THANK YOU CANADA

Mission complete!  All of our donations have been well received by the Dominicanada Youth Development Centre in the Dominican Republic!  Below are a few photos of  the many donations distributed, each child received a goodie bag to take home with them.  Thank you to all who were involved with our drive at Mundy's Bay.  Thank you principal Mrs. Condren, who allowed us to set up camp outside of her office.  Thank you to Mrs. Scott for spear heading the drive with Ally and all her classmates.  Thank you to all the kids at Mundy's Bay, and their families for collecting so many nice donations.  Thank you Mind's Alive for the donation of toys we sent to the kids.  Thank you to Constable Dave Young from the Midland Police Headquarters and to Al Gilchrist the President of the Innisfil Rotary Club for your wonderful offer to transport all these donations to our Dominicanada Youth Development Centre in Puerto Plata.  As well as the donations for the Rotary Club Mission, four suitcases extra were delivered to the Centre.  The cheers could be heard from miles around, "CA-NA-DA, CA-NA-DA", the children shouted.  A glimpse of hope for more students to be able to attend school with all of the school supplies collected,  more full bellies with all the peanut butter and cheez Whiz gathered, and many well  needed toiletries for our Dominican mom's and their households.  Along with lots of new shoes and clothes for the children, and most importantly just the thought of knowing that all of us in Canada care about them.  My sincere thanks to all who made this fabulous drive so successful.

DONATIONS FOR HAITI AND DOMINICANADA

Our local Rotary Clubs from the Simcoe area are planning a Humanitarian trip to the Dominican Republic March 20th. They have asked for help to collect some well needed supplies for the Haitian children they will be traveling to see. In the process they have very kindly offered to deliver four suitcases full of school supplies and other donations to our Dominicanada Youth Development Centre. A big THANK YOU to the Mundy's Bay Public School student's, and their families, for their generous donations and helping the children in need. See photos of the big arrival above.

FRANKLIN'S NEW ROOF

In the video above you will find a short interview with a little boy named Franklin.  I have mentioned in the blog previously that the conditions of Franklin's entire home are the worst conditions I have ever seen in in my days in Playa Oeste.  See the before photos of the holes the size of baseball's in the corrugated tin roof over Franklin's head where he sleeps. Our faithful friends from the Good Sheperd Church in Englehart wanted to sponsor a home repair just after the hurricane. Rain used to be Franklin's worst worry, but thanks to the Good Sheperd, Franklin now sleeps well and dry, see the after photos of the makeover roof below.  

This photo of Franklin himself was taken in his kitchen, you can see the floor consists of dirt and stones.  Our next repair will be the roof on kitchen side of the home, and the floor.  If you would like to help lay a new floor for Franklin and his family, or repair the remaining side of the roof, donations can be made through Paypal with the link at the top of the blog.

ARROZ CON LECHE DOMINICANO (RICE PUDDING)

Here are some photos of Ilda and our Dominicanada kids.  Ilda is busy with a giant pot of boiling, cooking outside on an open fire. She is making her delicious Dominican Arroz Con Leche or most famously known in Canada as Rice Pudding.  

Although there are many different versions of Rice Pudding all over the world,

the Dominican recipe is a very popular one, with it's distinct mix of spices, including cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
This traditional dessert in the DR is very simple to prepare, give it a try with this recipe and enjoy this sweetness in a bowl:

http://www.dominicancooking.com/992-arroz-con-leche-rice-pudding.html