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Sponsorship in the Dominican Republic

Beyond the beautiful beaches and many tourist attractions in the Dominican Republic lies a country of rugged mountains, struggling farm families and an unequal distribution of wealth. While a few benefit from the tourism trade, the bulk of the population remains poor and undernourished. CFCA workers visit many homes where both the walls and the roof are constructed of deteriorating wood that offer no protection from the rain.

CFCA has been working in the Dominican Republic since 1982, serving children, youth and aging persons through the Santo Domingo project. The project teaches families about proper nutrition, sanitation and hygiene. It also helps families repair their homes.

CFCA-supported programs work with families to help them obtain birth certificates for both parents and children so they can attend school. Sponsorship provides clothing, shoes, school tuition, books, uniforms, food, medicine and toys for birthdays and Christmas.

In the Los Corales subproject, with the help of the Ministry of Agriculture, the community has begun a community vegetable and herb garden. CFCA funds were used for seedlings and fertilization. Sponsored families contribute their labor to help the garden thrive, and CFCA scholars take turns watering the garden twice a day.

In the “Mano a Mano” subproject, there are a number of sponsored elderly who are cared for by local volunteers. These volunteers visit the homes of the elderly, feed them and see to their personal hygiene. Most importantly, the volunteers listen to the elderly and let them know they are deeply cared for.

Sponsor a child in the Dominican Republic

Read a letter from Nelson Figueroa, Santa Domingo project coordinator.

About the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is the second largest nation in the West Indies, and makes up the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola (Haiti makes up the other third). Hispaniola is one of the islands where Christopher Columbus landed on his first voyage across the Atlantic. The Dominican Republic’s capital city (Santo Domingo) was founded in 1496 by Christopher Columbus’ brother Bartholomew. It remains as the oldest European settlement in the Americas.

Consisting of rugged mountains and highlands interspersed with fertile valleys, the country lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and is subjected to severe storms from June to October.

Tourism is a major source of income for the country, as 500,000 tourists flock to the Dominican Republic each year for its beaches and tropical climate. However, poverty is still a major problem in the country and has forced many people to migrate to the urban centers where unemployment is high.

The people

Dominican culture and society is very family-oriented. Children are taught from a young age to rely on their family for support and guidance.

Half the population earns its living from agriculture, and sugarcane is the leading crop. Thousands of small farms are owned by individual families. Farm families sell some of what they raise to buy clothes and household items, but many farmers must work on large plantations in the coastal lowlands to make ends meet. These farmers often live in two-room shacks with thatched roofs and dirt floors, and without electricity, water and drainage.

The streets of Santo Domingo are lined with the homes of the middle class. The owners of these homes typically rent out their backyards, where several shanty homes are constructed. Here, large families uncomfortably crowd into one or two rooms.

Dominican music and dance mirror their Spanish and African origins. One of the most popular dances is the national dance known as the merengue, which has become popular in many other Latin American countries. Baseball is the national sport, and a number of players have joined the rosters of U.S. professional teams.

Education

Young people are being educated as fast as teachers can be trained and schools constructed, but there are not enough teachers, facilities or funds to meet the demands of a large school-age population.

The government supplies some funds for most schools in the Dominican Republic, but many private and religious schools supplement the state-financed schools. Children aged 7 to 14 attend school from September to June. Almost every large community has elementary and secondary schools.

The University of Santo Domingo is the oldest university in the Americas. It was founded in 1538.

Sponsor a child in the Dominican Republic

Sources:

World Factbook

MSN Encarta Encyclopedia