Gifts for Life Fair
Breaking News: Every dollar given up to $25,000 will be matched by a generous donation!
| Make a donation online via E-Giving! |
The Millennium Development Goals Committee will hold its fourth annual Gifts for Life Fair on Palm Sunday, March 28. This year the MDG goals we are supporting are Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education and a part of Goal 8: “… develop and implement strategies for decent and productive work for youth.” The specific project we are supporting is completion of the second floor of the trade school in Consuelo, Dominican Republic.
Here’s the dire situation:
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While the DR may compare favorably to Haiti especially since the earthquake, still some 42% of rural residents in the DR live below the National Poverty Line,
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A full 1/3 of the DR’s population is 14 and under.
- Only 50% complete elementary school, and 35% complete secondary school
- Of the DR’s population ages 15 – 24, an astounding 62% of the females and 32.5% of the males are neither in school nor in the labor force.
- Youth unemployment in the Consuelo area is very high.
The trade school will teach skills such as electrical, plumbing, computers, and languages (for the tourism industry, a major component of the DR’s economy), and thereby give the youth of Consuelo hope for the future. It will require an additional $81,500 to complete the second floor and put the school into operation.
You will have the opportunity on Palm Sunday to contribute to specific elements of the building project, including the roof, classrooms, bathrooms, flooring, doors, and windows. If you will not be in town on Palm Sunday or wish to donate now, please go to http://e-giving.org/start.asp?id=1459 to make your contribution which is tax deductible to the extent of the law. Let’s make the trade school a reality this year!
Look for posters and photos from prior DR trips in Shears Hall and items in the weekly St. John’s e-mail Parish News about the tremendous “boost” that a successful trade school would bring to the youth of the community.
