haitian schools Archives - Dominican Missions

Dominican Happening – Winter 2026

January 29, 2026 By Mitch Martinez

Teaching, Feeding and Loving Continues

Classes are back in action after the holidays! We thank the many that contributed towards gifts for the 1,300 children receiving an education in these needy Haitian communities. Every year it takes an act of faith to meet the needs of the staff and children. If you would like to help, visit our teachfeedlove.org website.

Final Preparations Happening now to Bring Salvations to La Vega!

Please PRAY for this event. We are hosting two Evangelistic Crusades in February and will be housing the Kanaabo team from Uganda. We expect MANY to hear the gospel and come to Christ. Please pray for lasting fruit to come for this region.

34 Years of Service!

What an honor to receive a plaque for 34 years of ministry in the Dominican Republic. This was presented at the National AG Convention in Santo Domingo in January.

Supplies at the border

Recently we visited the Haitian border to provide supplies to three ministries there. It was sad to see the struggle of the people to buy goods. We were told almost 35,000 enter daily and return twice a week.

For Info on how you can give, CLICK HERE TO GIVE
call us at 863-248-1119. Your gifts are tax-deductible.

Dominican Happening – Summer/Fall 2025

September 23, 2025 By Mitch Martinez

La Vega Christian School enrollment is up!

Classes have started at our school. We have our largest enrollment growth since COVID, bringing our student body to 360 children. Also a record enrollment in our afternoon English department. We added two new classrooms to the facility and expanded our parking lot. What a great blessing to see young couples who studied at our school bringing their children here. Also, many of our staff graduated here, then went on to college and came back to teach. We are especially thankful for the supporters who sponsored many of our students and provided a quality Christian education for these children. May God Bless you!

In Family News

We are proud of our first grandchild to enter college. Isabella Rios who graduated from High School in Salem, Mass. and is now attending Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida.

PROJECTS ON THE BACK BURNER:

As is common here in the DR, many churches do not have the space for Sunday school classrooms. The sanctuary is used for the adult Sunday school class before services on Sundays. We have two churches here that need 2nd story additions for Sunday school classrooms. Our estimates are $42,000 for the 5 classroom project for the Cutupu church. And $36,000.00 for the 4 classroom Sabaneta church.

We also have a church that needs a ground level four-classroom addition to their sanctuary for $28,000. This is the El Pino church.

Additonally, as mentioned in the DR Team page we have two small churches that need roofs replaced, $3000.00 for the La Lima Church, and $3000.00 for the Arenoso church.

We could also use some help purchasing a used work truck: We need $17,000.00 for a 2019 KIA pick up truck for delivering of materials and meals to Haitian church schools. We are looking for individual donors or churches to help us with the construction project needs above. *

For Info on how you can give, CLICK HERE TO GIVE
call us at 863-248-1119. Your gifts are tax-deductible.

Spring 2020 Quick Update from Your Missionaries Mitch & Debbie Martinez

March 30, 2020 By admin

Corona Virus Impact:

All missions team visits for the Spring and Summer have been suspended. We have been advised not to travel out of the country. As of this newsletter (March 17) 80 cases have been reported here. Please pray for a solution to this epidemic!

The Cutupu project on hold due to Corona Virus and suspension of US short-term mission teams.

Why is this project so important? In Cutupu we have over 139 Haitian children receiving an education in a building that should hold 40 or 50. It is a poor wood and tin structure with temperatures running in the 90’s during warm days. They have poor lighting and no bathrooms. They ask the neighbor permission to use their bathroom, or the boys find themselves a corner outside. Yet, incredibly, of the 14 Haitian school programs (800+ children) that we assist, this is one of the most orderly and organized. The location of the 6 blackboards shows you where the six different grade levels meet inside.

Education is happening here for these children who otherwise might not be able to attend a school. Why do they not attend a public school? They don’t speak Spanish, Dominican schools are full and over-crowded, and often Haitian children’s legal paperwork is incomplete. Without this program they would be home alone, or wandering their neighborhoods without supervision, or with their parents working in the fields. We are committed to providing a good Christian education; an invaluable investment for their future.
As of the writing of this newsletter the last of our funds for the Cutupu project will have been used to pour the floor for this church/school facility. WE would need approximately $9,000.00 US more to equip the bathrooms, the kitchen, buy windows and doors, stucco, and electrical work. If you or your church would like to help, please contact us at Vonage phone: 863-248-1119, or email Mitch at DominicanMissions@hotmail.com.

Sponsors are needed to help us continue to feed and educate these precious children. We are experiencing what averages to an $1800 a month deficit, which may not seem like much for a program that takes care of 800 children monthly and the salaries of the teachers and staff of the 14 education centers. Would you pray about being a regular supporter? We need 72 more sponsors giving at least $25 a month to overcome this shortfall. Your tax deductible donation goes 100% to support a child in school. You can send your check to TMCI, PO Box 1761, Columbia, SC 29202. Or to give online to DR Schools click here.

Calvary Academy Visits La Vega Again

The Calvary Academy Senior Class from Lakewood, NJ has been working with us on a once yearly basis since 1995 (25 years). It is a school tradition for them. This February they participated with dramas in the United For Him event at our school on stage. They ministered at 6 of the Haitian school programs, helped lay blocks for a parsonage, painted two churches inside and out, and ministered in local churches. Thank you for your faithfulness and help over the years!

Corona Virus Impact (Continued):

As of March 18th, all schools have been closed until April 13th by order of the president of the Dominican Republic. This will put a great economic strain on private schools. Please pray for the ministry of La Vega Christian School as financially this will affect the staff and operational budget. Pray the parents will be understanding and continue to make their monthly contribution for their child’s tuition.

Flights from Europe, China, Korea, Iran have been cancelled, and possibly by the 20th of March all flights from the US will be cancelled due to Corona Virus contingency plans being put into effect here. All but necessary businesses for public health are being asked to close.

Ministry projects have been halted and up to 9 short-term missions teams have been cancelled. We pray this pandemic will be stopped soon.

For Info on how you can give, call us at 863-248-1119. Your gifts are tax-deductible.

Haitian School Update Spring 2019

March 14, 2019 By admin

Dear Haitian School Sponsors,

Haitian Student working diligently! — MORE PHOTOS BELOW!

I wish you were here to see the joy and excitement on the faces of these children! In spite of difficult circumstances, crowded classrooms, hard benches, and long walks, the kids love to be in school. They are happy to have friends and a safe place to learn. And they love to eat, too!

At one school we visited this week I saw a lady with one leg, on crutches, with a basket on her head. The director told me she lost her leg in the earthquake in Haiti. She brings snacks for the kids to buy, and then cleans up the playground afterwards. I wish I had taken her photo, but I was too choked up. My ankle is still bothering me, and it’s hard to walk, so I can understand her discomfort and admire her initiative. That school does not have a sponsor. We are praying about helping the director with $480 a month to pay the teachers.

When the Calvary Academy students were here last month we visited several schools, where the students performed skits and songs, and did crafts with the kids. They loved it! They also painted Alex’s school and church in Sabaneta, and came for an evening service. They were so moved when the Haitian congregation prayed for them. They couldn’t understand all the words but they knew the Spirit was there.

In Barranca the students painted decorations that Pastor Frantz wanted. The new computer lab is finished and the new classrooms are painted. The students there were so happy with the toys the Calvary students brought. Such joy all around!

We hadn’t visited the Ciudad Universitaria school in a while. They meet in the afternoons. The students did a program on the basketball court and then they did their crafts. It just takes a little bit to make a huge impact in the lives of these children.

We had a big disappointment last week when we went to fence in the new property in Cutupu. A lawyer was waiting for us, claiming that the property belonged to her grandfather’s inheritors, and she was going to bring a lawsuit against the people selling to us. That was a shock! We spent more days looking, and God willing, will close this week on a much bigger property with space for the church, school, a soccer field and garden. Please pray for the funds needed to complete the building.

Thank you for your sponsorship, which makes it possible for over 800 children to receive a Christian education and nutritious food. We are honored to be your missionaries.

See below for photos.

God bless,

Debbie and Mitch Martinez

100% of donations go directly to pay school expenses for the children. Your tax-deductible offering may be sent to:

TMCI

PO BOX 1761

Columbia, SC 29202-1761

or call about automatic drafts. 803-799-0502

Calvary Academy students painted the Sabaneta church and School

This sweet girl wanted a picture with me

Calvary ministering to students at Ciudad Universitaria.

Two classes in Cutupu currently meeting under a tarp.

Reaching Towards the Future in 2019 | Missions in La Vega Dominican Republic

March 8, 2019 By admin

With your help, the year 2018 was one of the busiest and most fruitful years of ministry for us in La Vega, and 2019 looks to be no different.

Below you can see the plans that have been drawn up for the new Cutupu Church/School. We are so excited about this! The facility will help educate 130 children that are currently meeting in a very poor and inadequate rented facility (seen below the plans). We are believing for the church and classrooms to be built in 2019, we will need $29,000.00 for the construction of the facility.

Some students study under a tarp at the current Cutupu facilities

In El Cafe (in the mountains of Constanza), a new sanctuary is awaiting doors and windows for it’s inauguration. Funds are already coming in for these two projects. Meanwhile, the “Raising the Rieles” Project is still waiting for the resolution of the land title before construction can begin to re-locate flood zone families. Please pray with us for this! Seventy to a hundred families will be affected positively for the Kingdom of God.

The Rose of Sharon Church in Barrio Inco

For the past year we have been serving as interim pastors in this church. How wonderful it was to be able to baptize six new believers! We are still a young congregation but we have a faithful nucleus hungry for the Lord.

La Vega Christian School Celebrates 20 Years of Service

With 350 children the school celebrated it’s 20^th anniversary with a special service recognizing so many of those who have helped in the formation of this school. So many short-term mission teams from so many U.S. churches came and donated labor and finances to make this school a reality. Local pastors and church families have contributed and supported the school over the years. This year we will graduate our largest class with 35 seniors.

Reaching out to bless 14 Haitian Education Centers

Through the Haitian education centers 795 children are receiving an education that they would not receive otherwise. As donations are received the salaries for all the teachers in these centers are being paid. As funds permit, either snacks or a meals are served in each center. If you are interested in helping to support this outreach please contact Debbie at 1-863-248-1119, or her cell at 1-809-696-9928. Her email is lavegaschool@gmail.com. For $25.00 a month you can invest in the future of a needy child, and “change a life forever! Learn more about becoming a sponsor here.