Nuevo Progresso Village Back to School

My work with children continues as I have been given the opportunity to collaborate on this beautiful project with a fellow Dominican sister in Sosua, Dominican Republic. The children of Nuevo Progresso Village are the light of Yohanna's life, and quickly have become mine as well. Yohanna dedicates her life to her community, specifically the women and children of Barrio Nuevo Progresso. She runs a lunch program every Tuesday and Friday, where she provides a warm home-cooked meal for the little people of her community. When introduced to her, she expressed how there were many mothers who felt overwhelmed with the thought of their children returning back to school, due to the lack of resources and money to be able to prepare them for a brick and mortar education. Many of these mothers have found the strength to escape domestic abusive relationships along with their 3+ children. We quickly came up with the idea of hosting a back to school drive in the city of Philadelphia, and having the supplies shipped to Sosua. While doing the research for shipping and costs, I realized how challenging, timely and costly it would be to ship boxes of school supplies and backpacks to Dominican Republic in time

The idea of raising monetary funds seemed more practical, as we have only a few weeks before the children go back to school (September 20th).

Our goal is to be able to provide at least 100 children (various ages) with the basic necessities they will need to begin a successful school year (backpacks, notebooks, pens/pencils, crayons, rulers, erasers). In addition to preparing the children for school, we'd also be supporting local businesses by purchasing directly from Dominican small business owners.

*For those who may not feel comfortable with a monetary donation, there is an option to purchase through Amazon and ship directly to my P.O. Box. You may contact me directly and I will provide the information needed to do so. *

Any amount is appreciated, and if you are unable to participate monetarily there is power in spreading the word.

Venmo: @iherr

IG: @earthedmari - for more information and pictures of the amazing work Yohanna is doing