Santo Domingo East School
Santo Domingo East School
A wonderful primary school for 160 of the region’s most impoverished and vulnerable children, with an after school sports programme serving 80 children. The school provides a range of holistic care, including free food, trauma informed care and counselling, basic medical care, and dental treatment.
Known to locals as “Jesus in the Children School,” the Santo Domingo East school is based in an extremely difficult area of the capital city, where drug and alcohol abuse is rife and where neighbourhood violence is common place.
Our school is an oasis of love, care and support to 160 of the region's most vulnerable children. Our basic education programme offers quality academic instruction through to year 5 (aged 10), and our after-school sports programme has grown to serve more than 80 children.
In addition to education, our holistic care includes nutritious meals, after-school enrichment, medical and dental care, and counselling. Counselling has proven to be especially effective given the levels of trauma many of these children have been through.
Santo Domingo East School: A story of hope
Meet Lucas (name changed to protect privacy)
Lucas was brought to our school because he faced difficult circumstances at home. His single mother was forced to leave Venezuela due to political persecution and is trying to survive as a refugee in Dominican Republic. She works long hours trying to provide for her family’s needs, often leaving Lucas with friends or neighbours so he won’t be alone while she’s gone.
It’s been a blessing for him to be part of our school, where he is receiving a solid, Christ-centred education, healthy food, and the attention he needs as he grows. We are thrilled to watch as Lucas thrives at Santo Domingo East. He has fully embraced both academic learning and the lessons about Jesus.
After a recent discipleship programme, he went home and explained one of the lessons to a caregiver, or “tia.” He told her about how Christ died on the cross for each of us, and she became so interested that she asked to borrow his Bible so she could read more about it. In addition to growing in spiritual knowledge, Lucas enjoys playing on our school’s soccer team.
We trust that God is at work in his life, and we are excited to see what’s in store for his future!
Updating page...