Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic,- The community of Caraballo had a very special visit last week, one which clearly showed the relations between Dominicans, Americans, Hispanic Americans and Haitian Dominicans can collaborate to reach any common goal. Thanks to one of the most active nonprofit organizations in the North Coast, the DREAM Project (www.dominicandream.org), all of these groups came together to build a community center in the Haitian Dominican “Batey” of Caraballo, located in the province of Puerto Plata.

With the tragedy in Haiti very much on the minds of all participating, a team of US Coast Guard sailors from the USS Seneca, based in Boston, began construction last Monday. After a few hours, there were more than 10 community volunteers working alongside the sailors, building a roof and plastering walls.

The next day, more volunteers arrived from the city of Boston to replace the sailors, this time, 10 students from Fenway High School, located next to the famous stadium. Many of these students were of Dominican and Mexican decent, from parents who emigrated to Boston many years ago.

These students spent the previous 2 months fundraising to travel to the Dominican Republic and help brighten the lives of the residents of Caraballo. Many members of the community have lost loved ones in the earthquake and subsequent tribulations Haiti and many more are out of work while the Montellano cane crop is at a stand still.

The Community Center, Central Moun Yo Tou, which means "Center of the people" in Creole, offers hope and promise for many of these residents. The DREAM Project already has a Montessori preschool, a library and At Risk Youth program (Young Stars) in Caraballo, but this center will be used for meetings, entertainment and just a clean, dry place where the community can meet.

Through rain and very demanding construction work, the Fenway students labored for 4 days along side a large group of local volunteers to complete the center and hand the building over to the community. The collaboration between all these volunteers, from different ethnicities, different nationalities and different countries, serves as an example that differences between countries will never be as strong as the possibilities that exist if they work united towards a common goal.

Jonathan Resor Wunderlich, Director of Development