Thursday, April 1, 2010

Life in Kioskea

Kioskea, Dominican Republic; Tuesday, March 30

We spent the morning at a day-orphanage in Ki0skea. The children from the surrounding neighborhood of Pueblo Nuevo come here for education. This neighborhood is known for its theft and voodoo practices. All of this activity with no education is a bad equation for the children. So a women named Milkea started this day-orphanage in order to give these children a chance to rise above the statistics. God has blessed her efforts with several dedicated and loving teachers who come, regardless if they get paid that month or not. They labor day in and day out because they realize that these children are the future. These children, when empowered with knowledge and love, can change the Dominican Republic. These children can be the future leaders of their country.

Last year, the students at The Rock raised money to renovate Milkea's school. They stocked the shelves with food before they left, but upon our arrival, the shelves were bare. Milkea has to send the children home during lunch time because she has nothing to feed them.

But what they lack in supplies, they make up for in love. The teachers know that God is in control and will give them the strength to persevere. And they do. Their love is strong and their faith carries them forward. It is times like this, when God brings them encouragement. Here, DJ sings with the children about the love of God; their little voices fill the small school room.

Danielle and I met Cindy and her 1-year old daughter at Milkea's. She is 16-years old. She helps out at the school and has grown up in Pueblo Nuevo. We got to hang out with her for the rest of the morning.

Although 70% of the world is made up of water, 80% of the world population doesn't have access to it. The water problem in this community is huge. So where do they get their water for cooking, cleaning, drinking, washing? As we visited different houses, we didn't realize we were walking through it...the little stream running through the street...that is it...

Mani explained to us that this community has hacked into the main water pipe underground that runs to the city. They made their own faucet by connected this hose to the pipe.

If the children don't have running water, they have to spend each day going to get it which means they can't go to school. This cycle can't be broken unless someone decides to invest time and money to dig a well. Most governments in developing countries don't make clean water a priority due to the long list of other priorities already pending. This issue not being addresses is taking its toll on the people, both in the DR and worldwide. As we walked through the neighborhoods, we found out several students from Milkea's school sick from this unsanitary water.

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