School Supplies for Dominican Kids

Lately, I’ve been pondering the fact that very few people ever really change the world in big ways.  There are very few Martin Luther Kings, very few Mahatma Ghandis.  Only a limited number of people have changed the entire world with their contribution to the human endeavor.  However, I believe that perhaps we miss the point if we think that the only worthy contributions are the big ones.  Each contribution we make, however small, can be powerful and significant. 

I’ve had a single phrase repeatedly running through my mind for several days now: Pebbles in a pond.  I did a quick Internet search of that phrase and found a poem by James W. Foley, which starts out with,

Drop a pebble in the water:
just a splash, and it is gone;
But there's half-a-hundred ripples
Circling on and on and on…

Perhaps God is not asking us to lead his children to the Promised Land. What if He is only asking us to drop small pebbles wherever we can? A smile, a kind deed, a monetary donation as we are able.

A few months ago, I traveled to the Dominican Republic and had a life-changing experience volunteering among the poor people of that beautiful country.  I participated in several volunteer experiences, but perhaps the most impactful to me was teaching English in an elementary school.  We played baseball, we sang songs, we drew pictures, and all the while we tried to communicate through broken English, inadequate Spanish, and impromptu sign language.  We played baseball with a stick and a rolled sock.  The school didn’t even have resources to afford a baseball and a bat.  Later, as we were preparing to load our bus and return to our sanitary lives, the sweet little Dominican children clung to my arms and begged me not to leave, and I didn’t want to.  I wanted to stay.  With tears freely flowing down my cheeks, I hugged each of my new friends and reluctantly boarded the shuttle.  Why was it so impactful, so life changing for me? Because, at once, I could see both the desperate need that these beautiful people had, but also the great love and happiness with which they live their lives.  I wanted to stay and do something. I decided that I was going to do something to ease even a small part of their suffering.  At the very least I was going to get them a proper baseball and a sturdy bat!

Last week, I contacted the director of the Carmen Sofia Villalona primary school in Bani, a small city on the southern coast, about 60 km west of the capital.  She told me that her school is a very poor school and that while they do lack adequate sports equipment, what they need even more is the most basic items: pencils, paper, and other school supplies. 

I want to send them basic school supplies and I want them to have proper sports equipment.  If I can raise enough money, I can help with much needed repairs to the school, or buy new playground equipment.  My goal is to raise $10,000 by February 2017. 

What if there is another Oscar de la Renta among the pupils? What if there is another Sammy Sosa or a Junot Diaz?  What if what we are able to send them inspires even one of them to greatness? That goal might be a bit lofty, but what if we could help them free themselves of the crushing poverty under which they find themselves.  I believe in the transformative power of education and only hope that I can help to provide some of the tools that gives them a chance to overcome the obstacles in their way.  Or, what if the supplies we send do nothing more than put a smile on one child’s face? Won’t you please help me put smiles on those sweet little faces?

Your donation will allow me to buy paper, pencils, scissors, glue, and erasers; individual white boards, and other educational supplies.  With additional money, I will buy sports and outdoor equipment, like various kinds of balls, bats, and nets. If I reach my full goal, there may be money left over for repairs around the school, however, with 521 students and shipping costs, the money will probably be spent with what I’ve already listed. 

I promise that whatever I raise will go towards supplies for the school and getting it there.      

I don’t think that God really cares about the size of the pebble that we toss into the pond.  I just think He wants us to bend over, pick one up, and do something positive with it.