency for all of us down here. Our
island is at the risk of storms, hurricanes very often nowadays. That is why we have 15  groups of prayers circle for this matter.
I make an appeal to our big extended family that love and care about our young people here. We are here and the needs are all over now for
 many wonderful poor families. Any help is very welcome at this time. Many blessings and prayers, Dominica"

11/13: Dominica found a temporary solution for all the kids and families who lost their home --most of them
 made of  aluminum sheets-- and were rescued in the classrooms. School started again on Monday. So
Dominica still needs to feed the children, to replace the broken trees and to build a dormitory and more
space upstairs. Any help is welcome. Thanks - Marie 

11/2: "Dear Marie,  We are all on our knees so rain can stop. Rain began last Friday while the children
were having dinner and still today there is water and more water. School side is not functioning as it is
serving as dormitories for many people from the Cry of  La Urena. The shanties of many families are
half filled with water with beds and little stoves as the little they had are lost or won´t be functioning
 anymore. (above photo: siesta on a dry spot)
Most of these poor families that we are giving assistance to are relatives or volunteers of our children that attend to our environment everyday.
 We are moving children from one place to another in order for them to be dry and safe.
In the kitchen/dining area a major group of children and women are added to the usual number which rapidly diminish the $2,500 we  received
from Jean Dye, a day before the big Storm!   It  helped us deal with the different emergencies of food, drinkable water, medicines, and gas to
 transport people back and forth!  and few other things. God bless her!!
With the love of God all the children will be attending to their classes next Tuesday when all the teachers will be back for class.!! Many blessings
 and prayers, Dominica"

10/30; JUST HEARD FROM DOMINICA AND THE KIDS. They are safe but tons of water : "The big storm has not allowed me to thank
Jean Dye for her wire. Are you aware of all the dead people we have here in the country? We have had two days with school and orphanage
closed. La Urena is full of water and many trees and shanties flew away. Our big shade in the orphanage side came down. Please pray for
 this flood, so it slows down for all our poor and humble people here in the D.R. Thank you. Dominica"  

10/21 Dominica biggest challenge is to feed 85 children 3 meals a day, with 40 on a waiting list. I just received emails from Bryan Cruz from
Nutrition who wants better nutrition for our kids. I told him, we need food first. So he checked into Feed My Starving Children who provides
 a FREE prepackaged meal that has a good taste and good nutrient content.  All it needs is boiling water for 20 mins and it is ready to serve.
So now we need funds to transport those to the orphanage. . It should go easily through customs since it is food.  Apparently here are the
choices.
A bag of food contains 6 meals and weighs 295 grams. A box of food contains 216 meals and weighs 10.3 kg. A pallet of
food contains 7128 meals and weighs 338 kg. A 20 foot container has 142,560 meals and weighs 6760 kg. A 40 foot
container has 270,864 meals and weighs 12,844 kg  I am visualizing a pallet with 7,128 meals, but am also dreaming of a donation
allowing 142,560 meals. Dominica just finished the storage room. Alleluia. She has 200 children  on a waiting list who want to be enrolled in her school... 

10/20/07: Oops i am late catching up here. I was in Japan for 3 weeks and you can read about that on my website!
So Dominica started another school year with 325 children and took one class less in order to reopen a dining area, instead of 4 classes last
year!! She has the 2nd grade with 45 children and our classes hold only 30 children and 28 really with desks. So we really need to build
 new classrooms upstairs. There are talks about that, but nothing substantial yet, but Allana is coming next month to see what her group
 can do! AND Jean Dye is getting brochures out to raise funds. We will see. Dominica's motto is: I believe it when I see it!! Let's keep
our prayers for more space to teach (and dormitory) for those wonderful children who, when given a chance, like Erica, Maricel and
Alexander, finish on top of their class when they did not know how to read and write 9 months before...
 Also i get many calls about adoption. Dominica finally explained to me that CONANY is not the agency in charge, but ORGANISMO RECTOR is and you need to call every month. But right now, they are processing 2005 requests!!!

How to reach Dominica?? The best time from 2 to 8 pm, upstairs in the computer room. Phone is  809) 335-6720. Or her cell phone when she is not out of cards...  More soon. Also, do you know anyone going to Dominican Republic soon, I have 10 suitcases worth of clothes/shoes/ toys/monitors etc and would love to see them in Dominica's hands!!

8/18/07: A wonderful detailed report from Allana and her group who visit twice a year:

 

purchased:  1.  14 gal. enamel paint and we painted the 5 classrooms...

                    2.  28 small chairs for the younger children's classrooms

                    3.  paint for the outside wall of the school

                    4.  paint/sealer for the concrete storage area that was built on our winter trip....moisture seeps...and                        the  concrete sweats so it will hopefully eliminate that problem...the storage area is awesome

                   5.  text books for the classrooms (along with Christ Cornerstone Church)

                   6.  school uniforms for 51 children....(fun shopping....complete chaos ! ) 

                   7.  school shoes for 25 children ( black ones)

                   8.  socks and underwear and belts for uniform pants for 25 children

                   9.   material for the girls to make their uniform skirts...for around 14 girls

                 10.   materials and supplies for sidewalk to be put in front of the lifeskill area and

                         by the bathroom of the school side where flooding with dirt occurs during rainfall

                 11.   a metal gate to go between the school and the park (by the basketball court)

                 12.  florescent light bulbs (10 ) and 3 security lights for outside the lifeskill area

                 13.  beach toys (shovels, buckets etc. ) for the little ones to play in the sand in the tires that are in the park 

        Left money to pay for Miguel to put in sidewalks with help of older boys around new storage/infirmery..         

        We took pictures and history of a number of children that need sponsorship.

        Barb worked with art therapy for children who have suffered loss of parents

        Nicole and Abbey taught English lessons in the mornings

        and we finally have the recipes translated...and Marta is adding to the list...

                

I did have a chance to have a long conversation with Dominica and here is the information that I found out....

 

    

 

 HIV/AIDS drugs, testing, support, education? There is some sort of agency that offers assistance....individuals have to pay for their drugs though....there is testing and brochures of sorts for education...this could be one area for more information to be gathered....Grace who is an HIV woman who attended our workshops a few years ago gets her meds there when she can afford them....Dominca said she was very sick and had been in bed for more than 20 days and then came to see D for some help in paying....D was shocked at her appearance....gave her the 2,000 pesos to buy the meds at that time....( a few months ago now)

How is the Women's Group? Woman's group is good....they have 23 that are consistent with coming

      When we're not there do they still get together?  They meet with Jennette twice a month...another woman  named Carmen who is a teacher and her daughter who is a psychologist have another group of

                               approx. 25 women and often the two groups meet together ...

      What about on-going education for them?  they do some ongoing work with the 2 psychologists and

             continue with their support work...they continue to do the crafts and the jewelry ...we left them 

             2 suitcases full of stuff in the winter and D says they are continuing with that and are happy

                               because they have been able to sell some of what they have made.
     Women's projects - how are the loan opportunities going?  The loans I believe are ok....I was not able to get them  together and Gayle is not the one who should be our contact....she gave us no feedback or information during the past months.   One of the women backed out...paid the money back and another woman was given the loan.....so one will be finished paying in Sept. the other Oct.

      They do not believe that the loan is sufficient to get going and the women who have it are 

      paying back on time but with funds from other jobs....this needs more information from the women

      so we can figure out if it can be successful there or not.

How many smaller schools are there now? there are over 20 patio schools now...the government mandated that children must have birth certificates to attend a public or private school so that is why so many patio schools exist as they don't have to have it for them....the children are 3 yrs - 6 or 7 that attend those schools
         How are they doing? they are always in need of resources....they don't feed the children 

 

Is there a need for another home build?  always,

 

Dominica school and skill center
         How is the garden project going?  Gardens went well.....they were able to feed the children for 3 weeks with the  "auyumas"...carrots are growing well, cucumbers, cabbage, peppers.....mangos are growing well and so are the bananas....
         Are the older children still maintaining?  Yes, the older boys ...in charge have been our buddy Antonio and  Darling.

         Have they started more?  No....but I talked to her about adding on...and she said we could use 1/2 the park for that.

   How many HIV+ students?  5   Is testing done?  yes, she said that she often pays for it....

                not sure if all students have been tested though... 

         What about education? don't think they do that yet....but we could get resources for them couldn't we?         

        How is the water purifier working?  No....needs to get someone from the city to come and get it working

                                                            

What does Dominica feel are the top 5 needs of the school?

       1.  2nd floor

       2.  administration $5,000/month is needed to run the school....on average they get in $3000

       3.  larger windows now that the park is on the far side....for cooler temps in the rooms

       4.  the government has asked for concrete instead of gravel on all playgrounds

       5. 3-4 truck loads of caliche  for outside on the road so the children don't have to walk in mud...

       6. We still need a large bus for transport of the children. 

Of the skill center?  1.  Kitchen....fix water purification to save on money

                           2.  2nd floor .....can be built in sections

                           3.  bring electricity from the school side where they have enough inverters to store

                               so the fridge can work all the time and the rooms  used for the school has lights

                           4.  (this is one I think needs to be done) move the lights over away from the fans...as the fans  make the lighting like strove lights....can trigger epilectic bouts

                           5.  concrete the playground

 

for the children? Dominica also talked about:

                          1. vaccination shots for Bewella (?) and Hepatitis....(800 pesos/student) need for 10 yrs & under

                          2.  underwear & socks for the children

                          3.  Hygiene packs

                          4.  they also need medical checkups for their medical certificates to attend school.. cost is 10 pesos

                          5.  They have 17 children attending high school now....6 have their school needs met by Kids International so they have 11 more that need help....

 

Of the community? 1.  housing

                          2.  a place to hold the high school...presently in an area where the children get soaked when it  rains so they have to cancel when it does...

                          3.  condoms & birth control pills

                          4.  feminine hygiene

                          5.  sheets for beds

                          6.  food/vitamins for old/weak women.....vitamins for young children and adolescents.

                    Gayle's ...supports 6 high school children....

                   Cornerstone....16 partial sponsorships of children at orphanage

                   Marie's, sends $800 to 1200/month and helps with specific bills..i.e. telephone, electricity, some gas, computer needs etc,

Here is some more information that I also gathered.

        

This year  325 students...3 yrs old to grade 8 (new)

They will be using all the classrooms all day.

They will use Saturdays as their life skill day to teach: guitar, piano, sewing (need more machines) computer, English and this year Dominican is adding folklore dancing for the older girls and young adults.

 

There are around 120 now in the social plan....82 on the full plan...(which means all the meals and clothing and school supplies.)..but 32 that are a major concern as they are orphaned or abandoned which means major problems with housing.

The children that have to be there all day will be doing homework in the library or playing in the park on the 1/2 day of not being in school.

 

Vision for Life skill area:  2nd floor....cultural & resource center for the community....she has people that are willing to come and speak and do workshops but they need a large room to do so....also have a community library, and build a dorm to house 15 -30 children when finding places for them is too hard.....also to have the aids education there...

 

NEEDS FOR OUR WINTER TRIP

 

- 2nd floor life skill center....can start with 1/2...she will get the estimate for the materials to build it and the cost of hiring a "maestro" or contractor that doesn't "do" the work but will direct or hire others.  She can get volunteers to work on this project....with us....

- slides and other playground equipment for the little ones in the upper part of the park....sometimes 60 children...

- continue with the gardening in the lower 1/2 of the park

- need to repair ...actually replace the 2 x4 's that support the shade in the life skill center....maybe do it with PVC ?

- continue to work with the women.....resources for them to use...and education.

- computer technician......we took 6 good laptops but only 3 work well....need someone that can work with them...and need more laptops if we can find a company ready to step up into new ones...

- medical personnel if possible

- dental hygienist if possible

*******************************

 

7/4: "At this time we are having the visit of a group of 8 teachers from Madison Middle School from Maryland. They are teaching a Summer week of different subjects to our children who are taking so much advantage of their knowledge. This wonderful school sent to us two Math teachers and our high school children are having the opportunity to re-enforce education and Algebra for the whole week and 4 hours everyday!!. A geography teacher is talking about the world geography!! An English teacher has a group of 35 children that never had the chance to study English with us here. A craft and art teacher is working with 8 of our retarded and mentally challenged children. A Bible study class is also taking place with a kids group. A librarian is working with our small library and teaching some of our girls to deal with organization and going through books. God has bless us

during this week by providing our good children to have a better understanding and a proof that God loves and cares so Much about them. There are people all over that pray and keep us  in their hearts and thoughts. Thanks to our Heavenly father for those behind our cause.

 

Jean Dye and Don Binns sent us a transfer of $2,500 in July and August and it was just at the right moment!!! No food was left and telephone and Internet were disconnected. We now have food for three weeks and  connection is back! Please Marie extend to both of them our gratitude on behalf of all the children down here. God continue blessing you, Dominica"

7/2/07: A few photos of 2007 graduation best students:

   

Honor graduates  and Jusdin at right

     

   

 

 

    

 

One of the pictures is the school district representatives that attended this year. They put meritory, excellence  and honor medals to our best students!! I was overwhelmed and tears came out from many people eyes. Most of the children from the Cry of La urena was capable to read, write and spell really well and this is their first time being in school.  

teacher Ydelkis (on left) Julissa, antonio, Athenas & teacher Duran (far right) and Junior Mohican

******************************************************

   May 20: Well I took George and Lisa Christacos to meet Dominica and the children last week and they absolutely love and admire them all. We had lunch with the 80 children on the program on Friday, and Saturday a party in the new park (land donated by George C.) with 100 children.

   See photos at this link, and Seb is preparing another slide show with my photos. I was impressed by the garden doing well, and the new swings and the future storage room which Dominica wants to have a section for sick children so they can lie down. The current nursery holds only 1 bed.

April 16:  Dominica was given a 1992 van to carry the children around by Tom Duffield of Prestige Car Rental, in La Romana. It sits 7 comfortably (which means 10 or 12 kids!!). Dominica has a smile of deep gratitude when she received the keys. But she still needs a bus to take the children to school, choir practice etc... They are 21 teenagers again in September, as Dominica was allowed to teach one more class at the current facility! Therefore the need to build an upstairs is that much urgent.
 

Voluntourism'
By Bonnie Walling

Gathered with the children at Dominica Orphanage in Santo Domingo were (l.-r.) Caralyn Frieder of Trisept Solutions, Randi Becker of The Mark Travel Corporation, John Suhar of Funjet Vacations, Bryan Shilling of Spirit Vacations and Kay Wilson of The Mark Travel Corporation.

Funjet program is avatar of new form of travel combining vacation and volunteer work

Funjet Vacations marketing analyst John Suhar said his recent trip to help deliver supplies to the Dominica Orphanage in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic “opened my eyes to a new concept of travel, a form of travel that would combine exploring a destination with volunteer work on behalf of the local communities and ecosystems.”

Suhar was chosen to make the trip in an essay competition among Funjet employees. The company is sponsoring the Dominica Orphanage, which provides and coordinates housing for abandoned and orphaned children. Every evening, children are placed in foster homes and return to the orphanage in the morning to wash and dress for school.

The associated Dominica School provides meals and clothing to all its students and is currently serving 310 children in pre-kindergarten through seventh grade. According to a Funjet spokesperson, it is ranked among the top five schools in the Dominican Republic and has a waiting list.

Donate Clothes, Food

Funjet Vacations collected 14 boxes of various clothing and personal items for the children, who range in age from two to 17, including tennis shoes, sandals and school supplies. In addition, the company purchased two months of food for the orphanage and two desktop computers to add to its computer lab.

Employees interested in making the trip were then invited to submit an essay on “What is the value of having employees support an orphanage in the Dominican Republic?”

Support Needy

Suhar said he decided to participate because “I believe it is my responsibility to educate myself on global social inequities and embrace any opportunities to support those in need. I knew that through this voluntary effort, I would be able to support an orphanage while learning about the culture and history of one of our destinations.”

In his essay, Suhar said, “...We are committed to enhancing the lives of others, whether we are providing leisure travel opportunities or supporting a humanitarian effort.”

Suhar also wrote, “The real goal would be to positively affect the lives of the children, create opportunities for improved living, unite communities and provide everyday necessities.”

He was selected to go along with the Funjet delegation, which delivered the items via charter air out of Milwaukee — site of the company’s headquarters — to Punta Cana. Funjet Vacations destination service company VIP Travel Services assisted with the transportation to Santo Domingo.

It was Suhar’s first trip to the Dominican Republic. “Prior to this trip, I had only read or saw photos about the country,” he said.

What he found there, he noted, was a very warm-hearted group of people.

“The Dominicans are some of the most hospitable and genuine people I have ever met. Whether I was playing soccer with locals at the hotel or interacting with the kids of the orphanage, everyone was in high spirits and extremely gregarious.”

The orphanage itself, he said, was a moving experience. “As we toured the orphanage, stories of cooperation and the importance of education were abundant.”

He added, “A true sense of camaraderie has been developed among the children. The kids have established a familial atmosphere and they keep a positive outlook on life and stay focused on their goals.

“One of the orphanage’s primary goals is self-dependence. In an example of this, I saw children of the orphanage tending to a garden near the classroom.”

However, he said that the current system is working as well as it is now because there are enough sponsors and foster families to meet current needs, but that might become a problem if demand increases in the future.

“As they continue to gain requests to add children to the meal plan or the classroom setting, it is evident that they are in need of additional sponsors and travelers willing to donate their time or money,” he said. Agents interested in donating to the orphanage can visit www.DominicaOrphanage.com.

"Dear Marie

March 24: Allana did wonderful work for the orphanage and Dominica. Bravo: "

March 12 07: "Dear Friends of the Dominica Orphanage, Today, we have eight of our little children having umbilical hernia surgeries:

Jose Edwardo Perez, age 10; Michael Valdez, age 10, Lewkis Dahiana Lara, age 3,  Lara Encarnacion, age 7 & Darlenys, age 4.
Dr. Foley and a staff of sixteen have arrived from Louisville, Kentucky, and will be performing this corrective surgery for the children, gratis.  The appointments will take the whole day.  The children arrive at our house here in the Dominican on Sunday and will stay until Tuesday when they will return to the orphanage.   

Please keep their little bodies and souls in your prayers today.  Dr. Foley checked each one yesterday in preparation for the procedures today.  He said that each year he sees more than 1,500 children thru his practice and he had never experienced such a group of beautiful and well behaved children. 

Last evening the church sponsoring this medical missionary team held a prayer service for all the children having surgeries here this week.  Today Gayle Shulte will hold a prayer vigil for the little ones with the children at the Dominica School.  We would appreciate you participating in the healing of the children with your prayers also. Thank you in advance for your support.  With love and gratitude" Jean Dye

February:25: Nice visit from 5 persons from Mark Travel who brought lots of goodies and got to spend 4 hours with the children. Everybody was thrilled.
And now Nekhondi Adams arrived with her mother and 2 friends and 8 full bags of goodies. What a wonderful dedicated medical student on her 3rd visit who is looking for a dominican doctor to sponsor her for her internship!

February 14 & 8: we added LOTS of photos and a few more to come. Enjoy them here  As you can see, all the Children had a fabulous Christmas eve & day and 3 kings day too. And a few lucky got the grand treatment.
"Good news here. The children got their vaccines for hepatitis. The nurse and psychologist brought a group of children to a private hospital and they got their first shot. Please, extend our gratitude to Jean Dye and The Blue House Effect (Allana Rose) who donated the funds for it. Thank you also to  Ms. Allana and her group who taught our children about garden & crops  They also worked with our Circle of Women in Crisis and lifted their souls, as the women were able to make  a lot of manual things in order to sell them and make some money for their families.
Thank you also to Jean Dye who worked a whole year to obtain rice (200 lbs/month for 10 months) from the Price Charities for our children, and milk from "Gleaning fro the World". Everything helps and milk will cover our feeding program for three months.
Thanks also to Andy Weiss and his friends who purchased 500 pounds of rice, beans, oil, cookies, flour, etc. for the children. It is a blessing as Alain who helped so generously for 2 years is not able anymore to continue his $1300 commitment, though his son in law continues with his $500/month.
While at it, thank You Kris, Phyllis, Donna, Jessica and the Dye's for your $2,100 donation in January. It helped with feeding the kids and emergency medical care. Blessings. Dominica"

Also PB & Jean Dye joined 50+ children at the park downtown for an afternoon of fun and goodies -offered by the owners of Mark Travel Agency in Milwaukee. They are coming back  February  24 with 15 boxes of presents gathered by their employees for our children. I love this initiative.

Major concern now for Jean and Dominica is to have 10 children operated by a doctor for their belly buttons etc.

January 20 2007

"Dearest Renaud,  

Thank your for all your precious help with our orphanage/school here. We fixed some computers, put back light to the jeep used for the multiple needs of our orphanage/school. The belt also was not running correctly and we got a new one. The rest of the funds went for sugar, beans and cereal. Please know that we are so pleased for you being a good soul and thinking about your little brothers and sisters here in the Dominican Republic. If you have friend, be aware that Mr. Alain seems to have cut his $1,300/month which means that about 50 children may have their three meals cut. May the Lord always bless your heart and your loved ones. In God's service, "Dominica

Yes i am finally back and starting to sort through the 700+ pictures I took. Let's start with the opening of the park. It is just beautiful as you can see. Kids are in awe and don't dare to move. But thanks to PB and Jean Dye, we had a christening on 3 Kings Day, January 6 with 225 children eating chicken and fries and a home made cake by Jean. Wow. And presents to everyone on top of that.  Only missing Mr. George! But we can have another party there when he is ready to come!  Dominica transformed a dream into reality in less than 50 days. Bravo!
Then there was a week at a 4**** hotel on the beach for 3 kids and myself. Then 1 week at Mike for 8 then 12 children. We enjoyed that too!

Go to photos section as I added LOTS of photos. All in all Children had a fabulous Christmas eve & day and 3 kings day too.

Dec 17 2006: Here is the new space being transformed into a park. You can see the wall of the school on the left. Dominica will open some doors for direct access. Bravo to all the donors who made it possible. And I am bringing a brand new laptop AND a decent computer to Dominica so she can communicate with us and send us photos etc. She had an antique computer! AND my timeshare finally went through so I will take 3 children to a week in a wonderful hotel in Punta Cana for Christmas. Hurray!

Dec 3: "I want to give some credit to the Shelbie family from Canada, Jihad, Almal and their three boys who are gifting our Christmas dinner Eve with toys for all the children. These angels already helped us with the roof of the orphanage which was leaking water inside the dinning area. Three years ago he also donated the windows of this building. We were all expecting his family to share with all our children this special Christmas dinner as they did two years ago but will have them instead in our thoughts and prayers.

I personally need to thank the big Coleman family: husbands and wives, mama and papa for their contribution to make our new park a reality (any day now), after  Mr. George Christacos gifted us $7,000 to buy the piece of land adjacent to our school. It really is a fabulous gift for our children this Christmas!!!  Little by little the Universe is touching special beings to help us do our work in the Dominican Republic. 

  

We still need help as our program has accepted 50 more children who were on a waiting list for more than two years. Our expenses are of course higher, plus the different skill classes held during the afternoon and evenings. A good group of children have become adolescents and therefore we need to give them skills to face the outside world.  

More details and much more gratitude will be passing on to you very soon.  

Because I was hunger and you fed me, naked and you clothed me, Sick and you visited me, thirsty and you give me water." Domínica

from Dominica and the children for all your precious help!

Dec 1st:  The 12 feet high wall of the 305 m2 is practically done, except that part with the new lot for sale 205 m2 at $2,000 (+ closing cost and wall). And it needs polish etc. Dominica would need this donation very soon in order to close all the walls at once. Since there is a house half built on it, she would like to finish that house and use it to keep material/ clothes etc safe. The 14 trucks of yellow sand are already in. She said it looks great and BIG. It will be all finish when I come on the 20th! Hurray - Marie