Alexander lives with his father and his mother. His father is employed and his mother maintains the home. Alexander works at home caring for animals, making beds and running errands. There are 4 children in the family.
For fun, Alexander enjoys hide-and-seek, baseball and playing group games. He attends church activities, Bible class and Vacation Bible School regularly and is in primary school where his performance is average.
Please remember Alexander in your prayers. Your love and support will help him to receive the assistance he needs to grow and develop.
Alexander lives on the plains of San Antonio de Guerra, home to approximately 34,000 residents. Typical houses are constructed of cement floors, wood walls and zinc roofs. The regional diet consists of rice.
Common health problems in this area include anemia, flu, tonsillitis, skin diseases and parasites. Most adults in San Antonio de Guerra work in factories and earn the equivalent of $134 per month. This community needs potable water, garbage collection, employment opportunities and vocational training.
Your sponsorship allows the staff of Integral Development Emanuel to provide Alexander with Bible teaching, dental and medical care, health education, field trips, birthday celebrations, vocational training, literacy programs and academic support. The center staff will also provide vocational training, HIV/AIDS awareness training and literacy classes for the parents or guardians of Alexander.
The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti. It has a tropical climate, but moist, year-round trade winds keep temperatures between 72 and 83 degrees.
Nearly three out of four Dominicans have both black and Caucasian ancestry. Spanish is the official language, and 95 percent of Dominicans are Catholic. Nearly 90 percent of Dominicans live in rural areas where unemployment is high and malnutrition is widespread. A family's diet consists mainly of rice, beans and chicken. Though agriculture was long the economic mainstay, in recent years growth in tourism and free-trade zones has made the service sector the country's largest employer. Compassion works with children in nearly every region of the country.
The Taíno people were the country's original inhabitants. In 1492, they welcomed Christopher Columbus in his first voyage to the island, but subsequent colonizers were brutal, reducing the Taíno population from about 1 million to about 500 in 50 years. Hispaniola became the center of Spanish rule in the West Indies. The indigenous people were wiped out and slaves were brought from Africa to populate the island. The descendants of those slaves form most of the population today. For three centuries, Spain governed Hispaniola, followed by France. In 1804, the western part of the island won independence as the Republic of Haiti. In 1844, the eastern two-thirds of the island revolted and formed the Dominican Republic. In 2004, Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna was elected to his second term as president.
Map of Dominican Republic
Child's Location: Northeast of Santo Domingo
