Offer Hope for 300 Youth in the Dominican Republic

Last month, I had the privilege of spending a whole month in Santo Domingo. It’d been about a year and a half since I last visited The Bienvenido Project, and the first time since we’ve become partners with GlobalGiving. I couldn’t believe the changes I experienced, and I want to share a couple of them with you because YOU have helped make them possible.

1. The whole time I was there we were never without or running low on food and haven’t been since partnering with GlobalGiving. In prior years, lack of consistent funding meant we were always scrambling to find food. There were even days when no food was available. Veronica, our program founder and director, shared with me how amazing it is to no longer worry about food. It not only has freed up her time, so she can focus on other aspects of the program, but means the children are consistently being fed nutritious meals. This has led to improved health, behavior, and the ability to focus better in school.
2. We have hired a full-time Program Assistant. Daniel joined the team last year coming to us from Venezuela. He has done an excellent job working alongside Veronica and assisting her in countless areas. He also serves as a much-needed positive male role-model for the boys in Bienvenido. It’s hard to imagine how the program ever functioned without his support. Having him on our team is such an asset!
3. The overall atmosphere of the program has gone from feeling rather hectic, to one of joy and peace. I think the previous two points are a big part of this. The kids are consistently being fed and fed well. As a result, Veronica and Daniel have now been able to devote more time on the sociological and psychological development of the children. And because the kids aren’t hungry, they’re mentally able to process these things. As someone who has been working with the project for over 5 years, the biggest change I experienced was a difference in the behavior of the children. I didn’t witness fights or arguments during my time there, but rather children helping one another, cleaning up after themselves, etc. It actually brought me to tears! Of course, kids are still kids, and I don’t want to paint a picture that everyday is problem free. But calm days are now much more the norm than the exception.

When we became a partner with GlobalGiving, my hope was that (at a minimum) we’d be able to fund the feeding program, so the children would be guaranteed a meal and Veronica would be able to devote her energy to other needs in the project. With a lot of hard work on my part, and a whole lot of support on YOUR part, we’ve achieved this. Together, we’ve also now raised school scholarships for 46 children to attend school this upcoming school year between one-time and reoccurring donations made over the past couple months. So, what’s next?

We need to raise enough funds to purchase a small bus to transport students to university; which we estimate to be $20,000 USD. Although university tuition is fairly inexpensive, the cost to take public transportation from Bienvenido is more than double what the average person makes in a day. We don’t want this to stop our youth from receiving a college education. A few of the students shared their dream to attend university in videos we posted on Facebook. Check them out here! For further information on this need, please reach out to me at thebienvenidoproject@gmail.com. And if you know already this is a cause you want to support, donate today!

And finally... enjoy a few photos from my time there!