"We all need someone to help us up onto the swing"

In July 2018, Futuro Lleno de Esperanza welcomed four international interns to live and work with and in our community. They've been asked to share their experience in the form of a blogpost.

If you are interested in experiencing the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2019, we will be launching our intern applications in the coming weeks. We strive to offer low cost international experiences for teenagers that benefit both our community and the interns development and growth.

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It’s been about a 50 days since I returned from a long, exhausting, unpredictable and wonderful trip to the Dominican Republic. Looking back at the substance of the time spent there is easy: I can list off what I did, the camps we put on with Futuro and the cultural norms that I picked up on.  A panoramic view of my time there looks exciting, but all in all, fairly simple. But that doesn’t feel right. It’s difficult to describe precisely what I learned with Futuro, and as a new college, new town, new friends, and a new life have begun for me back in the States, the feeling from the DR has faded a bit more. But, it’s not gone. And it is worth talking about.

            For those unfamiliar, Futuro Lleno de Esperanza (FLE) is a not-for-profit, faith-based organization in Santiago, Dominican Republic. I spent my time specifically at the Cienfuegos chapter of FLE, in the largest urban subsector of Santiago. Futuro’s primary ministry is based in service and mission work towards Haitians in the Dominican Republic. The reasons for that are many, and the current issues surrounding Haitians in the DR is worth looking into, if you’re interested. However, FLE Cienfuegos is a bit different and has evolved, as a function of its location, into a preschool and community center serving a Dominican population. FLE Cienfuegos supplies early educational opportunities for children, nutritional programs and much more to its adjacent community. Most of all, however, it’s a safe place to play and a glimpse into something more.

            The idea for me to intern at Futuro first originated towards the end of a week long mission trip at FLE with St. Marks Venice youth group (shoutout to the amazing Jackie Overton). Towards the end of that week, the idea of me returning, alone, to intern for a longer period of time came up. Then it disappeared for a while. Eventually, months later, after much conflict and indecisiveness, I decided that I would in fact spend most of July interning at Futuro. High school ended, summer began, and soon enough I was on a plane to Santiago.

            This post isn’t meant to be an aggregate composite of many daily journal entries. I could spend pages on many days of corner store trips, adventures around the country, nights at the car wash, flagging down rides and more. If you’re interested, give me a shout! (or better yet Melanie - she has far better stories than me) I’m also sad that I’m not going to devote pages to the fabulous other interns I spent time with - Anni, Lee, Chris and Alex. They rock. I also won’t try and delve into explaining the culture of poverty and the cycle of need. Instead of all that, I want to focus on one big idea that dominated the trip: dependence.

            Many of the children in Cien Fuegos, specifically the boys, look hardened. Not just in their thick calluses but in their swaggering walk, scrunched up faces and rough shouts. It seems like they use everything in their being to exude toughness. They start fights, yell at each other and lose their tempers quickly. They’re also mostly less than eight years old. However, despite how independiente they work to appear, there’s always moments where the dependent child gleams through. I remember one day, a 6 year old boy named Angel sauntered into the playground. He stopped upon entering, taking a moment to stand tall and survey the area. Then, with fists balled tightly, he walked all the way over to the swing set and said, in a high pitched, earnest voice, “arriba!” and jumped up and down, eagerly asking for help getting onto the swingset.

I entered into this experience feeling pretty good about myself. I was a young, independent international traveler who was doing service in a foreign country. I was going to have all of these cool experiences of adventuring and exploring. What I had forgotten about was how utterly dependent I was, and that my independence didn’t look exactly as I had imagined. Time in Santiago slapped me in the face with my inadequate Spanish, my cultural confusion, my shyness in talking to strangers, my lacking cooking ability and vast failure at mastering public transportation. I was not and am not independent. I am so dependent on others (thank you Melanie) to help me.

My exit from the Dominican and enrollment in college has heightened my understanding of dependence in my life. And I’m being reminded that, ultimately, Christ is the only one that can fulfill my needs. Dependence on Him gets me through the school day, puts social and career anxiety to peace, leads to abundant life experience. Dependence on Him, prevents resource scarcity in the Dominican from driving us insane. It reminds us that we are just a part of Him, and the little that we can do has infinite meaning that we cannot see. Dependence on Him reminds me that the very act of going to the Dominican was a gift from Him, and not of my own doing. I’m still struggling with my desire to be an independent adventurer in life, but my time at Futuro taught me that, at the end of the day, we all need someone to help us up onto the swing.

Growing Pains.

When Futuro Lleno de Esperanza opened its doors, the neighborhood it is located in what much different than the neighborhood that we see today.

The land Futuro is built on was "tierra invadida," or invaded lands, what was once open and vast fields was taken (mostly by brute force) and parceled out and then sold to people looking for something to own. This process is common in cities in the Dominican Republic, and as long as no one comes forth as the legal owner of the land, there are often very few problems once structures are built on the land. Our foundation has since been legally registered as the owner of the land our school is on.

In the beginning, there were no roads, no sewage system, no sidewalks, no light posts, no running water. The community would work together to connect to existing infrastructure in the closest "formal" neighborhood - piecing together PVC for water, running wires for electricity, building septic tanks for latrines. Slowly, the city services came in and mounted power lines and formalized water distribution and installed sewage lines. The water is still iffy and electric power for our neighbors is unpredictable.

An empty field laid in front of the school which was used as a baseball field for local young people. It has since been transformed into a much needed public school. There are more businesses - small food shops and salons, barber shops, cafeterias - that are needed services for our community. We have (many) paved roads.

We have made physical progress. People have built their houses and now own something worthy of owning in a community that seems to be moving forward.

Except, physical progress doesn't mark actual progress, and a number of events over the past few weeks have shown that we, as a community, still have so much work to do. There have been robberies and fights and children not attending school and.... the list goes on and on. It's not necessarily different than things the community has been experiencing forever, but sometimes the change of appearance leads us into a sense of complacency - that because people are no longer living in wooden shacks with latrines instead of flushing toilets things have changed. When we see the shiny outside of things - especially things that haven't always been shiny - we think that the inside is shiny as well. There is so much work to assure that our children are growing up in a nourishing environment because they are worth the investment - they deserve both a "shiny" outside AND a shiny inside and, we believe, that working together our children will have that.

"It has completely changed my perspective"

In July 2018, Futuro Lleno de Esperanza welcomed four international interns to live and work with and in our community. They've been asked to share their experience in the form of a blogpost.

If you are interested in experiencing the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2019, we will be launching our intern applications in the coming weeks. We strive to offer low cost international experiences for teenagers that benefit both our community and the interns development and growth.

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Six months before I moved to Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic, I couldn't exactly pinpoint the island on the map. I knew near to nothing about the DR and my Spanish had been rusty after nearly two years of infrequent use. So what possessed me to go do an internship at Futuro Lleno de Esperanza?

Let me introduce myself! My name is Anni Schleicher, I am a 21 year old senior college student at Maastricht University in the Netherlands studying European Studies. I was born in the United States but raised in Germany, living nearly exactly a decade in both countries before moving to the Netherlands for university. Thanks to my bilingual upbringing and my passion for working with children, I had gathered lots of working experience teaching, tutoring and camp counseling in various different learning environments prior to my arrival in Santiago, so I was very motivated to go!

Melanie, the director of Futuro Lleno de Esperanza welcomed me with open arms into her home for the entirety of my stay in the DR as exchange for my services as a camp counselor. It was the first time Futuro had ever held camp during summer vacation, so we were eager to entertain the neighborhood children by conducting simple scientific experiments, doing various arts and crafts projects as well as other various outdoor activities. We held camp every weekday from 2 to 5PM, giving us the mornings and weekends off.

The first week I was only accompanied by Futuro`s current long-term intern and my now good friend Lee (South Korea); however, during the next two weeks three US-American interns, Chris, Alex and Hayes arrived from New Jersey and Florida. The extra hands were surely needed since the word had spread about camp and more and more kids showed up at Futuro each week. We quickly turned from intern buddies to good friends, exploring the northern beaches of Puerto Plata, jumping off the 27 Charcos and throwing a sleepover “party” at the mission center in Navarrete. All my intern friends and Melanie even joined me to visit the capital in Santo Domingo on my return journey home. In hindsight, I can say with much gratitude that my internship experience not only improved with adjusting to the culture with time, but mainly upon the arrival of the other interns.

Before arriving in the DR, I really only expected the language to be an obstacle, but there was so
much more I failed to take into account. I didn’t consider the culture and the climate of the island to be as impacting as they were: the heat, the Dominican concept of time (very contrary to my German upbringing!), the water crisis, the daily cold showers, the corruption and poverty, the young mothers, the food and cuisine, the sense of community, the role religion plays in society, the cat calling, the street talk, the incredible selfless willingness to help others...everything! Everything was new and completely took me by surprise so that my first two weeks I felt like I was immediately thrown into cold water and was told to swim.


All of this sounds strange and perhaps frightening, and although it really was in the beginning, I
came to enjoy the island culture and mentality very much. I often missed my German structure and
“Ordnung”, but I also wouldn`t trade the warm sense of community that I experienced nearly daily living with my host family for anything. Everyone is everyone`s child, parent, friend. Everyone cares about everyone, everyone shares everything. It is something I wish colder climate countries, for example my home country Germany, could learn from and adapt to.

To those who have any experience working with children in learning environments and have an
interest in working outside of a developed country, I can highly advise this or a similar internship! It has been more than three months since I left the DR and I still talk about my experiences there on a weekly basis to family and friends. It has completely changed my perspective on education policy, my sense of time and community and stance on material consumption. Oh, and I improved my Spanish as well, which was initially my primary goal but I learned so many new things along the way!

Thank you to everyone working at Futuro for an amazing summer experience, thank you to my
intern friends for every inside joke and every smile, thank you to Melanie personally for every hand drawn map and every ever so little piece of advice that made navigating the island culture easier, thank you for everything! ¡Muchas muchas gracias!

Back to School

After a well deserved summer break, the preschool at Futuro Lleno de Esperanza is back in full swing. This year we have 63 students enrolled in our morning preschool program, and 32 others of those students benefit from our full day care program.


Childcare is expensive. Quality childcare, in our community, is hard to find. Because of the scarcity of this service, many mothers are unable to enter the workforce to help provide for their families and, unfortunately, wages in the Dominican Republic for under-educated and under-skilled laborers are not enough to sustain a family. Since the beginning, Futuro has had a full day after care program for a fraction of the cost of what local care centers charge. The students in this program receive a nutritious breakfast and lunch which not only helps to alleviate food costs for their families, but also works towards prevention of illnesses that are more prevalent in under-nourished children like respiratory illness, anemia, stomach issues, and more.

Our students are being prepared to love learning. Their classrooms are full of learning opportunities - each center set up for exploration. The beginning of the school year is often hectic and messy as the kids get used to our routines, but in a few weeks everything will calm down and peeking into classrooms will offer a glimpse into how much the kids grow. Watching them engaged in meaningful play, discovering new ideas, and observing their progress is amazing!

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We are currently looking for meal sponsors for this school year. For $11 dollars a month, you can help offset our costs for breakfast for all of our students for 1 day. For $24 dollars a month,you can help offset our costs for breakfast and lunch for all of our students for 1 day. For more information, check the donate link here on our blog!

"Smiles makes all the blazing hot days worthwhile"

In July 2018, Futuro Lleno de Esperanza welcomed four international interns to live and work with and in our community. They've been asked to share their experience in the form of a blogpost. If you are interested in experiencing the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2019, we will be launching our intern applications in the coming weeks. We strive to offer low cost international experiences for teenagers that benefit both our community and the interns development and growth.

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Hi! My name is Chris, and I’m one of the fellows who interned in Cienfuegos for a couple weeks. I was asked to write a blogpost describing my experience there, hence here I am.

To begin, I’ll say that the Dominican Republic was my first real encounter with victims of poverty. Of course, I’d caught glimpses of poorer lifestyles on the outskirts of American towns or on the streets of New York, but never before had I been enveloped by whole cultures shaped by financial stress. Only ever having heard of the DR as a developing country, I didn’t know whether to expect rampant industrialism, unlivable ghettos, or something else.

Thankfully, it’s not quite either one. I noticed the bigger cities like Santiago and even some smaller ones have integrated modern business styles and function wholesomely, with such booming markets as tourism, telecommunications, and automobile.

On the other hand, there are a few areas that are lagging behind in the development process. We were given the 411 on the faulty education system, which doesn’t look too good for a country on its way up. The homogeneity also leaves room for spots of racism and sexism to broil; often, as a Korean, passing pedestrians would provocatively shout, “Chino!” my way. Contempt for neighboring Haitians is also palpable in conversation with natives, given a muddy history rife with genocide and conflict.

That’s not to say the experience isn’t enjoyable. Personally, the greatest joy came from being a part of the solution to these issues. Coming to camp in Cienfuegos was my favorite part of the four weeks Alex and I stayed, because that was when we had the chance to spend time with youth, show them some love, and encourage their growth - emotional and educational. Whether it be crafting superhero costumes from everyday scraps, teaching the water cycle, or playing some good ol’ basketball, we all had a good time. Though the kids may come from "broken" families, backgrounds, and households (literally), their innocence makes them impressionable and kind. The smiles of a few good-natured children - Jeferson, Anderson, Carlos - make the all the blazing hot days worthwhile.

I think the most impactful part of my stay, for me, was communicating with those people facing struggle - not only Dominicans, but outcasted Haitians living there too. Too often, the human element is omitted from perspectives of poverty for want of statistics or blame or some sort of corrupt agenda. It’s hard to understand or even sympathize with their situations when all you absorb is numbers.

Being able to talk to these people, to listen to their stories in person really put their lives in perspective; it brought me to care in the same way you care for a friend more than for a stranger. It was this connection that showed me just how important it is that Futuro Lleno de Esperanza exists; it is truly God at work to nourish the mind and spirit of Dominicans and Haitians alike, and to fill their futures with hope.

The DR was an amazing experience, and not just because of the blessed team (yo soy team!) and weekend sightseeing. Thank you, Melanie, for giving us an opportunity to volunteer, for being an awesome teacher, and for serving the community in Cienfuegos!