Yoandi

Andrieli!

2010-11-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

Andrieli is a beautiful, smart young lady. She is great with English and so eager to learn as much of it as she can. Close friends with Loriani and another leader of the older girls.

Yoandi!

2010-11-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

Youngest of three after Andy and Andrielli, Yoandi is always one of the first ones you get to know and grow to love. He is very outgoing, loves volunteers, and is sweet to the core. He comes to class with flowers he picked for you, gives his art projects as gifts, and squeezes you so tight when he hugs. Not to miss is his Michael Jackson dance moves, which I swear are good enough to put even Jencen to shame.

Andy!

2010-11-06T08:39:00.001-07:00

Andy is one of the funniest and personable boys in the club. He is always cracking jokes and making people around him smile. He is entering his teenage years though and sometimes that “too cool for school” attitude comes out. But he just needs to be reminded once in a while about how important education and learning is. He enjoys fishing and baseball and is constantly referencing the movie Shrek. He’s also a great son to his mother, Sonia, and loving bother to Andrielli and Yoandi.

July - Andy!

2010-07-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

Wow! We're already 2 days into July and we can't believe how fast time is flying by! We're having such a great time with the kids and they are certainly welcoming a great from school and their normal routine. We're having such a great time hanging out, spending time 5 days a week in classes, working on the newest classes we've added, and even taking the kids out for special treats like trips to the swimming pool after a successful, well behaved week. We're having a great summer! Here's a picture of Andy playing at club one day during one of our classes - we're really enjoying the summer break!

Yoandi - June!

2010-06-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

The summer has proved to be very busy but the kids are loving every minute of it! They are doing all sorts of things in their classes including working out with James, arts and crafts with their club teachers, English class with Jenny and Jencen and above all, being loved on every minute:)
Here's Yoandi displaying some of his creations from boys' club one day. He was so proud!

June!

2010-06-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

This summer has really been taking off! We've introduced our new sewing class for the girls to learn the trade, spend time in class making materials, eventually learn to market specific products and then to sell them on their own! We're really excited about the opportunities this program will open up for our girls! Here's Andrieli working so hard on her first sewing project

And just be super silly around the club one day!

We love summer! :)

Andy in the new programs

2010-04-10T11:47:00.001-07:00

Andy is really enjoying the music and puppet programs. He is excelling in both, and of course is always showing his wonderful smile.

Andy

2010-01-01T11:52:00.001-08:00

November Photos

2009-11-22T06:52:00.001-08:00

Andy, with a newly donated kite.

Halloween

2009-11-01T17:12:00.000-08:00

Andy

Andy, the cowboy

Yoandi the cat

October Photos

2009-10-19T06:49:00.000-07:00

Andrieli and Liz

Supermodel Andrieli

Yoandi and his friend Marcos

Andy with his friend Eddie welcoming Liz back

Sonia and her boys

Andy was in a art contest to see who could paint the best bench. He came in third place!

Andy making music

Yoandi and his best friend Titi

Yoandi (white shirt, navy pants) playing with the girls!

Andrieli's Crafts

2009-10-17T05:48:00.001-07:00

Andrieli is very creative and loves doing crafts. This is another project she created and made on her own time, outside of the Club. This is a great hobby to have, as she gets a lot of enjoyment out of it, and in the future may be able to sell her crafts to bring in a little income for her family.

Here she is pictured the same day with some of the other girls, and their teacher, Teresa. They were working on a craft called 'corking' to make hair pompoms.

Creative Girl!

2009-10-14T14:49:00.001-07:00

Andrieli came up with this craft idea. It is a decorated toilet paper roll with soap at the bottom to make the bathroom smell nice! Sonia posed with Andrieli, although she wasn't too happy about it! She has a bad sty in her eye.

Bike Program

2009-09-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

Andy is getting to participate in a bike program! The big boys had a bicycle workshop this week. DOVE had 24 used bikes donated to them. A teacher came and taught Andy and his friends how to put the donated bicycles together, how to grease the chains, how to adjust the brakes, rules of the road, arm signals, etc. The oldest boys are renting out their bikes to other people and charging them a fee; starting their own small business. Andy, being one of the youngest in the group, is on a points system. He is going to help with chores and business work around the club to earn points that will go towards his bicycle. If he is successful in helping around the Club and learning about business, he will be rewarded in several months by getting to keep one of the bikes. It will take a lot of hard work, but it is a great opportunity for him!

Morning Photos

2009-09-20T05:34:00.001-07:00

Here are the kids getting ready for school one September morning!

Fishing!

2009-09-10T10:41:00.001-07:00

During a visit from volunteers Todd and Cindy Evans, Todd spent an afternoon with the boys and their friends Sauri and Titi going fishing! Says Todd about the experience, "What a great day teaching the boys how to fish with a fishing pole. They had never seen a fishing pole before after we tought them how to use them we told them that the poles and tackel boxes were theirs to keep they were amazed to say the least. I dont think they could have smiled any bigger they jumped and screamed with pure joy!"

Andy Crabbing

2009-08-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

In this video, Andy was out in the water looking for crabs. He is 13 years old and because his father died, he takes on the role of 'man of the house' and does his best to provide for his family. Not only can you see the filth of the beach that they live on, but you can also see the work that goes into providing for a family in the DR. You can also see Andrieli and their mother, Sonia, as well as some friends.

School Starts

2009-08-18T09:42:00.001-07:00

School starts in the Dominican Republic at the end of August. Children attend school either in the morning or the afternoon- not for full days, like we do in Canada and the United States. All three kids were provided with uniforms (2 shirts, bottoms, undershirts and underpants, and socks), shoes, gym clothes, notebooks and pencils. Thank you to their sponsor, Deb, for sending the money for this!

Summer Photos

2009-08-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

Vanessa and Andrieli are really close friends. Marcos is in the first picture. He and Andrieli are constantly arguing, but in a teasing way!

Yoandi being a charmer

Yoandi, with friends Yeuri and Coco, working on painted macaroni necklaces in the colours of the Dominican flag.

Two crazy boys! (with friend, Marcos)

Every class we award a treat to the best behaved child. This class, it was Yoandi, and here he is looking through the items in the Treasure Box. Not surprising for his personality, he was rewarded this day for being enthusiastic and trying hard to get involved during the singing of the english songs.

Andrieli with volunteers Nikki and Melissa.

Yoandi and his dog, Beauty. The black spots are not real! Yoandi and his friends decided to paint their dog!

Andy (far right) with (from left) Hilda, Melissa, Luis Gustavo, Cathy, Adriana, Sauri, and Nikki.

Yoandi with his painted handprint.

Andy, a leader in the Boys Club, demonstrating to the other kids how to do their painted handprints.

Yoandi taking part in a class on wood working, helping to build benches for the Boys Club.

Yoandi, with his best friend Titi, on a field trip to Long Beach with the Boys Club.

Yoandi in English class learning body parts.

Pool Party!

2009-08-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Liz, along with Jencen and Jenny (two Canadian volunteers in the DR for 2 weeks) took the girls of the Girls Club to a pool party, and Andrieli was able to attend! Andrieli is in the black bathing suit and the red and white shirt.

*photos taken in July 2009

Infections

2009-08-11T07:27:00.001-07:00

In May of 2009, Yoandi came to the Boys Club with a badly infected hand, swollen to twice its normal size. Liz and I took him to the Clinic with his mother. Sonia had taken him before, but had to leave because she was unable to pay for the procedure he would need. Dove Missions covered his antibiotics, and I covered his clinic fee, and the doctor performed a procedure on Yoandi's hand to rid him of the infection and bring down the swelling. He was terrified, not used to seeing the doctor, and seriously thought he was going to die. But he made it out after many tears and within a week his hand was back to normal and he was very happy. The next month, his older brother Andy stepped on a nail and the cut got very infected as well. Dove Missions paid for his antibiotics and within a day he was able to walk on the foot again. The family lives right on the water in Playa Oeste. The area that sits in front of their house is covered in garbage and waste and the water that they bathe and play in is filthy, so it is no wonder they keep getting infections. They could definitely benefit from a team coming to clean up the beach front area and doing a class with the kids on putting garbage in a garbage (not on the ground, which most people in the DR do).

*photos taken in May 2009

Their House

2009-08-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

The Family

2009-08-09T14:37:00.001-07:00

The kids with their mother, Sonia.

Andy, age 13

Andrieli, age 12

Yoandi, age 9

*photos taken in June 2009