Welcome, Site Partner

An insider view of ANIJA School

Jarabacoa | Dominican Republic

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JARABACOA TODAY'S WEATHER

Highlights

Beautiful and Efficient Child Sponsorship

In a former life as a management consultant, we inevitably presented to business clients how to best use limited resources …

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Transforming children’s lives via exceptional schooling

Rescue and transformation of children and youth that come from hard situations is complicated work that requires patience, love, and …

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Strengthened families, thriving children

While children are at the core of Kids Alive’s ministry, our goal is to strengthen their families, allowing them to grow up in caring and nurturing environments where they can thrive.  We invite or …

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“Back to school” – in April?

The phrase “Back to School” predictably rings across North America every fall as kids return to start their new academic …

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Did You Know?

Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, taking in many Haitian immigrants following the 2010 earthquake

Dominican Republic culture contains a vibrant mix of European, African, and indigenous influences

Dominican Republic is the 2nd largest Caribbean nation by area,  and  the 3rd largest in population

Spanish is the national language, with Haitian Creole being the largest minority language

Dominican Republic is the most visited tourist destination in the Caribbean


God is Working in ANIJA!
Please pray for...

Continued protection from COVID for both students and staff, especially with the relaxing of protocols and restrictions in the country.

A restful July vacation for our dedicated teaching staff and other personnel.

Permission from the government to move from semi-present teaching to full classroom teaching this fall.

Funds to purchase more books as we try to rebuild and expand our library and place additional books in each classroom to promote literacy.

Prayer requests updated 06/2021

About ANIJA School

students enrolled at ANIJA
families helped by Families Together program
ANIJA students are
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more likely to graduate
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population of Jarabacoa

The ANIJA School’s name is the Spanish acronym for “helping the children of Jarabacoa” and that mission is lived out every day. We serve more than 380 children and youth and we also house the administrative centers for the Kids Alive soccer club and university scholarship program. Our experienced staff have a passion for helping at-risk kids and they make our program feel like a big family. About 30% of our staff were once at-risk kids who attended our school and benefited from our ministry.

We have almost completed a major facility expansion which will add a new cafeteria, sports court, and several more classrooms. The project is 90% complete and fully funded. Our hygienist graduated from university to become a dentist, which means we can now clean and seal teeth as well as fill cavities on campus. Our soccer club has close to 300 kids participating, and our 8th and 9th grade girls’ team finished second in a national high school tournament.

Our objectives for the coming months include improving our computer-based learning opportunities and reopening a school library that has been unavailable due to a lack of classroom space. And we remain committed to improving our intervention practices as we seek to care for the children’s physical, spiritual, and emotional health in our social services. There is much work to do in Jarabacoa but with God all things are possible!

  • Our students come from the poorest communities in DR
  • Access to health and dental care is lacking, and we have recently begun a successful dental health program
  • The school has received several academic excellence awards from the local school district

Life at ANIJA

Our students come from the poorest communities and would otherwise not have access to a solid education. Not only do we offer them a quality education including English, computers, and art, but our after-school program provides lunch, tutoring, and extracurricular activities. We are thankful that more than 80% of the students who enter our program graduate from high school, and each one hears daily about the hope found in Jesus.

Kids Alive in Dominican Republic

Kids Alive staff members
Kids Alive staff in DR are nationals
+
children between ages of 3 and 22 in Kids Alive care

Dominican Republic Country Director's Update

Planting a Living Hope in Dominican Republic!

Once again, we greet you from the ministries of Kids Alive in Dominican Republic, where your partnership and your gifts are helping to plant hope in the lives of at-risk children and young people. We rejoice that this is not simply a hope for escaping poverty or for a better career – you are planting the living hope (1 Pet. 1:3) in their lives which means an eternity with the One who loves them!

Within Kids Alive DR, we have the privilege of working with over 2,000 kids between the ages of 3 and 22. While this seems like a large window of opportunity to cultivate these seeds, the culture here often works against us, making the labor difficult. And nearly all the children we serve come from, and still live inside, backgrounds of abuse, exploitation, or extreme poverty. These “hard places” make the sowing of hope a real challenge.

However, one of our great joys is seeing the visible, healthy growth in these young lives and watching them blossom into beautiful new creations before our eyes. They are developing strong roots, watered by your compassion and love, and are going on to have a positive impact on their families and communities.

All our ministries are benefiting from unprecedented favor with government officials. Our schools are receiving awards for excellence; our homes are receiving commendations for our quality care, and we’re increasingly being asked to take additional children that Dominican officials have identified as abused or neglected. We see this as a tremendous privilege – and a great responsibility. read more »

Vic-Trautwen-Ramon-Prenza
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Vic Trautwein
Co-Country Director
Dominican Republic

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Ramon Prenza
Co-Country Director
Dominican Republic

Learn About DR
  • Population of 10 million, with many living in extreme poverty
  • Government is a representative democracy with elections every four years
  • Poor quality education system with high dropout rates, nearly 90% in some areas
  • There is a serious problem of child labor in agricultural industries
  • Shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti, taking many Haitian immigrants following 2010 earthquake

Rejoice with us, and praise God for...

  • 12 young people graduated to independence and/or restored to their biological families
  • Graduations of 160 kids from 1st grade, 120 from 6th grade, 70 from high school, and 7 from university
  • Significant expansion of our youth clubs and sports discipleship programs
  • Unprecedented favor with local governments, including awards for excellence and approval to expand to additional grade levels
  • Welcoming of children who have been referred to us by Dominican officials after removal from their homes because of severe neglect or abuse