The Daniel Martinez Foundation, a registered charity which I co-founded eight years ago to help children and young people in the poor rural areas of the north of the Dominican Republic.

Our Foundation is headed by a group of Trustees living in and around Puerto Plata (I myself was born and brought up in Latin America) and led by lawyer Dra Susana Vargas. We began by providing sports training progammes (baseball, softball and volleyball) in the rural areas where schools close at half day and the young people have nothing to do and nowhere to go. We went on to build 6 rural schools where we have introduced evening computer classes and folkloric music and dance classes.

A polyclinic has also been built in the remote area of Las Piraguas where a swollen river has prevented people from being able to reach emergency medical attention.

Our most recent project was the construction of a major rehabilitation unit at Puerto Plata public hospital where we worked in conjunction with the Asociacion Dominicana de Rehabilitacion (Filial Puerto Plata).

We are now working together with another charity involved with Latin America called FLAME, headed by Christina Heinl. The aim is to bring eco-education courses to our schools through a special Eco-School programme. This will involve providing training workshops twice a year with educational materials for the teachers and community leaders in the area.

We believe this will bring valuable information on conservation, sustainability and awareness of the environment to children and communities who had little or no exposure to these issues.

We are also currently raising funds for two new rural schools, a polyclinic and community centre and continuing to raise money for the sports and cultural projects.

For more information on the foundation, visit www.danielmartinezfoundation.org.uk


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