Last January (2020), Heather Slavik and Francine De Meyer, their husbands and a couple from Toronto, took 240 lbs. of school supplies to a different school in the Dominican Republic. It was an extremely impoverished area comprised of crammed shacks and many immigrants who had fled from Haiti. It is called ‘Matta Misquitos’.

Adriana Hernandes, the guest manager of the hotel, acting as translator and a driver for the van joined us. The journey to “Pedro Henrique Urena Public School” was an experience in itself. The road was not identified as such on the GPS. It was a potholed narrow lane with chickens and goats. The driver had to stop four times asking for directions to this out-of-the-way school.

The school appeared to be relatively new. It had four rooms, an outside tabled area for breakfast and lunch and a yard that was made of broken stone. There were no play areas. It was surrounded with a fence that unfortunately had children hanging on it. These children could not go to school as they had no money for uniforms or shoes. Other children had no proper documentation as they came from Haiti. This school could only have 130 students and they were at full capacity. That was very sad. The children outside of the school were not given anything as they did not want them to learn to survive as beggars.

The children were given filled pencil cases made by our sewing circle. They were excited to see all the items inside. They sang us a song in appreciation. The principal was thrilled with the abundant supplies that we brought for the teachers. Paper was very much needed, balls a bonus and a whistle brought a smile and great delight. Hopefully we can go to another school again and bring them a little hope for their future.