NEWSLETTER, 2015
2015 was a great year for this little charity and as we move on into 2016 we would like to summarize our efforts in the Dominican Republic during the year that passed.
Built one school
During 2015 the Foundation built its second school, a facility with capacity for some 90 students. We inaugurated the school in November, TFB has successfully exited the project, and a local foundation is now in charge. In its pilot year the school will have 30 students. It will primarily serve the younger school aged children in this underprivileged community, and will also partly function as an education centre for community members. The local foundation in charge supports families living with HIV, and will run classes here to educate people about the disease. There are also plans to use the building for vocational training during evenings- and weekends.
Rebuilt one school
During 2015 we have also re-built one school, which was working under very poor conditions. It was mostly made out of tin and plywood, with a hole in the ground toilette. We took down the buildings, and started from scratch again. This project is just completed, and the 70 students are back in school in their new facilities. This was the foundations 3d school construction.
Supported one school on a running basis
For the second year in a row we continued our regular but very basic financial support of the school just rebuilt, the Camino de Esperanza School. Now, we support it through paying rent of land. We also supply educational material. In addition, we helped two orphans in extreme poverty get a meal/ day, ran a constant collection of toys and clothes, and installed first swings.
We have chosen to help this little school on a running basis since it receives no other support, and responds very well to our efforts.
Distributed school supply to 180 students for the entire school year
Reading achievement levels in the DR are the lowest in Latin America and since schools have little resources (historically 2% of GDP) they are not able to provide the materials needed for reading levels to improve. For the second year in a row, thanks to the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation in New York, we distributed school supplies to all 3 schools, 180 students, for the entire school year.
Students at the Camino de Esperanza school using TFB/HLF school supply in their new classroom
We would like to give thanks to all of you who somehow support this project. A special thanks to our main sponsors Santander Consumer Bank Sweden, Gry Sinding/SDD Live (Norway), the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation (New York), and our local volunteer partners the Lions Club. In TFB we have no salaries, so a very special thanks to all of you who engage, and help us keep administration costs at a minimum. We are proud to now have volunteers in Stockholm, New York, UK, as well as in the Dominican Republic.
In this little project, we remain humble to the fact that we are simply normal people who have chosen to act. We see ourselves as a simple bridge between people that need help, and people that want to help. After 2,5 years our efforts for kid’s education has reached over 450 children in poverty. As we move on into 2016 our new year ́s promise is to bring more smiles to schools around poor communities in the Dominican Republic. We hope to allocate funding to construct more classrooms in an overcrowded school in La Romana. But first, we will kick this year off with start building playgrounds.
Best wishes to you all,
Founder Ebba Lövenskiold, with board members Louise Lindell von Scheven and Marie Tuma, and accounting/auditing Monica Lilja and Anita Heierson
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