Viviana Mariely JoseCarlos Leori Yeuri Anoluis Jordy Ricardo Leonardo Joel Antony Darjeris

Yeuri!

2010-11-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

This boy has surprised me every time I’ve come back to DOVE. My first trip, I don’t think I heard one word from him. The second trip, I learned that he just needs time to get to know you before he opens up. Now, I can’t get him to stop talking! (in a good way) I’ve shared so many meaningful talks with Yeuri, about his family, his thoughts about the life he lives, what it means to be part of this club, and even future dreams. He’s very mature for his age and yet at the same time loves to play and is such a joker. And to top it all off, he’s one of the best in English class. He learns so quickly and is very keen on participating. Sometimes, he can get distracted easily, so he needs to be kept in place sometimes. But I have no doubt that he will take good care and responsibility for his family in the future. He’s a great basketball player and is Viviana’s older brother.

Leori!

2010-11-06T09:04:00.001-07:00

Older brother to Ricardo and Leonardo, and eldest cousin of the Ventura clan, you can tell that Leori is a leader in his household. On a fieldtrip with the boys, he always had a watchful eye on his younger cousins. He works whatever odd jobs he can find to help his family (painting, moving, baking). He’s also quite the ladies’ man, once telling me that he was juggling five novias (girlfriends). He is so friendly and sociable, and oh so intelligent. But I have a feeling that because he’s so bright, he tends to get bored of some of the club classes. I’ve talked to him about the importance of attending and how knowledge is the key to a better future. His English speaking skills are also impressive and he would really benefit from more practice and studying.

Jose Carlos!

2010-11-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

Jose Carlos, brother of Antony, is probably the brightest boy at DOVE. His attendance at school and club is great and he’s so well behaved. He’s very quiet and will rarely be the conversation starter, but what a change on the basketball field where his skills gain him respect and friends. He really wants to learn English, and is already capable of translating full paragraphs from Spanish to English or English to Spanish. Even his conversational skills have improved so much since I first met him; he’s able to understand simple English phrases and respond in full sentences. Not to mention he’s also a talented drawer and, though he won’t admit it, poet (I’ve see his secret notebook). When he grows up, he wants to be a chef.

Anoluis!

2010-11-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

When I first met Anoluis last year, I thought he was one of the quietest boys in the club. Rarely smiled except a shy grin. But after 4 visits, wow have I been proven wrong. Though well behaved when in class with teachers, at his home, the park, or the basketball court, he’s as hyper as kids get! Chasing after you to play, screaming for your attention, and laughing hysterically at everything. I love his enthusiasm and energy so much. He’s also very bright, remembering almost all the English words you teach him (if you can get him to pay attention and listen to you, hahaha). His sister is Dalgeyri .

July - Leori!

2010-07-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

Hola!

Wow, what a crazy summer we've had! It's July 16th and we can't believe where the time has gone! We have spent so much time in the club with the kids and since they aren't in school and we have more free time, we are able to do all sorts of extra things like taking them on more outings, going special places and having special celebrations.

Here is a picture of the entire Ventura family when one of the children had a special birthday celebration at their home. We love summer!

July - Mariely!

2010-07-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

Wow!

What a wonderful summer we've had! And we aren't even halfway through July yet. We're so amazed at everything God has done thus far this summer in the life of the club, and we can't wait to see what else is in store. We've added more time at the club, being in session 5 days a week, the addition of new classes, more and more teachers, and volunteers from all over the place! The kids are loving spending so much time in the club and we're loving it even more:)

Here is a picture of Mariely just hanging out at the club one day, we're having a great summer season!

Happy summering to you and yours!

July - Anoluis

2010-07-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hola!

Wow! This sumer has flown by and we have no idea where the time has gone! We've spent so much time in the club with the kids and we are all so happy to be together! The kids are loving the addition of more classes, new topics to go over, and more and more volunteers coming to the DR from all over! We're having a great summer!

Here is a picture of Anoluis just hanging out in the club one day. We love summer!

July - Yeuri!

2010-07-05T07:21:00.000-07:00

Hola!
Wow! What an action packed summer it has been so far! We're shocked at how fast time is flying by, but we are so excited to be spending so much time with the kids! What a blessing this summer has already been, and we're only a month into to! We've added more time at the club, added more classes, added more teachers, and have added more volunteers from all over! We're so blessed to have the resources that we have and we can't wait to God to provide even more! Here is Yeuri just hanging out at the club one day, being silly! Happy summering to you and yours!

JoseCarlos - June!

2010-07-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

Summer is already here...and quickly speeding by! We're shocked by how fast the summer has come is already halfway through but we're loving spending so much time at the club with the kids - and their having an even greater time! We've beeen doing so much this summer from being at the club all day, 5 days a week, to adding multiple new classes, to adding special trips to the pool for the kids once another successful week has come and gone - we're having a great time! Here is JoseCarlos having a good time at the club one day and showing off for the camera! We love summer! :)

June - Viviana!

2010-06-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

This summer we've had lots of crazy stuff going on, and the kids are having so much fun! We've had groups of volunteers come for single days, volunteers comes and stay for months at a time, people come in for specific classes, all sorts of things! Here is a picture of Viviana just hanging out in the club one day after one of our classes, having a great time with her friends! We love summer and we're loving spending so much time together! Happy summering!

Halloween

2009-11-01T18:37:00.001-08:00

Dove was able to get a huge donation of Halloween costumes and threw a giant party for the kids on the afternoon of Halloween, during Saturday Boys and Girls Club. The kids, as you can see, had a blast!

Leori...

Yeuri...

Jose Carlos...

The Dolphins

2009-10-26T10:54:00.001-07:00

Mariely lost a tooth!

Mariely in the light pink (Miss Giggles, far left, top row) and Viviana (top row, red shirt). This is them with the dolphins- girls aged 6-9.

The Boys

2009-10-11T09:06:00.001-07:00

Anoluis (grey shirt) and Leori (navy shirt) making music!

Jose Carlos on the left with friends Dauri and Marcos

Yeuri playing basketball and having a snack

Leori being silly

Summer Photos

2009-08-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

Both girls (back right) with friends

Leori working on painted macaroni necklaces, in Dominican flag colours.

For two weeks in a row Leori was the student of the class when he was given a prize for good behaviour. In his case, it was for waiting patiently and sharing. Here he is picking a treat from the treasure box!

All four boys in English clas

Yeuri, Leori, and Jose Carlos

Mariely colouring

Leori learning to make hemp bracelets

Pool Party!

2009-08-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

Liz, along with Jencen and Jenny (two Canadian volunteers in the DR for 2 weeks) took the girls of the Girls Club to a pool party, and Viviana and Mariely were able to attend! Viviana is in the orange and Mariely is in the blue.

*photos taken in July 2009

More About Them

2009-08-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

A volunteer, Crystal Fox, had the following to say about Jose Carlos: Jose Carlos really stood out to me when we were making hemp bracelets. Not only did he catch on really quickly but he took the time to teach and help the other boys, especially the younger ones. As is the case most often when you mix age groups, I was finding that most of the older boys had little patience for the younger ones. Jose Carlos was the exception! He was so great helping the other boys. I made sure that I praised him alot and I nominated him to get the daily treat for his behavior.He was so sweet when he got to pick from the treasure box! He looked over all the little treats like they were worth a million dollars :)

Amazing Woman

2009-08-09T18:38:00.001-07:00

In the first picture, Lola is holding vouchers that will provide groceries for her family. All of the sponsored families receive this once a month. She receives twice the amount as the other families because she has 2 sponsors due to the large size of her family. In the second photo, Lola is feeding one of her many grandchildren.

Their House

2009-08-09T18:34:00.001-07:00

Part Of The Family

2009-08-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

Some of the kids...

Viviana

Mariely

Leori

Jose Carlos

Anoluis

Yeuri

2009-08-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

Here is Yeuri with his grandmother. When choosing which children in her family would attend the club, she was very insistent that Yeuri take part, saying that she had high hopes it would help with his behaviour issues.