Dominican Starfish Foundation helps those suffering in poverty in the Dominican Republic in 5 different areas: Housing and Shelter Education Health and Wellness Food and Clothing Employment We thank all of our donors who make this possible!!

2. April is the National Month of Hope.
We have been able to bless some
families in the Dominican Republic
with hope in their lives!

4. Thank you to
McKenize Bodily and
her group for visiting
the Youth Upliftment
School with gifts for
the children and food
packs for the families!

5. “Sometimes our students need some extra support, and we have to turn
them down. It’s heartbreaking but our resources are small and we have
to make sure we are focused on our goal of providing all our students
with the opportunity to receive an education. But sometimes, a student’s
situation is so bad we can’t not ask for help on their behalf.
Please remember, our students do not have access to any type of social
services or food banks. There is no net to fall into when times are rough.
Youvica and Steve are in desperate need. Their baby sister is 1 years old,
and when I visited today, I had planned on taking a photo and I couldn’t. I
have already visited and I’m sure the kids were hoping that this time I
would bring some help. I felt terrible.
Youvica was collecting water from a dirty river.” (More of the story on
the next page)
A message from Kate, the director of Youth Upliftment School
Youvica
and her
baby
sister
sleeping
on the
floor of
the
school.
Dominican Starfish
Foundation Making
a Difference
to one child, one
family, one
community at a
time!

6. (More of the story) “Youvica is in kindergarten 3 and Steve is in grade 6. They are facing a very very
difficult time right now. Their father is sick and cannot work. He has migraines so bad that he loses
consciousness. He also has a lot of problems with one of his legs, to the point where he can’t bear weight
on it. When he went to the clinic they gave him some pain killers, but they did not work. Their mother is
mentally ill and is not in the picture right now. She will come around and act fine for weeks on end and
then will have an episode. It’s very sad, and she has injured herself in a fire leaving burn marks over parts
of her body. The father does not know how to help, and the strong belief of magic in the community has
led many people to believe she has a curse on her. The father says he goes to church as much as he can to
pray that his wife will get better, but after that there is nothing he can do. Just like so many parts of the
world, mental health is still a stigmatized issue with a lack of help available to those who need it. The
youngest child is a baby girl named Mathe. She is 1 year old.
Youvica and Steve often spend the afternoons looking for beach almonds to eat. They also look for a
certain type of leaf to make a tea with. The father feels bad that they have to do this but sometimes it’s
the only thing they will have.
We would really like to help this family in their time of need. After an Easter food pack, we would like to
help them with the following.
-Rent for 3 months they owe: 7,500 pesos in total ( $185).
- A sponsor who can commit to helping them pay rent for at-least 4 months. (May-August). Their monthly
rent is 2,800 pesos which is currently around $70.00.
-Box of diapers & cream for baby Mathe who has a bad infection ($52).
-Lastly food items (esp. beans, rice, sardines, pasta and cooking oil) and milk for baby Mathe.
If anyone local has items they would like donate for the baby, children or father I would gladly arrange to
pick anything up. They have sold many of the little items they did have. Everything is needed.”
Donations from members of Dominican Starfish Foundation
have been helping this family. They need a permanent sponsor.

7. This is the family who “adopted” 3 orphan children. We raised the money for this project for
Giving Tuesday in November. Because the home is tucked back in behind another one, it is
hard to see the size. It is a lovely 3-bedroom home with a kitchen, living room and bathroom.
The family is so grateful!!

8. The funds for Sylvia’s home were raised by Hope Humanitarian. A group of
volunteers from their foundation came March 12 and helped for a week with the
first part of the construction. WE THANK THEM SO MUCH!!!
The new
home was
finished
April 29th .

9. In October, Kim Hamilton and her
daughter Kamryn started a fundraiser to
build a new home for Warly and Wandy.
They made and sold hundreds of deluxe,
gourmet caramel apples. By the end of
December, they had raised the whole
amount for Warly and Wandy and their 3
children to have a home. They came to
the Dominican and met their special
family in February. Construction on the
new home began on March 20th.
April 30
March 20
April 30

10. Nairelyn is 18 years old, and she
and her husband have 3 beautiful
children. She tragically lost her
hand and her home four months
ago. Funds for a new home were
also raised by Kim Hamilton of
Utah. Building started on April 14th.
April 30

11. We continue to raise funds to help Wasner and Annie
and family to have a home. They are in desperate
need. We have 2/3 of the funds raised. We are
looking for more help. Their home will be built on
top of her grandmother’s home.
Canadian donors:
www.fundrazr.com/wasnerandannieCND
USA donors: www.fundrazr.com/wasnerandannieUSA

12. After many years of looking,
we have found sponsors to
help with Tata’s home. Thank
you so much to the Barno,
Garlock and Mortenson
families who will be have
raised and donated funds to
make this blessing possible!!
We are only $600 away from
completing the funding for
Tata’s home. Please help if
you can!!
USA donors: www.fundrazr.com/tatahomeUSA
Canadian donors: www.fundrazr.com/tatahomeCND

13. This family came to Amarilis to ask for
help! THEY WERE HOMELESS! They lost
everything when their daughter
Crismaily 16, needed open heart
surgery. Their two youngest children
have special needs as well. They got
behind on their rent and were put out
of the street. They were going from
place to place looking for somewhere to
stay each night--in abandoned shacks, in
partly finished construction sites, and
more.
Cristian 47 years, Maritza 38, Jorgelis
18, Crismaily 16, Kedwin 12.
We are pleased that we’ve
had people step up to help
them pay rent and we have
found them a place to live!!
Even though it’s not fancy,
Amarilis said she never saw
anyone so grateful!!

14. WE ARE CELEBRATING OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY!!
10 years ago, on April 1st, 2013, our crew started digging the very first foundation to build a home in
the Dominican Republic. The home was for Mela in the community of Maggiolo. She was thrilled,
we were thrilled and set a big goal to build one home a year!! That didn’t work out as planned.
Now 10 years later for our 10th anniversary we started raising funds for house #210
DO YOU HAVE A SOFT SPOT IN
YOUR HEART FOR THE SENIORS?
In the Dominican Republic many of
this marginalized part of the
population have severe challenges.
We usually try to build homes for
families with children but when a
neighbor of Pedro sent this photo
and asked for help, we couldn’t help
looking into this need further. We
thought it would be a perfect
anniversary project!!
2013 we helped Mela, a senior lady
with her home!
2023 we will help Pedro, a senior
man with his.

15. ADOPT A GRANDPA IN THE
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.
Could your family "adopt" Grandpa
Pedro? Could you talk with your
children and see what you might
sacrifice to help him?
Pedro has no family to care for him.
His only daughter lives far away. A
neighbor asked us if we could help.
Every time it rains the whole house
becomes flooded. The holes in the
walls let in the rats, cockroaches, and
tarantulas. He collects beer bottles to
recycle to help feed himself.
Please help us to help Pedro have a
small, new, safe and secure place to
live!
Canadian donors:
fundrazr.com/pedromiguelCND
USA donors:
fundrazr.com/pedromiguelUSA
So far, we have been able to raise the money for cinderblock which is
about 1/5 of the funds we need to build his home!!

16. We have known Frank Pasqual
for many years. (Below in the
plaid shirt). He is a Pastor and
has been a director of one of
the schools we supported.
Unfortunately, the funding he
needed didn’t survive Covid 19.
He continues to serve in so many ways. Earlier
this month he was working very hard to help a
family save their home which was being
foreclosed on. In desperation, the very last
day, he called the foundation. He was even
going to take a personal loan to pay the
needed funds but there was a two-week wait,
and the house was being taken that day.
Because we have a Home-Building-Club that
people donate to monthly we were able to
help so the family didn’t lose their home.

17. The project approved and funded by
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
Day-Saints has been started at the
Youth Upliftment School.
Humanitarian Missionaries attended
the 10th anniversary celebration at the
Youth Upliftment School in October of
2022. Impressed with what they saw,
they invited Dominican Starfish
Foundation to apply to the church to
add an additional 2 rooms to the
school and provide 100 new desks.
This was approved and Fernando,
Miguel and their team have started
the construction.
The date for completion is expected to
be November 10, 2023!

18. Our Starfish Center continues to be a hub of activity. Some government
officials held a community meeting where they announced that they
would be paving the streets in Javillar. Things have changed so much
since we started working there. We have helped with over 100 homes in
the past 10 years in the community of Javillar alone.

19. We helped several Haitian
Refugees get their legal papers to
live in the Dominican Republic.
The Haitian Consulate came to the
Youth Upliftment School to issue
passports. There were over 350
people in attendance on April 26.

20. Another
wonderful
month has
come and
gone!!
What
great
treasures
can we
expect in
May?