Our History
The Tu Puedes Miracle
By Debora Damiani
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All my life I've wanted to do something that can stay behind after I'm gone. I always felt a need existed in my country to help the children. So, in Oct.1998 I spoke to my father and we met with some other ministers of faith. ( My father was a minister from the Assemblies of God)
After we talked and started to have meetings, it got to be impossible to meet. At that point, it kind of "died". We didn't meet anymore, but my husband and I kept doing the mission.
At that time I was working for Family Guidance Center in my then profession as Mental health counselor. When I started the job, I told them that I was only staying for 3 years because I was going to the mission. Well, after I had 6 months to go, the Recovery Program Coordinator was fired and they asked me to take the job. I said no because I was only 6 months away from leaving, but the director insisted and asked me to give him a year. I did, and after the year was over I left to the Dominican Republic to start the mission. We left in May of 2002 ( We had already started before but only helping other entities that worked with the children.)
Once there, we built a place to gather the people. We did health fairs, bringing doctors, dentists, and nutritionists together. As the time passed, I notice that the children didn't go to school and when I asked why, they showed me where the closest school was located. They told me that some children had been killed by cars crossing the dangerous roads to go to school in the next village, and how some fell down climbing the hills to get to the school . They broke their arms and legs because the road they had to walk was paved with big sharp stones.
That day, I went up the hill to see the school, I came down feeling that this was not a very safe place for the children.
I remember that it was about 3 p.m. when I called the community together to announced that I was having open registration for a new school. At this time I didn't have a place or teachers to do this. And one more thing... I didn't have any money !
200 children and their mothers came and register that day.
I remember one mother that came to register her children, asking me while looking arround "Debora, where is the school going to be?" I showed her the empty lots we had purchased for this mission project. She replied " and... is it going to be finished by the start of school?" I said "yes".
I didn't know what was going to happened but the one thing I knew was that the need of these children had to be filled.
I hired 6 teachers, rented a small house, and asked the people that were in charge of the churches to let us use their place for the school during the day. Everybody refused.
I then felt that I needed to do something fast, and asked for information about the lady that was in charged of the catholic church. I went to her house and introduced myself. I then told her " listen, you are closing the doors of opportunity to the children of this community. You are the church of this community and tomorrow these children are going to know what you did. But if you open the doors for them to start getting an education, tomorrow they will remembered who did it." She gave me the keys right away.
What followed was one long month of hard work . These kids didn't have any discipline what so ever, lots of them were not used to be in the school so we had to start from scratch.
At the end of the month, it was pay day. My husband and I were sitting in the porch of the house, and he told me, " Now tell me, how are you going to pay these people tomorrow?" I didn't answer a word. I only point to the sky.
Not even ten minutes went by when a motorcyclist came to where we were sitting and asked for me.
He brought enough money to pay everybody the next day. ( miracle # 1)
My husband was not in agreement to start the school at this time because we didn't have any money, but forced by the need I witnessed I started it anyway. From that day God has not failed us yet.
Praise to the Lord on high.. He is forever faithful!
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