Food and Clothing Aid Distribution

OCDH has collected, shipped and distributed food, clothing, and medical supplies to support critical needs of batey residents, including the following:

Served 87 families each with the following: 5 lbs of rice, 2 lbs of beans, oil, salami, sardines, spaghetti and other food items.

Distributed food, clothing and shoes to 65 families at Batey Loma Blanca.

Distributed 21 barrels of food, clothing and medicine to hundreds of batey residents.

Community Tours and Service Projects
Batey Baraguana and Batey Loma Blanca

Led various groups on visits and service projects. Organizational participants have included: Office of the National Administrator of European Development Funds/ Oficina del Ordenador Nacional para los Fondos Europeos de Desarrollo (ONFED), UNDP; EDENORTE (the state electricity power company); a representative of G.O. Ministries; a professor of social research; Indiana University -Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

 

Seed: Medications left by Youth on a Mission (YOAM) Medical team

Problem: Lack of access to basic over-the-counter medications means residents are at risk of becoming seriously ill with easily treatable conditions

Project: Lesly Manigat, MD organized a first aid training. Set up a committee of 5 people to start a pharmacy. The committee is in charge of dispensing medicine. Residents must pay approximately 2 pesos for medications (tylenol etc) so that when the medication runs out, the committee can purchase more medication. Two participating bateys.

Seed: $200 for water, donated by YOAM Team

Problem: The batey residents did not have access to clean water and were forced to buy expensive bottled water

Project: US200 purchased two trucks of water; Established Water Committee, in charge of selling the water and purchasing new water when it runs out.

Batey Soccer Tournament

Seed: Soccer uniforms and balls, donated by YOAM Team led by Elder Marx Succes

Problem: Batey youth and community need recreational activities to participate in; the children of the batey are not accepted in, nor able to access activities available to the residents in nearby communities; many of the country’s greatest athletes to play professionally abroad were scouted in the bateys of the Dominican Republic

Project:  Batey Soccer Tournament
In the first year over 400 spectators attended the championship game and 8 batey communities participated in the tournament. In the second year, 2009, the event doubled in participation, with 16 batey communities entering the competition and over 700 spectators at the championship game. The event has turned into a major socio-economic event for the batey communites.

Batey Baraguana Beautification Project

Problem: The entrance to Baraguana is dilapitaded. Residents need to feel a sense of pride in their home
Seed: Student Volunteers from Pontifical Catholic University’s CIEE Program
Project: Residents and students painted run-down housing and constructed a park at the entrance batey Baraguana for residents to enjoy.

Trash Removal

After various meetings between community residents and government and  municipal representatives, OCDH was instrumental in facilitating trash collection in Batey Baraguana. Prior to this time, residents had no where to dispose of waste; this created a major public health hazard to the residents. Waste contaminated water sources and threatened the environment surrounding the community and the health of young children who often walk in filthy areas with no shoes.

The trash collection program at Batey Baraguana began in summer of 2008. The trash is collect twice a week.