Sosua Kids

There are at least four organizations in Sosúa that try to provide a better future for poor children in the town. Sosúa Kids Organization is one example, and the organizers of this group include Janet Williams, Barbara and Linden Anderson, and Karen Conguergood.
Together, they ensure that 282 children (who could not otherwise afford it) can attend school, by providing them with school uniforms, books and writing materials.

The group also pays tuition fees for four students who attend the university.

The Sosúa project has adopted a small school in a tiny village where the residents consist mostly of Haitians, and where the children do not have the right to free education. The Sosúa project pays the salaries of teachers, as well as purchasing school furniture and equipment. The group recently organized a day trip for some of the children.
Then there is another organization that focuses on handicapped children in Sosúa. We'll be publishing an article on this group soon.

However, our attention today focuses on the Stitching Help Sosua kids to School', which is a Dutch foundation primarily headed by Sylvia Berkley. She has supported the Sosúa Kids Organization since 2006, as well as a school for Haitian children (Colegio Evangelico Asher) in the suburb 'El Batey de la Unión'. This is a suburb close to the airport.

These children also have no right to an education as they do not have legal documentation and therefore have little chance of receiving any schooling. However, as a result of efforts by a number of Dominican teachers these children will now go to school, and Sylvia will pay their salaries through donations from the Netherlands. The administration of these salaries is run via the Sosúa Kids Organization.

On Sunday 18 May, Sylvia was at the checkpoint Bar to hand over a cheque for 5000 euros to the organizers of Sosúa Kids. Sylvia had collected this money from all kinds of private citizens in the Netherlands. Some of the money will be used to purchase school uniforms for the children.

The teachers at Colegio Evangelico Asher in El Batey de la Unión are also trying to raise funds because they urgently need new school premises for the children. They currently have to house 250 pupils in the old school building, which is much too small. This is why they have organized a benefit evening on Saturday 24 May, with performances by the children in the school band.

They hope that they will be able to raise enough money to put a down payment on a new school building.

Would you like to donate some money?
Details are given below:

Mw. S.J.E. Berkley, Chairperson
E-mail: help@sosuakids2school.nl
www.sosuakids2school.nl

Bank account number: 57.27.39.818
BIC: ABNANL2A
IBAN: NL30ABNA0572739818