Dominican Hope is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded in Lima, New York. Dominican Hope's objective is to improve the educational opportunities of impoverished youth in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

         Our mission is to build a pre-school in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic that will support the education and development of toddlers aged 2-5 years old. In addition to learning social and motor skills, they will also receive breakfast and lunch daily and will have access to medical care. Due to the extreme poverty of the city, there will be no costs incurred by the families of the children attending the pre-school. 

         One pre-school of this nature, Conani I, has already been built and has reached maximum occupancy. The land for a second school, Conani II, has been secured and the floor plans and architectural details have been finalized. We are currently raising funds so the construction of Conani II can begin.

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Important Facts about Puerto Plata

According to the Census Report on Children for Puerto Plata 2008:

*  More than 600 children live in Puerto Plata households that earn less than $1 each day.

*  2,793 children under the age of 15 are unable to read or write their names in the Puerto Plata area.   Local educators indicate these figures may be under-reported.

*  77 children a day die in the Dominican Republic  ~ this equates to 2.2 children each day in the greater Puerto Plata area.

*  This national report, in conjunction with a recent report published by UNICEF, concludes that the general state of vulnerable children in the Dominican Republic continues to degrade at 1% each year.  Currently, 47% of the children are living in conditions that do not meet Millenium Development Goals to combat poverty.  By the year 2011, more than 50% of the children in the Puerto Plata area will be living in vulnerable conditions where they are subject to violence, lack of adequate education, poor health conditions and a degrading environment.

*  The report also states that one of the few avenues of hope are efforts by social workers connected to government agencies such as Conani. 

*  Dominican Hope is working in conjunction with Conani and the local government of Puerto Plata to combat these statistics and provide hope for the future of Puerto Plata's children.