Sigma Chi Christian Fraternity mission work

Several young men from the University of Rochester's Sigma Chi fraternity came to Don Juan the first week in January to paint the homes of very poor Dominican families. These families do not have the money to buy paint to paint their houses on their own.To maintain one's house painted and decorated is an important sense of pride for Dominican families.


Alicia Manteiga, our then volunteer from the Peace Corp, together with Fr. Brian Cool, faculty adviser of the fraternity, headed up the work detail.

Playground dedication

The Thursday before Christmas we held a dedication of the new playground behind our school in Don Juan.
The playground was the gift of an anonymous donor from St. Mark's parish in Greece, New York.We also received support for the playground construction from our national government senator, Charlie Mariotti.

The playground is named in honor of St.Francis of Assisi.
This school now has over 480 students, the majority of whom are disadvantaged children.

The best way to celebrate Christmas

The best celebration of Christmas I had this year was on the weekend before Christmas.
Some families from Santo Domingo came to put on a complete and generous meal for all the people in a very poor campo, Los Lanos.
Some 77 persons took part who have known a great deal of hunger this year, as well as three there dying from cholera.

Thanksgiving in the DR

Around Thanksgiving time people often ask me if I celebrate it in the Dominican Republic and the answer is YES.
This year was especially gratifying as I had three Americans with me at that time.

My guests were Patrick Ferree and his adopted son Yeison, who is from the DR, and our Peace Corp Volunteer Alicia Manteiga, recently recovered from a bad case of Dengue.
I cooked the turkey with dressing and the rest of the fixings with the help of Chicita. We had an American imported turkey and Patrick brought the cranberry sauce and the dry stuffing mix from the US. All in all it was a very satisfying meal and day.