Dominican Dream Project: Humanitarian Efforts in

Sabaneta, DR. February 9 -16, 2010

By: Lissette Castillo

The Dream Project • The DREAM Project, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, formally began

its work in 2002. The philosophy and initiative began in 1995 when Michel Zaleski, Chairman and President, started sponsoring Dartmouth College volunteers to come down during their foreign travel semester to help in the two Cabarete public schools.

• Patricia Thorndike-Suriel, DREAM’s former Executive Director, supervised the volunteers in Cabarete, teaming up with local and foreign supporters. Classrooms, libraries, computer labs and modern bathrooms were built in the local schools. Tourists began to donate books and school supplies and contributed computers and funds to operate our then small programs.

• From these modest beginnings DREAM has grown into a major effort run by a paid local staff of Dominicans and foreigners together with many volunteers. Every year DREAM helps more than 2,000 children receive a better education through its many programs including Montessori Schools, Teacher Training, Summer Camps, After School Remedial Programs, Libraries, Youth Groups, Community Development and collaborating with other groups who provide medical, eye and dental clinics at our sites.

Accomplishments of the Dream Project January 2004 – December

2008  • Served more than 4,500 students in 9 schools and community

centers affecting the lives of over 20,000 people in 7 different communities

• Recruited over 200 volunteers to teach at the schools on a daily basis (over 30,000 volunteer hours)

• Constructed 20 buildings, including one training center, five libraries, 22 classrooms, four toilet facilities (replacing outhouses with no running water), three equipped computer labs, two community centers, new roofs and one sports field (complete with a baseball diamond, soccer field, and obstacle course)

• Transformed a marshland into a vegetable garden, (providing an agriculturally rich trading calibrator and school income)

• Provided emergency funding and relief housing needed from Hurricane Jeanne and Hurricane Olga devastation

The Dominican Dream Project II • Secured and distributed over $250,000 US worth of school supplies and

workbooks • Supplied books for 7 school libraries • Organized a community of Haitian women in Batey Caraballo, near

Montellano, with over 40 active members who, with the support of the DREAM Project, have solicited 2 Peace Corps volunteers.

• Completed a sports complex in Batey Caraballo for 5,000 community members

• Established a self sufficient preschool in Batey Caraballo at the Andrea Riddle South Montessori Preschool, with trained staff and community based programs

• Expanded resource base by working with several key foundations, non-profits, universities, and organizations including Dartmouth, Harvard, Cornell and Columbia.

• Established crucial contacts with both the US and Dominican governments.

• Established a monumental “At Risk Youth” initiative with USAID in conjunction with DREAM’s annual Summer Camp

Information

• US Address:P.O. Box 4136Ithaca, N.Y. 14852Tel:(607) 257-1981

• Dominican Address: Plaza de PatioCabarete, Puerto PlataRepublica DominicanaTel:(809) 571-0497

• The DREAM Projectinfo@dominicandream.org

 ©2003-2008 The DREAM Project

Fenway High School and The Dream Project Initiative

Fenway’s Background

• Fenway High School was founded in 1983 as a program for at-risk Boston students and is now a Pilot schools in the Boston public school district.

• Fenway demonstrates that an urban school, with a diverse student populationin race, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, and prior academic achievementcan maintain both a supportive school community and high academic standards.

• On a five-year average, 89% of Fenway’s 300 students remain through senior year, 96 % of seniors graduate and 89% are admitted to college. Fenway’s vitality, innovative programming and respectful school culture have made it a model for urban high school renewal across the country.

La misión

• to create a socially committed and morally responsible community of learners, which values its students as individuals. An important aspect of this mission is raising students’ awareness of global connectedness and instilling the confidence and sense of responsibility they need to make a positive impact in their local and global communities.

Mission of Fenway’s Humanitarian Efforts

• The community service project involves La Libertad Montessori, an elementary school in the small community of Sabaneta , Dominican Republic, about 20 minutes from the tourist destination of Cabarete.

•  After being closed for two years due to lack of funding, the school has reopened with the help of the DREAM PROJECT, enabling young children from the community to return to school.

• Fenway students will help by replanting the gardens and painting the facilities, as well as designing and instructing classes, and conducting crafts and reading activities with the elementary students. Fenway students will also assist students with their work and during after school activities.

My Dream Mi esperanza

• My hope is that witnessing the everyday struggles young children face while attending school in Sabaneta will help my students become more aware of their world. By performing humanitarian work in another country, they will discover the power of teamwork, which will demonstrate to them the community efforts needed to make our world a better place to live, and impact how they see themselves and what they can offer to their own families and communities.

Cost

• The Dream Project: $12, 500.00$2,500.00 Non-refundable (Nov. 09) $10,000.00 (End of December)

This includes transportation from the Puerto Plata airport (POP); which includes accomodations, meals, & transportation to and from worksite daily.

• Airfare: From Boston, MA $11,050.00 ($700.00 per student)

From Newark, NJ $8466.00 ($498.00 per student) Deposit: $850.00 Due Nov. 20

Parent and Community Participation

1. Help us make our deadlines by donating or paying for airfare.

2. Fundraise / Spread the Word Out.

Speak at your church, your jobs, local businesses, among other places. You know people!

3. Don’t buy them a christmas present!

4. Please help us meet our deadlines.

Castillo’s Info.

C. Lissette Castillo

Spanish for Native Speakers Teacher

Learning Center Coordinator

Fenway High School

174 Ipswich Street, Boston MA 02215

lcastillo@fenwayhs.org

(617) 835-5709

What they forgot…

• Trip Timeline and Deposit Information• October 13, 2009: Applications due in the Learning

Center – Give to Ms. Castillo & / or Mr. Herrera • October 29, 2009: Announcements made of selected

students at the end of the Latino Assembly • November 3, 2009: $100.00 deposit due to Ms. Taylor,

Registrar • November 17, 2009: $100.00 deposit due to Ms. Taylor,

Registrar • December 21, 2009: Final deposit of $200.00 due to Ms.

Taylor, Registrar