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 BASICS
The Park Care Center in Caraballo began as a Kids Alive
Program in September of 2005. Under the leadership of director Alberto Polanco, the care center opened with a staff of eight teachers, assistants,
and cooks and 65 students ranging from 5-14 years old. In January of 2006,
we added a four year old class and a second class for first through third
grade students. The center now has 115 students attending daily.
 Academically, the care center focuses on
basic education skills such as pre-reading, reading, and math.
Spiritually, each student participates in a daily devotion or lesson as the
basis of teaching a moral foundation. Also, each student receives his or
her primary meal in the center at lunchtime. This often consists of rice
and beans, some salad or vegetables and some type of meat.
COMMUNITY
The Park Care Center in Caraballo serves an incredibly
impoverished community of Haitians and Dominicans who work around the sugar
cane fields on the North Coast. Most children come from broken families
and are at risk for under-education, mal-nutrition, discrimination, and
various types of exploitation. Many of the children’s parents cannot read
or write and many of the Haitian parents only speak Creole. The care center
is located on the property of Villa Ascension—a group of basic block homes
given to impoverished families with multiple children by another ministry.
WHAT’S Next
We hope to
expand the Park Care Center to care for several hundred more children. We
believe there are 500-600 children under 15 years old in the community and
almost all are extremely needy. This summer we will add a new kitchen and
dining room which will also give us more classroom space. We hope to add
40 more children in the fall of 2006. We would also like to eventually add
vocational training centers in computers, sewing, mechanics, and more.
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