Musica!

“To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable," Aaron Copeland, American Composer.

This being said, Dove is working towards the revival of its music program. With the help from some of our friends in Nashville we are seeking the support and funding to fully develop our program long term. The kids here love music. They dance and smile and sing along. The joy that fills each of their faces when music is playing is indescribable. This is why it's so important for us to get started again. Jochy Guerrero, the teacher, is ready and willing to start classes again as soon as we are able. As a teacher, he is so loved by all of the kids. He stopped by the club last week for a little visit and the kids went nuts. They hugged him and talked to him and made him come into their classes to see what they were working on. They need this program and we are very excited to be working on getting it back! Check out this video of Jochy talking about the program.

As always love from the DR!

Slide Pics!

A Slide Is Still A Slide!

Our new home is in Bario Haiti right across the street from a park. It may not be the best park in the world, but it has a slide! The park has other great qualities like multiple monkey bars and a swing, but nothing like this slide. I was in the club working on something and happened to peak my head outside to see what the kids were doing. At least 15 of our kids were piled onto the slide! Laughing and giggling as if this was the funnies thing they had ever seen or experienced in their whole life! It doesn't matter what part of the world you are in; a kid is still a kid and a slide is still a slide!

Each Day Keeps Getting Better

Each hour, each day, each week, each month here is always different, but we are always moving forward! Our new home has brought us new opportunities to better serve our kids and our community; something we are unwaveringly committed to. Just this past week five more kids got sponsored, which is a tremendous success for Dove and for the lives of these kids. Thank you for the support and lets see if we can't get all of the kids sponsors by the end of the year! The more we have sponsored the more we can add, and there is a long waiting list! Our teachers have started implementing the new Boys and Girls Club curriculum and the kids are, so far, very receptive. While the use of these lessons plans are a new endeavor, subject to adaptation and change, we are very confident it will be a great addition to what the kids are learning at the club. More updates to come very soon! Thank you, as always, for your support and love!

Peace,

Dove

A Great Week at Dove!

What a week it has been here at Dove Missions! The children got to resume their English classes this week thanks to the arrival of our new volunteer, Amber! They are very excited and greeted her with phrases like. "How are you teacher? and I'm fine thank you." They are great kids eager to learn and have fun! Our new building is fantastic and suites our needs much better than our last home. Three classrooms, a storage room,kitchen and office area and right across from a park; this place is really something special for us.
The teacher's are begining a new curriculum based off of the Boys and Girls Club of America guide following the six pillars of good character; trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Each Saturday the children will do a new activity based on one of the pillars. This will help them develop a sense of community and concern for each others well being; a concept not well developed in the Dominican Republic. Except at snack time! Whenever one child has drink or piece of bread or anything they will always share with those around them! This act of sharing can be seen all over the Dominican, even with adults.The kids will have no problem grasping and applying these new six concepts to thier daily lives!
In other news, Dove is taking a mission trip to Haiti in November! If you're interested contact mbazely@sympatico.ca for information or join our facebook group. This is truly a life changing experience that you would be sad to miss! We are also still looking for more sponsors! Just $30 a month can change the life of a child!

Love from the DR,

Dove Missions

Only 5 More Sponsors Needed!

Wonderful news!
To all of you who have been waiting to sponsor a child, our family sponsorship program has expanded to include individual child sponsorship! This ensures the voucher program, school uniforms and cost of participating in the club to all of the children in our club! If you would like to participate, please email our coordinator, Melissa Bazely at mbazely@sympatico.ca and let her know. We only have 6 children who still need sponsors, once we get that we will have every child in our club accounted for! Here is the list of children waiting for sponsorship; check out their pages for information photos!

Thank you,

Liz McKie
Executive Director and Founder - Dove Missions

Children in need of a sponsor:

Emilio
Carolina
Loraini
Yoheidi

School Uniform Drive!

Hola Amigos!

It’s that time of year again! Summer is winding down and it’s time for our kids to head back to school – but they cannot do that without our help.

As you well know we have 80 kids in our club and when school time rolls around again they will all be in need of uniforms. Although schools in the Dominican are public and free, their ticket for enrollment is a uniform. Without the entire package, they are not allowed to enroll in the public education system.

They need shirts, pants, undershirts, underpants, sports pants, sports t-shirts, socks and shoes and the prices here can get pretty expensive. It costs anywhere from $40-$50 per child, depending on their age.

While the full $40 for the package would be incredibly helpful and such a blessing, we are asking that you and your family consider supporting even half of a school uniform or a fourth if that’s all that is possible.

The cost of a new backpack for your child in the United States is around the same cost as school uniforms are here; as you’re shopping this school season we ask that you consider donating some of what you would spend to your Dominican family. Without your support our kids cannot go to school and without going to school, our efforts are worthless.

Thank you in advance for anything you are able to give and even if not in the form of monetary donations, we are constantly in need of your prayers. It’s your donations and dutiful prayers that keep us in operation; we so appreciate your sacrifice.

Enjoy the end of your summer, it’s wrapping up quickly! Come visit us – you deserve a break!

With love from the DR,

DOVE Missions