Today we leave Puerto Plata, in the North East of Dominican Republic, for Santiago.

Yesterday we had a vocation day, visiting a shool formed and run by one young woman, Sandra. This woman has four children of her own, and runs a school in the poverty-stricken regions of Puerto Plata. There is no sewerage, the local goevernment provides no services to this area (sanitation and drainage), and the families struggle to feed their families. Sandra has become a pastor as well, and helps run a medical clinic upstairs in the building where the school resides. A sewing shop has been set up to train young women to design and make clothes, which can then be sold to provide some line of income. This is crucial in a society where, if you don't work, you don't get paid.

Sandra's husband does not treat her well at all, and has been admitted to hospital on occasion. Still, her smile radiates. She believes her goals are much bigger than her own life.

The school provides basic education for around a hundred three-to-six year olds, and now provides a meal each day for them. When we were there, Robert, our host, presented the school with a set of new books, donated by a Rotary Club in Michigan. It was obvious that books were a favourite item for the group we saw. I think the beauty of Sandra's smile, and the determination she showed was matched by the simple joy and happiness of the class. As she told us, God finds ways to provide when hope seems lost.

From here we visited an orphanage for abandonded handicapped children. It has been run by a Carmelite Sister (to help children does not really fall into the purpose of the Carmelites, but in this instance, the order saw the obvious need). Sister Mercedes looks after twelve handicapped children. One boy, Abraham, gave us a beautiful smile. He has sickle cell anaemia, micro-cerebrum (the top of his head is very small, and has profound brain malformation), and epilepsy. But when he saw us, he turned his head and smiled.

Our hosts are very well-known to the children. When some of the children saw Bob and Ysabel, they squealed and ran round the room, waiting for one of them to be caught and tussled with.

Sister Mercedes'stories of these children's lives are as horrific as their smiles were beautiful. Some found abandoned three days after the mothers dump them in derelict houses, one was even thrown into a pigsty. The Dominican Republic has no network for disabled or handicapped people. To think that these twelve children are lucky, as many more have simply died. Bob later told us that Sister Mercedes becomes quite sad sometimes, as she is the prime custodian of these children each and every day. There is no relief for her. There are some days when there is no food for the children. Credit lines at grocery stores reach their limit often. Sometimes people come with food for them, and this provides some relief. As Sister Mercedes mentioned, God provides when hope seems lost.

Rotary supports both of these women. Rotary provides some medication, the water filter systems mentioned in earlier correspondence, books and some funds to relieve running costs like electricity. The future for these women, however, remains uncertain. The school is overcrowded, and Sandra's own children are being inadvertantly ignored simply because of the time she has to put into the running of the school and all the community development she is involved with. Sister Mercedes will have twelve children for the rest of her life (and perhaps the rest of the children's lives, depending on how long each one has), and there is no one to provide her with a little time for herself. Her vocalised desire to visit Australia seemed like wishful thinking.

Yesterday showed our team the enormity of the problems faced by a great number in the Dominican Republic, and I can't begin to describe how the faces of those we met moved us. For those who have experienced something like this, explanation is not necessary. For those who've yet to meet the likes of these people,these gifts given to us, I hope that one day you do.

We donated as much of our own money as we could to these two projects. We could have donated ten times as much and it still would not seem enough. As I lay awake in bed last night, as I'm sure the rest of the team did, I could not help but feel the faith in the words each woman stated: when hope fails, God provides. I hope for the likes of these.

Simon Goss
29th April 2006