Our History
We started in 2003 providing uniforms and school supplies to
kids in the alley next to our home through the good services of
the local mother's club. Relatives in the D.R. and in the U.S.
helped with needed funds. Asking ourselves "what more could
be done" we moved from a family initiative to a community
project, deciding that opening a library would be the best way to
set the tone and to start a process of community discovery. We
were not disappointed.
The library started with 600 books from our personal collection
and from donations by relatives and the public library in
Hillsboro, Oregon, USA. We had an opening ceremony February
2006 and in June of the same year we conducted the first
summer camps for children and youth, a first in Las Terrenas.
We had 250 kids every day and 25 workshops, plus a Reading
Olympics in a 6-week period. We did it thanks to the work of 6
volunteers from the U.S. and 14 volunteers from Las Terrenas.
Music and art classes followed, then professional workshops
associated with INFOTEP, then the health operatives in
collaboration with ACES North America, and a number of other
endeavors such as Samana Verde.
We had only 6 library volunteers when the library opened and
now there are 15, plus more than 25 that have come at various
times from the U.S. and Europe.
We are proud of these humble beginnings and thankful for the
many contributions of dozens of people.
We started in 2003 providing uniforms and school supplies to
kids in the alley next to our home through the good services of
the local mother's club. Relatives in the D.R. and in the U.S.
helped with needed funds. Asking ourselves "what more could
be done" we moved from a family initiative to a community
project, deciding that opening a library would be the best way to
set the tone and to start a process of community discovery. We
were not disappointed.
The library started with 600 books from our personal collection
and from donations by relatives and the public library in
Hillsboro, Oregon, USA. We had an opening ceremony February
2006 and in June of the same year we conducted the first
summer camps for children and youth, a first in Las Terrenas.
We had 250 kids every day and 25 workshops, plus a Reading
Olympics in a 6-week period. We did it thanks to the work of 6
volunteers from the U.S. and 14 volunteers from Las Terrenas.
Music and art classes followed, then professional workshops
associated with INFOTEP, then the health operatives in
collaboration with ACES North America, and a number of other
endeavors such as Samana Verde.
We had only 6 library volunteers when the library opened and
now there are 15, plus more than 25 that have come at various
times from the U.S. and Europe.
We are proud of these humble beginnings and thankful for the
many contributions of dozens of people.
| Part of the crowd attending the library opening ceremony in February 2006. The library now has 4,000 books, including 1,000 in process, and 1000 books shy of our goal of 5,000 books by the end of 2008. We also have 6 used computers and the good services of volunteers from Las Terrenas, France, Russia, Italy, Mexico, the U.S. and elsewhere in the Dominican Republic. Our attendees have increased 300% in the last year. A potential change of location may help us fulfill our aspiration of a more complete educational center that would include an arts and crafts center, a multicultural center, an information technology center, a literacy center and to reach 10,000 books in the next five years. |
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Fundación Mahatma Gandhi
Visión Global, Desarrollo Local
Visión Global, Desarrollo Local
History |
"Be the change you wish to
see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi
see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi
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| ©2007 Fundacion Mahatma Gandhi. Las Terrenas, Samana Province, Dominican Republic. All rights reserved. |