| WHAT WE DO: | ||
| + | Child Development: Education support program, child rights, medical care, school infrastructure support, parent trainings, social clubs, biblical trainings, holistic development. | |
| + | Water and Sanitation: Latrine construction, water wells with pumps, water storage tanks, trainings for health promoters, community leaders and families on potable water handling, and water system maintenance. | |
| + | Church Development: Trainings for pastors and church leaders in holistic ministry, church leader mentorship, encourage/advise local churches to implement service projects, encourage believers to serve as community leaders. | |
Twelve-year-old Jeuri was disobedient,
and as a boy entering adolescence, the disobedience looked like it would get worse.
But Jeuri’s attitude changed after he started attending AMO, an after-school program that FH is implementing in his community of La Meseta.
The AMO program requires children to think, reason, and analyze.
In a community where half of the adults are not able to read or write and fewer than 50% of school-age children are actually attending school, FH seeks to cultivate reading, writing, drawing, improved oral communication, and understanding of God through this program.
“Before this program, our children were very disobedient,¨ says Altagracia, Jeuri´s mother who also has three other children in the program. ¨They did not care much about their studies, and their behavior with their parents and others in the community was terrible. They did not care to visit church either.”
¨After attending the classes, Jeuri is more obedient and cares more about school assignments,¨ says his mother. “My children now even pray every night.¨
FH staff, Everluz, attests to the changes; ¨When I talk to the parents they say that their children aren´t the same as they were before.”
Program participants are developing an analytical ability that is not stimulated by the official education program. Local teachers are testifying that the children have learned to be disciplined in the classroom and are now working well in teams. Several children now attend church regularly and most have developed Bible reading habits that they did not have before.
FH also meets with parents, church and community leaders to help them understand and commit to the vision of the program.
¨Not only have my children changed with this program, but I have too,¨ Altagracia says. ¨I have learned to value my kids more and to care about what they´re learning in school.¨
Change. In the children and parents. In study habits and attitudes. And in possibilities for the future.
¨I give thanks to God and FH for bringing this program into the community,¨ says Altagracia.
+ FH HISTORY:
FH started serving in the Dominican Republic in September of 1979 providing relief assistance to victims of hurricane David and Federico tropical storm. From 1979 to 1986 FH continued to serve the initial communities through rehabilitation and development work. In 1986 FH expanded to the border with Haiti (Elias Piña) and to Monte Plata Province. Currently FH serves 27 communities in four different Regions: Monte Plata, Elias Piña, Constanza (La Vega) and Santo Domingo.
+ DR's HISTORY:
Occupying the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic is the second largest country, after Cuba, in the West Indies. Explored and claimed by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a focal point for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821 but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years, finally attaining independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844.
In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative rule followed. In 1966, Joaquin Balaguer defeated Bosch in an election to become president. Balaguer maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency.
Today the Dominican Republic is a democracy, economically dependent on agriculture and tourism.
+ FACTS:
+ Around 2.2% of the total population is HIV positive.
+ Occupying the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic is the second largest country after Cuba in the West Indies.
+ Colonized in 1493 by Spaniards, it offered the first chartered university, hospital, cathedral, and monastery in the Americas.
+ 26% of the population has inadequate access to water.
+ Dominican Oscar de la Renta is one of the best-known fashion designers of the 21st century. He was born on July 22, 1932, in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.
+ Facts From: UNICEF, Ezine
LINKs
 |
NAME
