Vacancies

building caring Christian communities
December 2008
The children, staff and
volunteers at COPA all
wish you a very happy
Christmas.
An exciting weekend for COPA
The weekend of 18th/19th October proved
to be a busy and interesting weekend for
COPA UK and it’s supporters who were
able to attend.
Tthe AGM was held at Alsager near
Stoke-on-Trent on the Saturday afternoon
and a full report of this can be found on
page 2.
On the Saturday evening a concert was
held at the Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent
with the proceeds being shared between
Unicef and COPA.
The concert was
staged by Daniel Keen and starred Hayley
Westenra. Those of us lucky enough to
Also in this issue:
2.
Guernsey News &
the COPA UK AGM
3.
Photos from the UK and
beyond
4.
News from the Schools….
5
In words and Pictures
6.
First Impressions
7.
Yet more flooding!
8.
COPA Calendars
Registered Charity No.1027117
attend heard Hayley beautifully sing a
wide variety of songs including the popular
Maori song Pokarekare Ana, her version
of Fleetwood Mac's Songbird, the beautiful Scarborough Fair, Kate Bush's passionate Wuthering Heights and many more.
Her backing musicians included a young
and talented string quartet, Raven, who
also entertained the audience during the
evening with their own amazing selection
of music. A truly superb evening, photos
of which appear on page 3.
Our thanks go to Daniel Keen for organising this concert and we hope to have more
details of the amount raised for COPA in
the next edition of the Newsletter.
On the Sunday morning a service was
held at Wesley Place Methodist Church
attended by well over 150 people. The
speaker was Peter Gardner, a long time
member of the COPA UK committee. He
spoke about the history of COPA, how it
had grown from the building of the first
four classrooms in La Hoya, extending into
a second village (Bombita), the provision
of Clinics, the development of the Partnership Schools concept and, most recently,
the Training Rooms in Bombita.
Vacancies
COPA currently has vacancies for Education Advisers to assist and support the
teachers and head teachers in the COPA schools to provide an education for over 800
children. These positions are for two years and Advisers are paid a local wage.
Accommodation, a return flight and health insurance is covered by COPA.
A job description and application form can be found on the COPA
www.copa.org.uk
website
If you, or anyone you know, would like more details please contact Louise Ambler
(COPA Staffing and Recruitment Officer) on 01865 450932 or at
[email protected]
Editor: Mrs Pam Tovey, 30 Maidenhall, Highnam, Gloucester, GL2 8DL
Tel: 01452 301633
Guernsey News
Our Speaker evening was very
well attended and we had
members of the Overseas Aid
Commission including the
President Carol Steere and some
Deputies which we very much
appreciated. We welcome two
new Committee members, June
Money and Sarah Lees, both
experienced fund raisers! Peter
Keeling, our Treasurer reported
back from his experience at the
International Conference in
February with a wonderful
power point demonstration.
Spurgeon Baptist Church which
was a step back in time with
nostalgia. We had a great sing
along too at the end and we
have decided the credit crunch
might have its positive side –
we might be more ready to
provide our own entertainment.
Many thanks to the many
performers who made such a
special evening, and to Jean
Palin and her team for
providing wonderful
refreshments. The evening
raised over £400.
Vic Richer arranged a fantastic
charity variety concert at the
We have two dates for your
diary:
December 6th-20th A tree for
COPA will be sponsored by the
Guernsey Retired Teachers
Association in the Town
Church Charity Christmas Tree
Festival on Wednesday 10th
December. All donations will
be given to COPA on this day.
Refreshments including soup at
lunchtime are available so pop
in and have a cup of tea when
you are doing your Christmas
shopping!
Saturday December 13th
Flag day will take place at
Marks & Spencer Simply Foods
at L’Islet and St. Martins. This
is one of our best fund raisers!
On behalf of the Guernsey
Committee, I would like to
thank you all for your support
and generosity. I wish everyone
a very Happy Christmas and a
Prosperous New Year!
Jenny Benjamin
Chairman
Editor’s note: The photograph on
the front page of this Newsletter
shows the pupils of La Hoya on the
Basket Ball court seating area. This
has recently been constructed
thanks to the generous donation by
the Guernsey Branch of COPA.
Report of the 2008 COPA UK AGM
This was the first time in our 17 year history
that the AGM has been held outside our
originating base in Gloucester. Some 50
people attended, a number that compares
favourably with previous years. Our
membership is widely spread throughout the
UK and this venue provided an opportunity
for a
different range of members to hear
first hand the progress of COPA. We thank
the members of Wesley Place Methodist
Church, Alsager for hosting our AGM and
providing the opportunity for a special
COPA service which was held on the following morning.
Welcome: Jeanne welcomed everyone,
expressed the committee’s pleasure at the
new location and mentioned the fundraising
concert that evening. She welcomed
particularly Ken Fitchew, who would later
speak about his experience clearing up after
Tropical storm Noel, and returned Project
Trust volunteers Laurie and Marlene.
Devotions: Sebert mentioned the experience of one boy from the Copa La Hoya
school who had started out as a troublesome pupil but whose life had been turned
around by the love and special attention he
had received from COPA. He then read
from 1 Corinthians Chapter 13.
After the Storm Presentation: Ken Fitchew
shared his experiences and photographs of
helping the COPA volunteers get the
schools and clinics back up and running
after the destruction of devastating tropical
storm Noel in 2007.
Treasurer’s Report:
David Rush presented and expanded upon the audited
accounts, copies of which had already been
distributed. He mentioned that there had
been a modest increase in income from the
previous year, and that the £25,000 raised
in the emergency appeal following the tropical storm had been used to provide concrete floors for 240 homes, mainly in Bombita. He also reported that the cost of
recruitment advertising and the
2
purchase of a new building in La Hoya
had contributed to an overall shortfall of
£16,000 for the year. This has been offset
with surplus funds from previous years.
A question was raised from the floor as to
where the charity’s funds are held in the
UK and whether they are secure, in the
light of the banking crisis. David
responded that all funds are held with
Barclays but that he is investigating
distributing money among different banks.
The accounts were approved and adopted
by the meeting.
Jeanne thanked David, Roger Tovey and
Paul Colechin for all their work on the
accounts and Sebert proposed that we
send a letter of thanks to Kingscott Dix
Accountants who have audited the
accounts free of charge for the past 17
years.
Chairperson’s Report: The Chairperson’s Report had been circulated and
Jeanne highlighted the successful international meeting which brought members of
all committees (UK, Guernsey, US and
DR) together to discuss the future direction for COPA and to visit the existing
schools, potential partnership schools and
possible sites for a secondary school.
She mentioned the academic and career
successes of a number of former La Hoya
students, some of whom have gone on to
become doctors, engineers or teachers
employed in the schools.
Jeanne
mentioned again the health benefits
brought by the new concrete floors and
the improvements that will come when the
latrine-building project (not COPA-funded)
is complete. She spoke about the difficulty the committee faces recruiting new
Education and Health advisors and
appealed to all present to spread the word
and suggest friends who may be interested.
Jeanne reported that Roy Marshall was
pursuing an opportunity, jointly funded by
St John’s in Conwy and Wesley Place to
install solar panels to supply energy to the
projects.
She brought to everyone’s
attention the new 2009 calendars, using
photography by Chris Courth, which are
now available and the updated publicity
leaflets which had recently been printed.
She also mentioned that the roads in
Bombita had been much improved by the
laying of hardcore by the Government following a conversation between Connie,
COPA DR Project Director, and Leonel the
President of the Dominican Republic.
Finally she thanked the rest of the committee and sponsors for their support in the
preceding year.
Appointment of COPA UK Officers for
2008/9: Jeanne informed the AGM that
although she would remain on the
committee, she would be standing down as
Chairperson and that as yet there was no
candidate for the position, although the
appointment could be made at the first
committee meeting. She also announced
that Wyn Evans would be standing down as
General Secretary and that Verity Threlfell
was prepared to take on this role.
The following elections and that of Kingscott
Dix as independent examiners were all
approved by the meeting:
Chairperson: VACANT **
Vice Chair: Roger Tovey
General Secretary: Verity Threlfell
Treasurer: Davis Rush
Committee: Peter Gardner, Louise Ambler,
Sandra Samways, Pam Tovey, Jemma
Pym, Jeanne Bergin, Chris Courth, Ann
Gratton, Rachel Palmer, Stephen Guy* and
Geoff Haslam*.
* these are new appointments to the committee.
** at the first committee meeting since the AGM
Roger Tovey has accepted nomination and
been elected Chairperson.
The meeting closed and was followed by
tea.
Photos from the UK and beyond
The picture above left shows Jeanne presenting
Hayley with a COPA Calendar after the concert.
Hayley signed many autographs for fans including
some of our own committee members. The picture
above shows Peter Gardner (right) and Sandra Samways (centre) about to have their programmes signed.
Next to Sandra is Daniel Keen who organised the
concert. The picture to the left shows committee
members Jeanne, Anne and Rachel who were our
‘publicity team’ during the evening of the concert.
Photos of the
Hayley Westenra
concert held at
Stoke-on-Trent
on October 18th
We send our congratulations to Cathy, our Assistant Project
Director in the DR, and Perferido, a teacher at the COPA
schools on their marriage. The picture below shows their
wedding in Cathy’s home town in Wales. They are now living in
La Hoya. We wish them good luck and happiness for the
future.
Work in progress
on the latrines
for Bombita
In the last edition of the Newsletter the story of Roger’s house
Thanks to generous donations from several of
was told.
COPA’s supporters Roger has been able to complete his new
house. Pictured above is his wife and young child outside the
nearly completed house. A huge thank you to those who sent
donations to provide this family with the means to build a new
home. On an extremely sad note, since this picture was taken
Roger’s wife gave birth to their second child who sadly died
within the first few hours of his life. Our thoughts and prayers
are with Roger and Esperanza.
COPA Health Adviser Amy Edelstein has recently sent a number of
photographs of the construction phase of new latrine blocks in Bombita.
More of the photos can be found on the COPA website. Amy writes
in her email "After Storm Noel, most latrines were covered by the floods
and the mud leaving the villagers to do their necessities in the cane fields
in the village itself. The money for the latrine project was donated by a
NGO that focuses on health. Now the village will have latrines shared
between 3 households which excites them not only because they will have
some privacy and cleanliness but because they will be able to have
visitors from outside of the village. The latrines are build up high to keep
from water and mud blocking them and also this kind of latrine lasts
longer and can be emptied and used again.”
3
Sporting and Cultural Bonanza
Lynn Chester, one of our Education Advisors in the DR,
reports on a weekend which a few of years ago could only
have been dreamt of happening in La Hoya.
fresh water pools at San Rafael. Merquelin, Tomas and Mauricio
and their team of support workers are to be congratulated on a
well organised and very exciting weekend.
The weekend of the 7th - 9th November saw a great event
organised by the club deportivo y cultural Sr. Miguel Matos in
La Hoya. Over 50 young people travelled down from the
school we have linked with up in the mountains of Bonao and
joined the 6 sporting clubs from Barahona and the various
teams representing La Hoya school and the community. Many
competitive matches in basketball, baseball and volleyball
took place on Friday evening and all day Saturday involving
over 300 players! The games were all hotly contested and it
was great to see evidence of positive sportsmanship and the
tremendous support from spectators both young and old. On
Saturday evening over 500 people gathered on the basketball
court to enjoy a Christian programme of music, messages and
dancing. On Sunday, our visitors from Bonao were joined by
almost the entire village for an enjoyable trip to the beach and
News from the the
Partnership Schools
At the beginning of the academic year
the partnership schools were faced
with numerous problems. These
included the heavy rains and flooding
from tropical storm “Ike,” many
teachers and children suffering with
flu and a very virulent form of conjunctivitis, ‘millions of mosquitoes’, district
meetings for teachers about pay discontent and closures due to religious
holidays. We were so happy when on
Monday 22nd September all three
schools were able to open their doors
to the students.
We are delighted to include Hato
Viejo in our partnership project and
sincerely thank the summer work
teams who turned this primary
4
school from looking like semi derelict
buildings into a bright, sunny and
welcoming environment. The children
loved the repaired play equipment
and everyone appreciates the newly
constructed toilets and functioning
water system.
Habanero Primary has also benefited
from installed water tanks and piped
water to the toilet block. All three
schools benefit from a regular input by
Lauren, our Project Trust volunteer
who is teaching English to Grade 4’s
and art and craft activities to all age
groups. Her displays have also helped
to brighten up the classrooms as we
continue to work with the teachers
about the value of displays as a
learning resource. We have been able
to stock the schools with more room
resources and many educational
games especially in the preschool.
To encourage reading, each classroom now has a small library stocked
with exciting fiction books and a few
big books were also purchased for the
older grades. We are providing
storage units for our new resources
but are waiting to see what the
Government is going to do about
overcoming the problem in the
Habanero Grade 1 room with 36
students actively attending and only
20 chairs with an attached sloping
work surface. Not a very productive
learning environment.
This is going to be a very challenging
year but we will continue to support,
encourage and lead by example in
order to try and raise standards of
teaching and create a more interesting learning environment for the students.
Lynne Chester, Education Adviser
Christmas was the main focus in October with the designing and then making of the cards. Our four Project Trust
volunteers, especially Rosie and Michelle who are teaching Art, worked very hard with the students to ensure they
were all completed. Special thanks goes out to Felicidad
Betances, from Florida who had travelled to the DR this
summer with a work team. She returned for four weeks
and was a tremendous help in this endeavour working with
Cathy to get the cards and photos done. The teachers also
worked well and were a great support to ensure that their
students produced cards with care and thought. We do
hope that you like them. The picture below shows some of
the older students working on the Christmas Cards.
8th grade received their new uniform, cream polo shirts with the COPA
logo on the front left-hand side and their surnames on their right sleeve.
They were very pleased and wasted no time changing into them the day
they arrived. We are pleased to say that they have made a very positive
start to the year and this has been consolidated by continual positive
reinforcement. One example of this being a walk to the local river
where they enjoyed a meal of fish and rice cooked by Marianna, one of
our afternoon cooks. The students who later went on a sugar cane hunt
caught the fish for the meal from the river. They thoroughly enjoyed
their morning with their teachers, Michelle and Eilidh. We hope that
this encouraging attitude will continue throughout the year.
A meeting held with 8th grade parents with their teachers, Maribel and
Rosalba, consolidated this. Issues discussed included the academic
importance of this year and how to support their children as developing
adolescents. The parents were very receptive and it is hoped that a
positive relationship will be maintained.
COPA has always been keen to employ Dominicans if and when possible
to fill the roles available in the DR. When the position of Maintenance
Supervisor became vacant a local man, Antonio Comacho, was hired on
a three month probationary contract. Antonio had already completed
work at various times for COPA and his work was known to be of a high
standard.
Everyone is very pleased with him including the Headteachers, COPA
staff and the present caretaking/maintenance workers. There is always
plenty of work to do to keep both schools up to standard and Antonio is
currently working through a list of overdue maintenance issues.
Progress of Ex COPA Students from La Hoya
It is always interesting to find out what
has happened to previous students of
the schools and the progress they have
made. Below is a list of some of the
students who have gone on to university
and where their skills have taken them.
As you will see, some have returned to
work for COPA.
Mauricio Mateo
After he left COPA he went to Licateba
and from there to university where he
studied computing. After graduating he
was able to return to COPA as the current technician and IT a teacher during
the afternoon. In the mornings he works
for a company that repairs mobile
phones. He is also one of the coordinators of the sports club in La Hoya
working with students from 5th to 8th
grade.
Jonathan Matos
He is around 27 years old and has just
graduated from medical school with
maximum honours and he is working as a
doctor in a community in the Higuey
province.
Ismael Matos
He is currently studying engineering at
university and also has an important job
in an iron company in Santo Domingo. He
studies during the day and works at night.
Cristina Matos
She studied medicine at the state university and graduated at the beginning of
this year. She is now on a waiting list and
will be assigned to a position when one
becomes available.
Manuel Yoranni Perez
After leaving COPA he completed two
years of high school and then decided to
study electricity. He works for a large
company in Bavaro, near Punta Cana in
one of the largest hotels in the area.
Joel Matos
He went to the local government high
school in Barahona and undertook an
intensive course in industrial electrics and
he continues to work in this area.
Omar
He lives in Santo Domingo where he
studied and graduated with honours in
engineering and now works for an engineering company.
Kelin
He graduated in industrial engineering
from the state university and now lives
and works in Spain.
Emilio Perez
He left his studies in civil engineering in
Santo Domingo and decided to return to
Barahona where he studied refrigeration
and he now works in Bavaro.
Andy Matos
He decided to leave university and now
lives and works in Santo Domingo.
Rosalba Perez
After she finished high school she studied
psychology in Santo Domingo. She now
works in COPA Bombita as the school’s
psychologist and is charge of two youth
groups in the La Hoyan community.
Jose Luis Feliz
He left his studies to work for a state institution that is in charge of taking care of
the airports in the Dominican Republic.
Anulfo Matos
He studied Maths at university and then
found work with an institution called
CESA which provides services to the
country’s airports.
Eudalina Lopez
After studying IT at Ucateba University
she found employment in a bank in
Barahona.
Other students who are currently at
university and close to graduating are as
follows:
Dellilandis Matos
Gregory Perez
Sumayra Matos
Yuseidy Matos
Eulis Peña
Anthony Matos
Miguel Matos
Ariel Lopez
Medicine
Computing
Tourism
Tourism
Industrial Engineering
IT
Electronic Engineering
Civil Engineering
5
First Impressions of Bombita and the DR
Two of our Project Trust
volunteers have written of their
first impressions of life
in
Bombita where they will be
working for 12 months.
I love The Dominican Republic. The
little village I’ve been sent to is called
Bombita – Its name reminds me of a
similar word in Spanish which is
‘Bonita’ – This word sums up my first
impressions. Bonita means beautiful,
and that is exactly what I thought of this
country when I first arrived. The minute
I stepped off the aeroplane the first
thing I noticed was the full moon
beaming up into the sky, with
thousands of stars shining brightly
which I didn’t see before in Scotland
where I live. The next day as we
traveled to where we would be staying,
all I could see was green, luscious
tropical trees and the buildings were so
colourful and big. I saw people walking
around outside the window of the Gua
Gua (Bus like transportation), and kept
thinking ‘How on earth can they wear
such tight clothes in this heat!?’ But I
guess that is what this culture is like,
where the people love the heat and
love their colourful clothes!
My other impressions of the people of
this country included when we first
arrived in Bombita. We first went to
greet some people who were playing
cards, and from then on we knew we’d
have an amazing year because they
seemed so friendly and open. Our first
night included us sitting under the
gazebo in front of our house with a
group of girls and boys our age. All of
them spoke Spanish, and Eilidh and I
had a very restricted Spanish
vocabulary, so we laughed nervously
as they kept speaking to us and we did
not have a clue what they were saying.
However, a few guys spoke some
English so I felt very comforted and not
completely confused.
So, my first impressions of beautiful
Bombita includes the very friendly and
welcoming people who although have
nothing and are very poor, are far more
friendly and welcoming than I ever
would thought they’d be, given their
circumstances. The tropical scenery
which reminds me every day that I’m in
the Caribbean, still takes my breathe
away, but although there is poverty
everywhere we go, somehow the
blaring Latino music and shining sun
never leaves me with a dull day.
Michelle
6
Children playing in Bombita
I remember driving along the dirt track
road to Bombita for the very first time
and thinking wow, this is unlike anything
I have ever seen before. The village had
just been hit by a bad storm, so the mud
was thick on the ground, pigs and goats
strolling about and the houses are made
of tin and wood, the basic of basics. I
was fascinated already by this totally
different way of life. We took a walk
through the village and the thing that
struck me instantly about it was how
friendly everyone here is. People may
live in the most basic of conditions, yet
you would never know it as they are so
upbeat, welcoming, positive and such a
pleasure to be around.
of how musically talented everyone is
here when Yosi brought out the guitar
and everyone was singing this beautiful
song called “Esperame” outside under
the stars (also beautiful, you can see
thousands and thousands and lots of
shooting stars). The singing was unlike
anything I had ever heard before, everyone was so wonderful it made my voice
feel inferior. I am smiling just now just
thinking back on it. Music is a huge part
of the culture here, and everyone sings
and plays instruments. It spurred me on
to want to sing at the weekly Youth
Group (another great time when everyone gets together and the music is wonderful) and learn to play the guitar.
The children were just the most adorable kids I had ever seen, they all run
up to you for hugs and shout “Hola!
Hola!”, take your hand and want to go
with you wherever you may be going.
They are so beautiful too. It was our
very first day and we had already made
friends, who now, 3 months in, I am very
close to. You don´t have to do much to
feel content, just sitting chatting at a
friend’s house is enough to make you
feel so happy. The first night under the
gazebo with about 10 people all around
us was the most enjoyable experience.
People just wanted to know everything
about you, were so interested in your
life and getting to know you.
Being in the Bombita school for the first
time was also very surprising, as I did
not expect it to be so well equipped
judging by the village it serves. It made
me realize what a wonderful opportunity
school is as many of the parents of the
children in the village are illiterate. Now
their children are able to go to school
and get an education which many of the
parents did not get. Observing the
classes for the first week also made me
a bit nervous at the same time. Teaching 7th and 8th grade looked like it was
going to be tricky! The Dominican discipline is definitely different to what I am
used to! And yes it is true that sometimes they are monsters, but my first
experience of teaching was brilliant, so
much fun and definitely unlike anything I
have ever done before.
I came to the DR having studied Spanish at school, yet sitting around
Mairenny, Ana Sylvia, Sionie and the
guys talking at one hundred miles an
hour made you think ahhhh, I am never
going to be able to understand! However, I did not let this bother me and felt
more motivated than ever to learn. The
first few nights with our new friends
were absolutely fantastic, we got a taste
I have such a warmth and affection for
the children and everyone in this village;
I would just not have been ready to
leave after a few months. I would consider Bombita my second home.
Eilidh
Once again, floods in La Hoya and Bombita
The rains started early in September and,
although not as bad as last year, caused
major difficulties to the two communities.
Using emails from Connie DiLeo, our
Project Director, this is the story of the
floods of 2008
Sept 3rd 2008
Dear friends,
Many have emailed asking about our
situation here in the Dom. Rep. We have
evacuated once but are back in our
houses though we have not unpacked! We are living a bit uncertain and
ready to evacuate at a moments notice.
We have had lots of rain as you must
know. Bombita is again a horrible mud pit
making walking around the village almosts
impossible. Thankfully, though, we have
not had any major flooding at this
time. Bombita had some flooding and the
people were so thankful to have concrete
floors. School is closed again and will be
all week. Hannah has brought so much
rain I am surprised that the dam is not a
threat (at least at this time.) Of course, we
are watching now to see what Ike does.
Sept 6th 2008
Just wanted to let you know that we have
evacuated both groups of COPA volunteers to Barahona. La Hoya was evacuated last night and we expect problems
possibly tonight in Bombita so felt it was
best to leave in the day. The country is
saturated. They are lowering the level of
water in the dam and the canal Trujillo is
very high and that is what caused La Hoya
to flood in Noel. Of course the people
in the communities will not evacuate
until
their
feet
are
wet.
Everything is as high as we could get it so
if water does come, we should not have
nearly the loss of Noel.
Sept 10th 2008
I hate to mention the weather when there
are so many problems in so many
areas! Fay, Gustav, Hannah, Ike..... all
four have dumped a lot of water on the
Dominican Republic. Through all of them
we remained relatively dry and safe until
Ike hit Cuba. Yes, it wasn't until the eye of
Ike hit Cuba that we received our worst
rains causing the rivers to rise and go over
their banks. It is hard to believe that La
Hoya had never flooded in the history of
the village and now within a year, it has
flooded twice. We are again evacuated to
Barahona and La Hoya is under
water!
Thankfully, Bombita has not
flooded. It seems there is some reason
that the water went to canal Trujillo and
not to the river that passes Bombita. I
don't understand the reason but Bombita
has been spared massive flooding though
La Hoya has not been so fortunate.
I don't feel as stressed this time as I was
last Nov. with Noel. I think experience is a
great teacher. Also I know that we got
most things up much higher and should
have very minor financial loss. Also most
in the village had time to take most of their
belongings to other locations to avoid the
loss they suffered last year. Everyone has
evacuated La Hoya. Also knowing that
though there is much rainwater in Bombita
and some flooding from that, the people
can clean up much easier with their
concrete floors.
What an immediate
blessing that has been! Thank you again
everyone for the response you gave us for
Noel as it is giving us strength during the
present flood.
We do not need any
financial help and I am just writing to keep
you informed. Thank you for all your
prayers! I feel strengthened by them.
During the time the people from La Hoya
were evacuated the President of the
Dominican Republic visited the area and
Connie made sure she spoke to him - as
she had done last year after the devastating floods caused by Tropical Storm Noel.
Sept 23rd 2008
I told you about my privilege of speaking
with the President of the Dom Republic for
the second time. I spoke to him about the
terrible condition of the roads in Bombita
and how the children couldn't get to school
when it rained. He called over the Secretary of Public Works and told him to speak
with me and to solve the problem of the
roads in Bombita. Well, I never imagined
what would happen after that. The next
day large machinery began to arrive in the
afternoon. Soon there was an engineer,
grater, front-end loader with electrical
shovel, steamroller and truck after truck
after truck of rocks! They worked for 8
straight days! There has never been such
excitement in Bombita! Especially when a
big truck or the front end loader or especially when the steamroller sunk in an
unseen hole!
It was quite the entertainment watching everyone working together
to try and get the machinery unstuck! The
roads in Bombita are now so bright one
needs to wear sunglasses when walking
through the village! This has been an
amazing blessing for the people of Bombita and quite overwhelming for me to see
God work in such a manner!
I heard today that more rain is on the
way. La Hoya is still in a state of shock
from Ike following Noel! I am not sure you
know that the school and housing area in
La Hoya DID NOT get water in them! I
can't tell you how relieved and still quite
awed that we did not flood since everyone
else in the village did. It had something to
do with sitting up a bit higher, or draining a
bit better, or where the water came in, or
just a plain miracle! I will give thanks to
God whatever the reason! I felt strongly
about doing something for the community
of La Hoya since we did so much in Bombita after Noel. Food seemed to be the
pressing need since so many crops were
again lost as was some furniture since not
all could get things up. I didn't want to buy
and prepare food bags, so Merqueline
arranged for a small store in Barahona to
sort out food bags and gave us a good
price. We met with the heads of households Sunday morning and gave them a
ticket signifying one, two or three bags of
food. They then went to Barahona and got
the food bags. It was an excellent way to
help with minimum problems for us. We
again expressed that it was NOT COPA
money, but donations made by people
who wanted to show their concern during
this difficult time.
7
COPA Calendar 2009
In response to requests we have produced a fund raising
2009 COPA Calendar. Available now, this is a high quality
colour A4 page a month calendar. Each month portrays a
different photograph depicting some of the people of La
Hoya and Bombita - on the right are some examples. Each
page also has space for your daily calendar notes.
As well as buying one for yourself these would make ideal
Christmas presents!
The price is £6 per calendar which includes UK post and
packaging.
Please send your orders, including a cheque for the
appropriate sum made out to ‘COPA’, to:
Mrs P Tovey, 30 Maidenhall, Highnam, Gloucester,
GL2 8DL
01452 301633 or email [email protected]
Contact names
and addresses
for COPA UK:
Some of the children of Bombita
Treasurer:
Mr David Rush
Flat 98, Block B,
The Paragon,
Boston Park Road,
BRENTFORD,
Middlesex, TW8 9RP
Sponsorship
Secretary for both La
Hoya and Bombita:
Mrs Sandra Samways
57 Pauls Croft,
CRICKLADE,
Wiltshire, SN6 6AJ
Treasurer: COPA
Guernsey
Mr Peter Keeling,
Les Poplairs,
Rue du Felconte,
ST SAVIOURS,
Guernsey, GY7 9QD
Guernsey
Sponsorship contact
Mrs Margaret Keeling
Address as above
8
Sponsorship Letters
The address for your letters and cards is:
Child’s name and sponsorship number
Escuela de COPA (La Hoya or Bombita)
Apartado 42
BARAHONA
Dominican Republic
Please could you write your name and address
on the reverse of the envelope. This will help
the volunteers when they are delivering the
letters and cards to the children.
The
volunteers have asked that messages to the
children be kept short as each one needs
translating into Spanish. As you can imagine,
translating up to 800 cards from UK sponsors
and 800 cards from USA sponsors is a huge
task! Thankyou for your understanding
The COPA Christmas Fund
Sadly it is still quite unreliable to send
presents to the children in La Hoya and
Bombita although Christmas cards do seem to arrive
safely. As a result, we would like to suggest that sending a
donation to our Christmas Fund is still the easiest and
safest way to give the children a gift this Christmas. Any
money donated will be used towards their gifts and Christmas party and any left over will be used to purchase books
and equipment for the library or will be put to the School
trips Fund which helps to give all the children the chance to
join the school trips which are organised by the teachers.
If you would like to make a contribution, please could you
send your gift to the treasurer of COPA UK, David Rush or
the treasurer of the Guernsey Branch, Peter Keeling. Both
their addresses appear on left of this page.
Visit our web site www.copa.org.uk for more information on the work of COPA