January 2022 – On January 10, we met Maria Pestrella, the director of the Julian Jimenez school in Nigua. This school is the most recent shoot on the tree and the second school in Nigua. We are including more than 20 children from this school as sponsor children in our program. These children come from very poor families, who cannot afford the school fees. Maria Pestrella introduces us to her school online.
Julian Jimenez has grown from about 50 to over 100 students ages 4 – 12 in a short time. Very nice for the children who can now also go to school and a compliment to the teachers. Yet this growth also has a dark side. There are not enough classrooms and sanitary facilities. And the number of government-subsidized breakfasts and lunches is still based on the old number of students. Fortunately, a major international Colombian company is supporting the construction of a new classroom and has already provided additional sinks.
Maria Pestrella is very pleased with the active involvement of many parents in the school. They encourage their children to do well in school. Thanks to a contribution from the government, half of the children have a tablet. Indispensable to follow digital education in Corona time. The children from the same family share the tablet with each other so that all children benefit from it.
We hope when we travel to the Dominican Republic again to see the school with our own eyes and are extremely curious about the expansion of the classrooms.