The parish of San Antonio

This is the church of San Antonio de Padua (St. Anthony of Padua). The new church building was finished in 1999. St. Anthony is a parish of about 30,000 people. This is the central church of the whole parish, but the priests also say mass in a network of smaller chapels that serve the outlying areas. The parish is divided into 30 communities, and serves another 12 communities outside of its borders. The entire parish is served by one priest, with one assistant! Father José Amable was named pastor in 2002, and the diocese named Father Constantino as his assistant in the Fall of 2003).

St. Catherine's has hosted several priests from Saint Anthony in Ithaca:

- Fr. Lorenzo Vargas was pastor until 2001. The bishop named him a Monsignor, and he now runs Catholic media in Santo Domingo. 
- Fr. Julio Valdés spent a year in Ithaca working on his PhD, before going to Rome to finish. He is now pastor of a church in Santo Domingo. 
- Fr. Mario works in neighboring Bayaguana, and has also visited us in Ithaca.

 

El Portal de Belén

St. Catherine sends $1,000 a month in financial support to the Portal de Belén Nursery School. Part of the money comes from weekly contributions through the bowls at the entrance to the church, some comes from the contributions of individual parishioners, and the rest is made up from tithing resources. (St. Catherine's tithes 10% of its weekly collection to charitable organizations.)

Portal de Belén is the name of the nursery school run by the Parish of St. Anthony. The name comes from the Spanish words for the manger at Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. The school was created in 1999. It is run by sisters belonging to the order of the Misioneras de Jesús, or Missionaries of Jesus. The school provides meals and supervision for 90 kids, while their parents try to work, find work or care for other family members at home. For many of the kids, the school provides the only decent meal they get in a day, and participants in the Portal program are better nourished than their average neighbor.  Sister Teresa told us that for breakfast they might get juice or milk, and bread with butter, cheese, or ham. For lunch the options include puréed pumpkin or squash with chicken; rice and vegetables with ground meat; spaghetti and a hard boiled egg; puréed vegetables with beef; rice and beans; and scrambled egg. Whenever possible there is a salad with things like cabbage, carrots and avocado.

This is the interior courtyard of the Portal de Belén, where the children play and spend their recess time. The courtyard has a roof to shield the sun, but is otherwise open. In this picture, the gravel floor is wet because of recent rains. Many of the kids come from single-parent homes, and some no longer live with their parents. Some are disabled. The kids learn discipline and behavior; they learn the ABCs of language, but also of their faith. But they also get a basic introduction to nutrition and hygiene.

Besides sending money, St. Catherine's has sent two groups of young people to get to know, and to play with the kids. One of the most frequent comments we have heard upon their return is that the children at the day-care center are "starved for attention." They greatly appreciate it when an older person spends time with them to play or read stories. In this picture, the kids have fun in the school courtyard with two of our taller parishioners, Chris Arsenault and Jeff Cornelius, on the youth trip in 2002.

 
The mission's mission

The question often arises, why should we send our parishioners on a Caribbean vacation? Why don't we just send the money to the parish for them to use to cover their needs? We do send money, and you can read about that above. It's not just about sending more, but sending something different. There are objects that they cannot get there, even with money, but there is one more thing.

As we heard in a homily in the summer of 2001, "you can't love someone you don't know." We can give money for the Day Care Center, but how can we replace Mimi, Jeff and Chris carrying kids on their shoulders? How can we "buy" Katie hugging the little girls?

St. Paul reminds us that Jesus became poor so that we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8,9). We are connected to the poor, and thus to Jesus, if we believe that we are one Christian family. Therefore, our visits to the DR strengthen our bonds. Meeting the people of our sister parish deepens our own commitment and our own willingness to sacrifice for their benefit.

But it’s a two-way street: “...your surplus at the present time should supply their needs, so that their surplus may also supply your needs (2 Cor. 8, 14). The people of Monte Plata want to share their homes, their food, their culture, their hugs and their faith with the parishioners of St. Catherine, and they look forward to receiving us.

Some of the reactions to the students' trips are reproduced here. The financial aspect of the trip was never mentioned; not one student said that the money should simply have been sent by wire. This tells us that the trip has effects that cannot be bought.

The point is that our sister-parish-relationship includes both elements; the financial and personal links enrich each other.

One example is this opportunity for getting to know the kids in Portal de Belén. At lunchtime, our travelers helped the kids to eat their food. Students commented that it seemed as though the children did not know how to eat. The truth is that this is often the only full meal some of them will get during the day.

The young people who went in 2000 and in 2002 were told to prepare two bags. One was for their personal travel belongings. The other was for taking supplies and gifts to San Antonio. In the first year, these gifts included four computers and a printer. The parish in Monte Plata now has access to e-mail and the internet because of our hardware.

In 2002 the students took more than 400 children's books. The books were purchased by parish families. They were then laminated by parishioners who often attend Fr. Gaesser's masses in Spanish. In many cases there were two copies of the same book. The duplicates were sent to outlying areas of the parish with less regular contact with Portal de Belén. 

In addition, the students took one more computer in 2002, dozens of stuffed animals, hundreds of crayons, and first-aid supplies. 

During the trip in 2002, our young people helped build bookshelves to hold the books that we sent to the Portal de Belén. Silvana Rueda and Chris Arsenault arrange the books given by the parishioners of St. Catherine.

Our students had also prepared a slide show of their lives and school here in Ithaca. They visited Catholic Junior and Senior High School and presented the pictures and anecdotes on their everyday lives here at home.

The many chapels served by the main church were badly hurt by hurricane Georges in 1998. In April of 2002 our youth group also helped to rebuild one of the chapels. They pulled nails from old boards, swept the construction site and carried supplies. The group also took money to help with buying construction materials. Father Amable ended up buying about 600 cinder blocks, cement, gravel and sand, and sheets of zinc for the roofs.

Reactions to the 2000 and 2002 trips

Both times, students participated who had never been out of the U.S., or even on an airplane. Many students mentioned the value of the service element as a motivation to go on the trip, but also as one of the best aspects once they went. These are some of their comments: 

After the 2000 trip: 

    "I went to meet new people. the people down there are great. They kept us busy. We would have liked to spend more free time with the host families."

    "It was fun. I got a lot more religious. Locate the working toilets!"

    "Being there was very different. They have a strong sense of community; a strong sense of religion. It’s a sister parish thing. We’re helping the day care center. We want to see them. We take a lot for granted. We’re more hesitant in our social interactions. Our youth group was reluctant. 
    They’re much less fortunate than us; ... instead of luxuries they have religion."

    "The people are SO friendly. Even though we didn't know their language, they were so nice."  

    "I was able to communicate despite taking German in school."

PARENTS REACT TO 2000 TRIP: 

    "My son saw advantages to the way they live. In the Dominican Republic they are a lot more fortunate, in that they have a lot less stress. They are happy with so little. The way adults and young people interact is very different. No generational gap. Teenagers will talk to you; they’ll put their arm around you. It’s very unusual with what I’m used to here. You’re not a burden to the young people.

    I'm going back because we made good friends and I want to see them again. It’s about what we learn from there. We’re so fortunate and we have to reach out. It’s about making us more aware and concerned about the world. I came back and now think about global needs and global justice, not just about enjoying affluence without sharing.

    We have a better idea of the struggle it is to live in some places."

ANOTHER PARENT: 

    "It’s easy to think we’re the only culture. By sending our people elsewhere we see how inadequately we are presented with what goes on elsewhere in the world. We’re not the only country in the world. By sending our young people out, we learn that. The US dominates, and it’s too bad that we do. We live in a sheltered environment. We have no clue about 99% of the rest of the world. It's about making family contacts there; building bridges."

Before the 2002 trip:

    One participant had two sisters go in 2000. "Both of my sisters went. It seems fun, rewarding. There was a closeness in their group."
    I’m not scared of not knowing Spanish. I’m a good communicator. It’ll work out. Some essential phrases to learn: 'I don’t want your alcohol.'"

    "I'm going for the experience, to see how people live in 3rd world countries. We heard from the first group how much fun it was; we heard about the parties. They are happy all the time. They are welcoming. They have such community spirit."

Student homilies after the 2002 trip

Texts are still being collected

The Portal de Belén Foundation

"The Portal de Belén Foundation has been established by several of Fr. Gaesser's friends to raise an endowment which will ensure the on-going support of the daycare center and may allow for expanded charitable outreach to other, equally deserving children in the Dominican Republic." In the future, we hope to expand our support to create similar centers in poorer, more rural areas. Donations are accepted at any time in the parish center.

Opportunities for adult parishioners

The motivations mentioned earlier for the youth trips also apply to adults. We are especially interested in identifying long-term needs, with an eye to directing our help and our commitment most effectively.

 ACCOMODATIONS:

Monte Plata has a hotel that is just 1 block from the parish center. The rates are run between 10 and 25 dollars for double rooms (prices from Feb 2003). The cheaper rooms have fans, the more expensive ones have air conditioning.
If we go to the beach resort, we may be able to get a rate of about 40-50 dollars per night, for a room that fits up to four people.

 TRANSPORTATION:

The trips usually leave from New York in order to hold down expenses, but this can be revisited each year. The flight from NYC lasts about 3.5 hours. Within the DR we get around by van, pickup truck, bus, taxi, and on foot. If the situation calls for it, we can also rent a car.

Airline tickets cost 405 dollars in February of 2004. 

TYPICAL ITINERARY:

We always visit the Portal de Belén, the nursery school funded with your donations in Ithaca, as well as the city of Monte Plata. We also go out to countryside to visit the chapels served by the priests at St. Anthony’s. The sisters often take our groups to visit the homes of the children who are served by the nursery school.

A visit to Santo Domingo may also be included, with stops at the home of Christopher Columbus’ son, and at the Cathedral. Father Julio Valdés, who visited Ithaca for a year in 2000-2001 has an open invitation for us to visit his parish in Santo Domingo. Fr. Lorenzo Vargas has also invited us to visit his parish.

CLIMATE:

FOOD:

Typical breakfasts include coffee, ham and cheese or simple cheese sandwiches, and fruit.
Lunch: beans and rice, stewed meat (goat, beef or chicken), fried plantains and lettuce and tomato salad. Fruit or flan de queso (a cheese custard).
Dinners: Omelets, soups, salads, pizzas or sandwiches.
Fast food restaurants are also plentiful.

Brief History of the DR

    The Dominican Republic is named after Saint Dominic (Santo Domingo). The first missionaries to arrive on the island were Dominican priests and monks.

    The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of the mostly mountainous island of Hispaniola, the other third of which is occupied by Haiti. Columbus landed here in 1492 on his first voyage, and his brother founded the first permanent European settlement in the New World at Santo Domingo in 1496.

     While Hispaniola was becoming the springboard for the Spanish conquest of the New World, the indigenous population was being reduced to almost nothing by disease, war, and the effects of forced labor.  When the indigenous labor force died, Africans were brought in and forced into slavery, bringing into being a cruel and exploitative economy based on slave labor.  With the discovery of gold and silver in Peru and Mexico, however, Spain's attention shifted, and Hispaniola was neglected for a long time thereafter.

     When Haitian slaves revolted in 1791, they overran the entire island, killing almost all whites.  Spain then ceded the whole island briefly to France until the British helped drive the Haitians out and reunite it with Spain in 1809.  The Dominican Republic declared its independence in 1821. 

     The U.S. Marines occupied the Dominican Republic from 1916-24.  They trained a military force which was later used as a vehicle for Dominican leaders to seize power.  In 1930, General Rafael Trujillo took power from an elected government and began one has been called one of the cruelest and longest dictatorships in modern times.  Trujillo amassed a huge fortune and came to own 60% of all arable land in the country. Trujillo's brother followed him in office in 1947, but the General was still in charge. The Trujillos were followed by Joaquín Balaguer, who had been vice-president. RAfael Trujillo was assassinated in 1961, and a free election for President was held in December 1962. Juan Bosch, who had been in exile while Trujillo was in power, took office in February of 1963. He was overthrown by military coup that September. The population was not happy with Bosch's overthrow and this led to a revolt in April 1965 designed to put him back in power. They overthrew the junta, but civil war followed. For fear of a new communist takeover (as in Cuba), President Johnson sent the 23,000 U.S. troops to occupy the country. New elections brought Joaquín Balaguer back to power in 1966. Balaguer was defeated in the 1978 election, but returned in 1986. Subsequent elections were tarnished by allegations of fraud and manipulation. 

    Elections in May of 1996 were the first in about 30 years without Balaguer as candidate. Leonel Fernández was elected, and tried to deal with corruption and economic recovery during his term. Hurricane Georges struck on September 22, 1998, killing 200 people and causing major damage. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 reduced the number of tourists flying everywhere, and this also hurt the Dominican Republic.

   In 2000 Hipólito Mejía was elected. He comes from the Revolutionary Democratic Party, which belongs to the Socialist International (like Britain's Tony Blair).

Provinces and government

The DR is divided into 29 provinces and a National District which contains the capital, Santo Domingo. There is an elected Congress with a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies, as well as an elected President. 

Basic Facts about the Dominican Republic

Capital, Santo Domingo: 2,138,262, Metropolitan area (3,599,000)
    Santiago de los Caballeros: 1,539,000

Races: 15% black, 70% mixed, 15% white

Tropical maritime climate. Average temperature of 24C in January, and 27 (80 F) in July.
Cordillera Central crosses the country from Northeast to Southeast. Pico Duarte is the highest peak in the Caribbean, at 3175 meters. The Cibao Valley in the North is the major agricultural area. 

This is where Monte Plata is located.

Socio-Economic facts

Economy

DR GNP Estimated for 1998: $1.770 per capita

Economy:  Tourism, sugar, bananas, cocoa, coffee, nickel, gold, textiles, clothing 

The biggest problem is the unequal distribution of wealth, with 3 million people living in poverty and 2 million living in dire poverty.  

DR Unemployment (1997): 16% (official statistics from the DR)
US Unemployment (2004):  5.3% (Census Bureau)

Agriculture and fishing employ: 18% of labor force
Sugar and cane account for 20% of export earnings.  

Chief sources of external revenue: Cement, tourism. 

Chief agricultural crops in tons: sugar, rice, bananas, plantains.
    Other: cocoa, coffee, cassava.

Social and Welfare

DR Life expectancy:    men-71;   women-75.5
US Life expectancy:     men-74; women-80

DR Infant mortality: 34.67 per 1000 
US Infant mortality: 6.67 per 1000

Medical Care in the DR:
    1998:    8,134 physicians (about 1 doctor for 1000 people)
                29.9 nurses for 100,000 people (about 1 for every 3,000 people).

Medical Care in the US
    1999:     797.600 physicians per 100,000 (1 per 280 people)  
    2000:     2,697,000 nurses (1 per 104 people)

Education

DR (1997):   91.3% of primary school-aged kids are in school.
                    78.5% of secondary-school-aged kids are in school.  

Primary school is compulsory for all kids between 6 and 14 years old. Secondary continues for 4 more years.

US:       91.4% of 5 to 17 year olds are in school.

Literacy:
    DR (1998): 83% 
    US: 97%

Religion: 
   91.2% Catholic 
   8.8% other 

Language: Spanish

The national sport is baseball, which Dominicans call «pelota». It is played everywhere, but the official season is in the winter.

What can I do?

1. One thing you can do is pray for the continued success of the project. If you want, you can pray in Spanish! Here are our important prayers as they are said all over the Spanish-speaking world:

2. Please consider traveling to the Dominican Republic and visiting our sister parish. Listen for announcements on future trips, or read the bulletin.

3. If you are part of a small faith community, talk about something that you would like to focus on. Collect band aids or crayons for our next trip. Consider other items, such as school backpacks or teaching aids.

4. Consider a family "tithe" for the collection bowls, or to the Portal de Belén Foundation.

5. As a family or small faith group, consider "adopting" a child in the nursery school for three years. Your contributions would help with the vaccination process and with regular medical checkups and blood tests.

For further information on the DR

Newspapers - This website allows you to select from a number of Dominican Newspapers, weekly and daily, both in Spanish and in English.

Country Study - Takes you to a detailed country study prepared by the US Library of Congress.

www.dominicanrepublic.com

Sources of information for this web page.

Crystal, David. ed. The Cambridge Factfinder, 4th ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000.

World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2002. World Almanac Books, New York, 2002

Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2001. US Census Bureau.121st Edition

Europa World Yearbook, 2001. Europa Publications.