The Dominican Republic

The Work in the Dominican Republic

In 1998, St. Michael Lutheran Church in Ft. Myer's, FL began planning a short-term mission trip to Santiago, Dominican Republic. The initial purpose of this trip was to do some repair and construction work at the Home of New Hope School, a school for children with developmental disabilities. It soon became apparent that the team would be able to do more work than was required at the Home of New Hope -- and that led to making contact with the Genesis School. The Genesis School was a small somewhat desperate school with over one hundred students who were children of working single parents. These children had no birth certificates, which made them ineligible for public education. The Genesis School provided a basic education, religious education and two meals a day in a small, rented two-bedroom home.

The first mission team from St. Michael's traveled to Santiago in February, 1999. They spent two days working with the Home of New Hope and the rest of the week working with the Genesis School. This initial trip led very quickly to the creation of a Sponsor-a-Child program that matched a sponsor from St. Michael's with a child in the Genesis School. Sponsors provided financial support for their child's education and both sponsors and children exchanged letters and photographs. A similar program was established with the Home of New Hope.

St. Michael's has continued to send mission teams to Santiago every year since 1999. These teams have built sidewalks, tables and desks. They've painted. They've facilitated Vacation Bible Schools and they've shared the love of Jesus with many, many people. And God has blessed this relationship between St. Michael's, the Home of New Hope and the Genesis School. Much has happened in the last six years. The Genesis School is in a new building and now educates some 230 children. A second school is under construction at Palmar Arriba -- and even now over 80 students attend school here, even though the building has not been completed!

Now this work has opend a whole new chapter for the ministry in the Dominican Republic. In 2003, St. Michael's contacted Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services in Watertown, WI on behalf of Home of New Hope, whose teachers were eager for continuing education for teaching children with developmental disabilities. Bethesda graciously provided grant money and facilitated that continuing education. Out of this was born a vision -- a vision of planting a Lutheran Church in the Dominican Republic that would be very evangelistic, sharing the love of Jesus and bringing people into a living relationship with him. This church-planting effort includes intentionally reaching out to, welcoming and supporting families with members having developmental disabilities.

This vision has led to a very creative, first-of-its-kind partnership between CALMS, LCMS World Mission, LCMS World Relief, Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services, the Brazil Lutheran Church and St Michael's Lutheran Church. The ministry partners financially support the work including at present two missionaries, Brazilian pastor, Walter Ries who focuses primarily on the church planting and leadership development aspect of the work and LCMS missionary, Danelle Putnam, who focuses on the human care ministry.

The ministry partners meet at least twice annually with the missionaries and national church workers to review progress and determine next steps. Each of the partners provides leadership in specific areas of ministry. For example, CALMS helps design strategic short-term mission projects to assist the missionaries and move the work toward the agreed goals and facilitates the Sponsor-A-Child program for children served by several Christian schools supported by the partnership. Bethesda provides leadership with the outreach to people with disabilities and their families. LCMS World Relief and Human Care provides development guidance and funding for human care work. LCMS World Mission provides ecclesiastical oversight and counsel regarding church planting and leadership developement. St. Michaels Lutheran Church provides funding and encouragement to the school staff. Recently, the partners decided to begin involving the emerging Dominican leaders in future discussions about the work in order to provide local input on decision-making.

The Dominican Republic: The Country

Introduction

Explored and claimed by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative, rule for much of its subsequent history was brought to an end in 1966 when Joaquin Balaguer became president. He maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. The Dominican economy has had one of the fastest growth rates in the hemisphere over the past decade.

Geography

The Dominican Republic consists of the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which lies between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. Slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire, the country is tropical with little seasonal variation in temperature. However, there is a great deal of seasonal variation in rainfall. The country has rugged highlands and mountains interspersed with fertile valleys.

The Dominican Republic lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and is subject to severe storms from June to October. The country is also subject to occasional flooding, as well as periodic droughts. This means there are often water shortages on the one hand and soil erosion on the other hand -- erosion that has damaged many of the Dominican's coral reefs.

Government

The Dominican Republic is a representative democracy with 31 provinces and one district. The capital is Santo Domingo in the south central part of the country. The Dominican Republic celebrates February 27 as its independence today -- the day in 1844 they won their independence from Haiti. All Dominicans 18 years of age and older may vote -- and married persons may vote regardless of age. However, members of the armed forces and the national police cannot vote.

In August, 2004, the Dominicans elected Leonel Fernandez Reyna as their president. The president is both the chief of state and head of government. Rafael Alburquerque de Castro was elected Vice-President in that same election. The president and vice-president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms.

The Legislative branch consists of a bicameral National Congress. This congress includes the 32-seat Senate and the 150-seat Chamber of Deputies. Members of both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms.

The Judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court, whose judges are appointed by a the National Judicial Council comprised of the President, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the President of the Supreme Court, and an opposition or non-governing party member. Economy

The Dominican Republic enjoyed an economic growth rate of more than 7% in 1998-2000. Growth subsequently plummeted as part of the global economic slowdown. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer, due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of the national income, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy, the source of 87% of export revenues.

Some 25% of Dominicans are considered below the poverty level, according to the World Bank. And the current unemployment rate is 16.5%. In addition, the inflation rate is 27.5%. Taken together, this makes the Dominican Republic a very challenging place for the vast majority of its people to live.

Transnational Issues

Despite efforts to control illegal migration, destitute Haitians fleeing poverty and violence continue to cross into the Dominican Republic. In addition, illegal migration of Dominicans and other nationals across the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico has also increased in the last few years.

The Dominican Republic is a major transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe. The country has also become a major transshipment point for Ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for the US and Canada. There is substantial money-laundering activity within the Dominican Republic. In fact, Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions.

Population and People

The population of the Dominican Republic is 8.8 million people. The median age for the country is 24 years old -- meaning that half the population is younger than 24 and half is older. Average life expectancy is 67. About 1% of the population -- some 88,000 people – are living with HIV/AIDS.

In terms of ethnicity, about 16% of the population is of European ancestry, about 11% is black, and 73% are of mixed ancestry. The primary language is Spanish. By and large, Dominicans are very literate -- 85% of people over the age of 15 can read and write. Some 95% of the population claims to be Roman Catholic, but evangelical denominations are gaining converts. Customs and Courtesies

The most common forms of greeting among friends are a nod and an abrazo (hug). New acquaintances or business associates usually use a handshake.

Table manners vary, but generally, hands should be kept above the table. Pleasant conversation usually accompanies meals. A 10% tip is customary in restaurants; service is not included in the bill.

Eye contact is important in conversation and it is important to cover the mouth when yawning. Many gestures common in the U.S. are also found in the Dominican Republic.

Lifestyle

In Dominican families, the mother takes the main responsibility for the home. The father's responsibilities are usually outside the home. However, he is still considered the undisputed leader of the family. The family is the basic unit of society, but due to the changing tempo of life, the nuclear family is gaining prominence over the extended family. Common-law marriages are prevalent, as are single-parent families. This accounts for much of the large number of out-of-wedlock births. The Dominican diet consists of beans, rice, plantains (a starchy green banana that must be cooked), and a small amount of fish, beef, chicken or pork. Tropical fruits are common.