CURRENT AND

UPCOMING PROJECTS FOR

DOMINICAN STARFISH

FOUNDATION

OUR DOMINICAN HOME-MAKE-OVER PROJECTS

• The homes we build in the Dominican Republic cost approximately $6000 US to build. If people don’t own their land to cost is approximately $10000 US. Prices on construction materials are going up steadily.

• Each of the following homes are in the fund-raising process. They have had someone choose to sponsor them but help is needed to make this happen.

• We are looking for assistance in building these homes. Each of the ones that have been chosen by a sponsor, have a fund-raising link for others to participate.

Oliver and family

Oliver, Rosa and their family got the news on June 15, 2014 that they would be getting a new home. The also found out that their existing home would be torn down only 4 days later.

How they were chosen

• Sandra Nelson, her family and friends chose this family from a group of pictures send to them by our director Amarilis Urena in the Dominican Republic. They had profiles of a number of families to choose from.

• The family knew that they were on a list but were promised nothing. They knew that maybe their family would be chosen.

• When we went to share the announcement with them, the mother told us that she had gathered her children in prayer the evening before to pray that their family would be the “chosen one”.

June 19th, 2014 the home came tumbling down. Now the home is

close to completion.

Many volunteers from a group of visiting dentists (Ayuda) and their families came to help with the demolition. Eventually they got behind and building and just pushed it down.

Ramon, Yokalya, Abyiana & family

This is the day that the family received the news that they had been chosen to be part of our home make-over projects.

The sponsor for this family is Cathy Simkins, her family and a group from Edmonton, Alberta.

Kathy Simkins from Edmonton

has chosen to sponsor this family.

Why they were chosen.

Cathy went to the Dominican Republic with a group from Edmonton in February of 2014. The raised the money to build a home. While there, she took this picture of a random child while walking through Javillar. She posted this on facebook. Another lady, Helen from the US saw this and asked who the little child is. Louise was visiting one day at one of the homes we built and saw the little girl. She immediately went to find out more about her. Louise and Amrilis visited the home and found very, very sad conditions.

This is what we found.You can help with this project at

https://wwwyoucaring.com/abyiana

Antonio and Colasa and family

On June 18. 2014, Antonio and Colasa received the news that the had been chosen to have a new home built for them. They are the parents of three sons. It was a joyous occasion.

Why this family was chosen by Color My World,

a partner foundation from New Hampshire.

• Antonio and Colasa Alveres live in a home that floods regularly. They live very near the river. Their home is

• Besides having great need, the family was chosen in part because of the amazing service they give in the community. Whenever anyone is in need, they are there to help.

KELVIN ALMONTE AND FAMILY

MESSAGE FROM BOB AND

LISA HUNTER

• “We first met the Almonte family in 2012 when we vacationed to Puerto Plata. We met up with them again in February 2014 in Puerto Plata while we were on a humanitarian vacation though The Dominican Starfish Foundation. On this last vacation we fund-raised with a group of friends in Edmonton to help another family build a home. It was a very worthwhile and rewarding project.

We would now like to help the Almonte family improve their living conditions. They currently do not own land, so building a home would be expensive. In this family's case we have opted to purchase a completed home if one can be found. ”

• Bob and Lisa have been hosting bottle drives and other fund-raising efforts for this cause. You can find them on facebook under Almonte Family Home.

WHY THEY WERE CHOSEN.

• Kelvin has a job driving a motor-bike taxi.

• They have two children.

• Many times they have no money to feed their family.

• They rent their home and often don’t have money to pay the rent.

• They spent lots of time serving others in the community.

• When we visited their home we took some food. There was no other food in sight anywhere.

Maria, Rebecca and Gerson

Maria, her son, Gerson and her daughter, Rebecca live in great poverty in the Dominican Republic. They have been sharing one small bed for the past 11 years.

Our directors and board members, Luis Migeul Gutierrez, his wife Katherine and mother and father Amarilis and Jose Luis are sponsoring this family. As they themselves live in relative poverty in the Dominican, they are being helped

and supported by the ZoBell family and others.

Why they were chosen

• Luis Miguel was called to visit the home of a High School classmate

• Rebecca 23, her brother Gerson 24 (who is sick) and their mother Maria live in great poverty in the Dominican Republic.  Rebecca contacted an old acquaintance from High School, Luis Miguel Gutierrez who she had heard was part of our foundation in the Dominican Republic.  She begged him to come to her home. 

When Luis Miguel arrived, he was shocked at the conditions they were living in.  Rebecca had been crying for 1 1/2 years with tooth pain.  Gerson is very sick.  Maria is a single mom, deserted by her husband 14 years ago.  For 11 years, Rebecca, Gerson and Maria have been sharing the same double bed.  

28 years ago in 1986, Maria had a dream that someone came to help their family with a new home.  The group that came, became her new family.  When Luis Miguel walked into her home, the dream washed over her again.  Luis Miguel wasn't even born at that time.  

Having lived in the Dominican Republic his whole life, Luis Miguel was touched to the core. 

This is what Luis Miguel found

We started fund-raising July 1st . This was our first project.You can donate at https://www.youcaring.com/rebecca

Pedro Amonte and Altagracia Vasquez

Pedro is a teacher in the Dominican Republic. He and his wife Altagracia serve in the community. They do many things to help others—especially the youth. He is a great proponent of education.

They will be truly blessed to have a new home.

Why they were chosen by Eric Williams and Color My World.

• We encourage people to find their own “starfish” (person or family they want to help).

• Blake Williams served a mission in the Dominican Republic and was friends with the Almonte family. He and his parents returned to the Dominican a few months after his return home to Arizona and became very close.

• Eric Williams, Blake’s father asked to visit the home and donated the first $1000 for this project.

Where they live now and how you can help. To help and learn more about their next trip to the Dominican Republic go to: www.colormyworldkids.org

THE HOME OF MANYLina Garcia, Ana Maria, Blasina, Yancarlos, Jairo, Marlon Manuel, Jacinto Antonio, Marcelino, Johan

• Nine adults live in this small home in the Dominican Republic. Many of them are sick or have conditions which make them unable to work. Kidney disease runs in the family and some require dialysis

• Only Jacinto has a job.

The sponsors of this family are a group of young single women in

Calgary, Alberta

Kara Werner, Judy Alverez, Mette Edwards and Rebecca Alverez are working together to raise funds for this family.

12 year old Blake Chan also has done much to help the project.

• When Louise ZoBell, director of Dominican Starfish foundation told her grandson Blake that the girls in Calgary were collecting bottles and cans for recycling to earn money for this project, he wanted to help too.

• The next day he and a friend went out and started collecting bottles. In only one week he raised $350.

• Then Blake did something remarkable. He had a gun in a target shooting competition. He decided to put it up for auction to raise money for this family’s home. People saw his cause and contributed greatly. He raised $970 from that auction for a total in a week of $1320—and he is 12 years old. Amazing!Watch the video herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hSA0Kh9x6o

Why this family was chosen

• Kara Werner heard about the Dominican Starfish Foundation from a friend and wanted to be a part of the cause.

• Louise ZoBell and Kara met at Tim Horton’s in Lethbridge to discuss what she could do.

• Louise gave her a list of possible families to sponsor with pictures and information.

• Kara took the presentation home and gave it to her 3 friends. All four girls looked separately and all chose this family to be their special “starfish”.

Where they live now

Berto, Pedro and Pedro

Why were they chosen by

• As is obvious from the pictures, this family is in desperate situation.

• In this run down shack lives 88 years old, his son, and a grandson of 17 years.

• The son has been trying to provide and has even collected cinder-blocks and rebar which will be utilized in the new building.

• They are extremely grateful to Color My World, our home building partners, for choosing to sponsor them.

How can you help this family?

• Color My World is another “grass-roots” foundation that has partnered with Dominican Starfish Foundation for home building projects. They bring youth and family groups to third-world countries to help participate in building projects. They will be bringing a group to participate in the rebuilding of this desperately needed home.

• To help and learn more about their next trip to the Dominican Republic go to www.colormyworldkids.org

Esperaza (Hope)

• Esperanza begged for us to come see her home. She had an air of desperation about her. While we were visiting her neighbors, (the men in the previous selection) whose home we are sponsoring, she plead for us to come.

• She is a single mother with 3 children. Her home is in deplorable condition causing the director Louise to shed tears in the taxi.

The sponsors for this family are Chris and Stephanie Clark from

Oregon.

Chris and Stephanie ended up the Dominican Republic through a strange set of circumstances. On the second to last day there, through yet other interesting circumstances they were introduced to Dominican Starfish Foundation. Louise took them to see some of the projects. There they met Hope who Louise had only met two days previous. Just a few hours later over dinner with Louise they committed to sponsor this needy family. They have created a fund-raising site:http://www.youcaring.com/nonprofits/giving-hope-to-hope-/194823

Why were they chosen?

• Hope is a single mother with 3 children. She has no job and no means to feed her children.

• Their home is in horrible condition and it gets very wet every time it rains.

• Hope was desperate to show us her home and her desperation came through.

• Stephanie grew up in extreme poverty as well so this tugged at her heart-strings.

• Thank you Chris and Stephanie for the compassion you feel and show for Hope and her little family.

Where they live now

Elvis ( Valerio) and Julia, Roberto

Why were they chosen by Toni ZoBellToni traveled with us to the Dominican Republic in January of 2014. She fell in love with the people

there. She is coming back in January 2015 and wants so much to help a family get a new home. She sold a piece of land that she owns so that she would be able to sponsor this family and continues to

raise the rest of the funds. Her fund-raising side is https://www.youcaring.com/elvis

• Elvis works hard to support his family. When his in-laws pass away, he promised to help care for Julia’s brothers.

• Two of them live with Elvis and Julia. Roberto was blinded in a work accident. He has very minimal vision in one eye. We have been trying to get help for him but to no avail.

• Elvis builds the windows and doors for the foundation.

Where they live now

Leonida

Leonida is a single mother, age 17, with

three children

Sponsors for Leonida are Zoe and Gemma Palmerhttps://www.youcaring.com/leonida

Following in the footsteps of their parents who have helped build 2 homes in the Dominican, Zoe and Gemma, two young sisters from Edmonton, Alberta only 12 and 8 years old have set lofty goals. They want to raise money to build at least one home each year until they finish high-school  Their goal--to build a neighborhood in the Dominican Republic.  

They have chosen to help Leonida first. They raised $2115 on World Humanitarian Day, August 19, 2014. They plan to take this project to others at their schools.

Why she was chosen.

• Leonida lives in abject poverty with three small, malnourish and sickly children.

• She has been the subject of physical abuse.

• We want to help change her life, forever.

FUTURE PROJECTS

• Our foundation has chosen several homes as future projects. We are looking for sponsors for these homes. The cost for building is around $6000 US and inflation is an issue. All the prices are going up for materials.

• We hope to find sponsors for these families that are in such great need as well as so many others that we have on our long list.

Anlania lives in this home with her extended family..

Nine people live in this small 2 bedroom home.

Anlania has lived in an abusive situation with an alcoholic partner. They are now separated and she is trying to support a large family.

One of her sons that she is supporting was in a serious accident and now lives a life of constant pain.

Anlania

Gloria Vasquez is a 70 year old lady.

She lives in very poor conditions. She is caring for a 26 year old daughter, Arelys with serious mental health problems. She is also raising a grandchild—Junior age 11

She has no family assistance and no job.

She shed many tears at the thought the someone might really help her.

Gloria

Ana lost her husband in a motorbike accident 8 years ago. She is a single mother with two children.She works as a house keeper.

Her home is on a flood plain and is open to the elements. She works hard but has no way of improving her situation on her meager income of $5 a day.

She was very humble and tearful when we told her that she may be chosen to have a new home.

Ana

Maria is a single mom with 3 children.

She is trying to keep her children in school.

There are 5 people living in the home. Maria and her 3 children sleep in one bed.

Her brother sleeps on the floor . He has to crawl through the hole that you can see in the front of the house.

A new home would change Maria’s life forever!

Maria

Raymon, his wife and three children live in this home in the Javillar, Dominican Republic. We love that he has a job but makes only enough to survive. They haves lived in this run down home for 17 years.

FUTURE GOALS

• Buy a much needed truck for our project manager in the Dominican Republic.

• Jose Luis’ only means of transportation is his motor bike. When moving large materials, he has to pay someone to make the transfers.

• He works tirelessly for the foundation.

• Although others are paid for construction, he rarely accepts pay.

Build a Haitian School and residence in Dominican Republic for 22 year old director, Kate Bateman and her 150

Haitian students.

BUILD A NEW SENIORS’ HOME IN

PUERTO PLATA

BUILD A LARGE DISTRIBUTION CENTER AND COMMUNITY

CENTER IN JAVILLAR,

Build an additional 100 homes and employ more Dominican and Haitian people in the projects.