A Day in the Life of a child in Samaná

A mere four hours separate the sparkling tourist hub of Punta Cana, from the mostly rural, but no less beautiful Samaná Province in the Dominican Republic. However, they seemingly lie worlds apart through the eyes of a child.

The vast majority of the people living in the Samaná Province are poor and mostly uneducated. The Dominican Republic is above the world average for preschool enrollment – but the statistics go down from there. An average of 80% of those children go on to primary school, and only 40% of those kids continue on to secondary school. According to a national poll on child labor, there were close to half a million kids and teenagers working instead of attending school.

The lack of education leads to a never-ending cycle of poverty for families.

Children in poverty in the Samaná Province are often food insecure and have nowhere to turn to get a meal. There is not an established child welfare agency on the island, so children who are left as orphans often have nowhere to go for help. This care falls upon extended family members who can not afford to feed another mouth.

So the kids are put to work. This ends what little educational opportunities the children had to begin with. It’s not only orphaned children who experience this, it happens often when families seemingly have no other choice to feed themselves.

Days are long when you are a child growing up in the Samaná region of the Dominican Republic. Here, being a kid is not easy- it’s often hard work.

In 2013, The Advocates of Love Foundation saw the need and rose to the challenge. Advocates of Love is the first ministry and children’s home within the entire Province of Samaná. Even after 7 years, they are still the only CONANI-recognized resource in the region to help the children get the care they need to move forward in life.