Live Reporting from the Dominican Republic
I’m reporting from the Dominican Republic this week. For those unfamiliar with this Caribbean nation of about nine million people, the Dominican Republic occupies the eastern end of Hispaniola, with Haiti occupying the western half. The Dominican Republic has a growing tourism industry, but it also still has some extremely poor areas. As a result, it is a country that is in need of help from charitable organizations.
I am in the country with Food for the Poor (FFP), a Catholic charity based in Coconut Creek, Fla., that was founded in 1982. The charity operates in 16 countries and is rated the second-largest U.S.-based international charity organization by the Chronicle of Philanthrophy.
The intitial part of the trip focused on orphanages helped by Food for the Poor’s “Angels of Hope” sponsorship program that helps more than 3,000 children in 85 orphanages, including six facilities in the Dominican Republic. Orphanages are filled with children who have either lost one of their parents or who have been abandoned due to financial concerns or mental illness on the part of parents.
The first stop was Hogar Rosa Duarte, an orphanage in the capital city of Santo Domingo that helps girls from age 6-14. The facility has 120 students that live there and another 300 that come for day school. Some of the full-time residents go home with relatives on the weekends.
Sister Julia del Moral (pictured), who belongs to the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, is the director of the school, one of six run by the sisters. She said that some of the orphans were abandoned. Others have parents that have mental issues. Some also have parents who have died of AIDS, including two sets of sisters at the facility. The goal of the school is to educate girls to enter the workforce, and some receive scholarships beyond the age of 14 to continue learning after finishing at the school.
Yamira Abreu (pictured at right) is a 12-year-old from the Santo Domingo who came to the school four years ago. Although both of her parents are alive, Abreu was cared for by her aunt, who had trouble economically and could not continue to raise her. Abreu’s aunt contacted the school and got her niece in the orphanage.
Abreu said she enjoys her time at the school and learns plenty of things she hadn’t known before. The most important lesson?
“I have learned how to control myself and to be a more tolerant and patient person,” said Abreu.
Girls live in dormitories of 14, grouped into several rooms and sharing a common bathroom with several showers. Sister Del Moral said different age groups are housed together to develop a “sense of family.”
I am in the country with Food for the Poor (FFP), a Catholic charity based in Coconut Creek, Fla., that was founded in 1982. The charity operates in 16 countries and is rated the second-largest U.S.-based international charity organization by the Chronicle of Philanthrophy.
The intitial part of the trip focused on orphanages helped by Food for the Poor’s “Angels of Hope” sponsorship program that helps more than 3,000 children in 85 orphanages, including six facilities in the Dominican Republic. Orphanages are filled with children who have either lost one of their parents or who have been abandoned due to financial concerns or mental illness on the part of parents.
The first stop was Hogar Rosa Duarte, an orphanage in the capital city of Santo Domingo that helps girls from age 6-14. The facility has 120 students that live there and another 300 that come for day school. Some of the full-time residents go home with relatives on the weekends.
Sister Julia del Moral (pictured), who belongs to the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, is the director of the school, one of six run by the sisters. She said that some of the orphans were abandoned. Others have parents that have mental issues. Some also have parents who have died of AIDS, including two sets of sisters at the facility. The goal of the school is to educate girls to enter the workforce, and some receive scholarships beyond the age of 14 to continue learning after finishing at the school.
Yamira Abreu (pictured at right) is a 12-year-old from the Santo Domingo who came to the school four years ago. Although both of her parents are alive, Abreu was cared for by her aunt, who had trouble economically and could not continue to raise her. Abreu’s aunt contacted the school and got her niece in the orphanage.Abreu said she enjoys her time at the school and learns plenty of things she hadn’t known before. The most important lesson?
“I have learned how to control myself and to be a more tolerant and patient person,” said Abreu.
Girls live in dormitories of 14, grouped into several rooms and sharing a common bathroom with several showers. Sister Del Moral said different age groups are housed together to develop a “sense of family.”
Each dormitory is dedicated to a different charism of the Catholic Church, such as the Sacred Heart or Ave Maria. Sister Del Moral said that while the school operates under the tenets of Catholicism and has Catholic formation, the orphanage takes girls of all faiths.
Some funding comes from the government, but Sister Del Moral estimated that a full 85 percent is from private sources like Food for the Poor. FFP, for example, built a 10,000-galloon water facility that now gives the orphanage water at all times, and about 120 students are sponsored through FFP’s “Angels of Hope” campaign. Other charities also donate money, food and other belongings; volunteers contribute time and money; and anonymous donors contribute food, clothes and other items.
“God has always been present, and God has always provided. There has never been any great need,” said Sister Del Moral, illustrating that with an anecdote that sometimes the school will receive a donation like rice just as it appears to be out of the staple. “I thank God for it.”
Some funding comes from the government, but Sister Del Moral estimated that a full 85 percent is from private sources like Food for the Poor. FFP, for example, built a 10,000-galloon water facility that now gives the orphanage water at all times, and about 120 students are sponsored through FFP’s “Angels of Hope” campaign. Other charities also donate money, food and other belongings; volunteers contribute time and money; and anonymous donors contribute food, clothes and other items.
“God has always been present, and God has always provided. There has never been any great need,” said Sister Del Moral, illustrating that with an anecdote that sometimes the school will receive a donation like rice just as it appears to be out of the staple. “I thank God for it.”
Next entry: A visit to the boys’ orphanage.
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