We are raising money to help a Haitian family in the Dominican Republic build a house. So far we've raised $6000 towards our $8,000 goal, thanks to your generosity. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Adeni and her husband Selafua came to the D.R. thirteen years ago with two children, and now they have two more. They've lived in a series of temporary homes, usually in exchange for farm work. The house they're currently in is being sold as part of a land deal, and they have to move...soon.

Thanks to the generosity of many of my U.S. friends and relatives, Adeni and Selafua were able to buy a plot of land in El Limón. Construction began last January. We raised $6000 and were able to build the foundation, walls and roof. However, construction costs and land prices have skyrocketed, and construction is paused until we can raise more money for floors, a bathroom, doors and windows.

I'd love to see this project finished by Christmas so the family can finally move in!

Please help make Adeni and Selafua's dream come true. Thank you and God bless you!

(A bit of background for those who are new to this campaign: I live in Berkeley, California, but have lived off and on in the rural Dominican Republic where I have developed close friendships with people in two farming villages. Over the years, I have come to know and love two Haitian families in El Limón, a village of about 300 people in the mountains outside San José de Ocoa.

Haitian immigrants in the rural D.R. are extremely marginalized, eking out a subsistence income as farm laborers. It's not safe for them to return to Haiti, and there's no work available there anyway. So they stay, learn Spanish, and gradually become somewhat integrated into community life. But most barely make enough to support a family. Owning a home—even a modest one—will forever remain a dream without outside help.

Five years ago, thanks to the generosity of many U.S. friends—maybe you!—I was able to raise enough funds to build a house for a family of six: Amicia's family. Now, Amicia's sister Adeni and her family urgently need a home.)

Left to right: Loudia (19), Lovena (22), Ismael (10), Esther (12) with their parents Adeni and Selafua (pronounced as in French "C'est la foi" = "It's faith").