Dear Friends,
Love Unconditional Mission was created to care for at-risk children on the island of Hispaniola. While our physical location is in the Dominican Republic, our children are both Haitian and Dominican. Haiti is experiencing turbulent times, unrest, and violence. As we hear stories of families with little children having homes burned or taken at gunpoint, many have run for their lives. Some have crossed into the Dominican Republic with little more than the clothing on their backs. We don’t know what will happen in the days ahead, but we do know that our team on the ground has been offering hope and help to homeless children who come through the doors of Casa de Hilda Community Center.
Despite the times, the students are filled with excitement as they
head to school–some for the first time, some back for a new year, and others to a new school! It is always a busy time for the team in the D.R. as they enroll kids into schools, shop for and distribute school supplies, arrange for uniforms, shoes, and books for kids, meet with caregivers, and assign students to Learning Circles led by dedicated tutors.
An important project spearheaded by Lucille, has been to determine the full legal name of our students, update our records, work with the schools to make adjustments to transcripts, and teach each child to write their full legal name. This is a more complicated project than one might imagine! Some students have missing papers or documents that do not match. To complicate things more, in the villages, names may be spelled phonetically or nicknames are sometimes used in place of legal names. When students apply for cedulas (national ID cards) or visas required for jobs, college, etc., their records and documents must match. We want our young people to have the best chance at the future of their dreams! For those who sponsor children, you may notice changes to spelling in future correspondence. This project is a work in progress, but we are making good headway!
This summer, we held Love Unconditional’s Annual Benefit event. It was wonderful to see so many of you who are local to us in person in Hopkinton, MA! The multi-day event included food, raffles, live piano music, presentations, and a “Works of Heart” art exhibit. We were so blessed by the wonderful artists who created and donated beautiful art, the talented musicians who came to play music for us, the delicious food lovingly prepared, the amazing raffle baskets, the volunteers who helped make the event extra special, and everyone who donated to and attended the event! During one of the Benefit event evenings, we presented Lorrie Anderson with an Appreciation Award for her many years of dedicated service to Love Unconditional Mission and as a thank-you for her faithful prayer for children in the Dominican Republic. We love Lorrie and are so blessed by her care and devotion. She is a great blessing to us and so many children in the Dominican Republic!
Seasonal drives are a tangible way to give, and it’s also a great way to introduce new people to Love Unconditional Mission. Thank you to the individuals, businesses, and churches who collected flip-flops and backpacks! We would love to have the groups and churches that you are involved in participate in future drives. We are happy to provide posters and flyers that you can share. Please feel free to reach out with your ideas and questions.
With love, blessings & gratitude for all the help and hope you bring!
Burnedette & Lucille
Burnedette MacDonald, Executive Director | Lucille Wilson, Missionary