Stichting Help

Luck was on our side again this summer: Maudie and I were once more able to spend our summer holiday in the beautiful Sosúa. Naturally there was another visit to the Colegio Evangelico Asher school in our plans. Before we began our journey, my sister in particular did her best to collect as much as possible.

The Air Berlin airline had guaranteed us one extra 20-kilogram item of luggage, so we had to take advantage of this. Finally we travelled to Sosúa with a crate full of Play-Doh plasticine, pens, pencils, puzzles, cuddly toys, and second-hand clothes. The crate arrived slightly damaged, but without any problems, and we could deliver everything to the school thanks to Roberto Terrero. There were plenty of children there, even though it was also their summer holiday. There was one girl we could immediately delight with a pair of sandals, since she was sitting there barefoot on the edge of the pavement. The children were also surprised at everything you can make with plasticine! They were very happy with everything we brought. Christine, an American woman, accompanied us during our visit. She had also brought a bag full of things. One thing that made the children especially happy was that they each received a bag containing treats, including fruit, juices, and muesli bars. All in all, it was a good day for the Colegio Evangelico Asher’s children and us.

Besides our work for the school, we were also in Sosúa to take a holiday and visit friends. Unfortunately, during the first week we had to face the facts. After a whole day full of fun that was finished off with a night out, on the way back we saw a child sleeping on the ground. What a contrast that is! We had enjoyed a day full of pleasure and were returning to an apartment with a nice bed, and this child lay sleeping on the ground. My sister and I felt that we also needed to do something for the street children of Sosúa. Partly thanks to the donation from Marlies Derks, we cooked pans of rice and distributed this to the street children. We also made bags containing a bottle of water, juice, yogurt, crackers, biscuits and a roll of sweets, which we also gave to the children. Various people passing by looked to see what was happening and gave us the thumbs up. It's that easy. The bags with food and drink cost less than 1.50 euros per child. It is a drop in the ocean, but I hope that everyone who goes to the Dominican Republic in the future will go at least once into the streets to provide the children with some food and drink. It is so easy and means so much to them!

We would like to thank the following donors very much: the Van Stratum-Caspi family, Marlies Derks, Joyce Verbakel of IGO Post, Hennie Meerveld of REP and Moniek Kamphorst of Hasbro.

Saske & Maudie van den Broek