Dominican Republic

health & wellness for at-risk communities

Through relationship, humility, and compassion we strive to break the barrier of religion and bring light into dark places. Our hope is to RAIZ up and empower children and local leaders in their own communities and grow the Kingdom of God.

We had the honor of serving women who work so hard in serving their community every day. These women cook to feed the hungry children in their village for Journey Into Hope. We had a small team of friends who wanted to help us show our gratitude and admiration that we have for these ladies by giving them a day of being pampered. We washed tired feet, painted pretty nails, ate treats - chocolate of course, listened to music, and enjoyed getting to know one another! Thank you Niki, Victoria, Alexis, & Yohanna! Beautiful hearts!

Women Serving Women - Spa Day

We had the honor of serving the hard-working women from Journey Into Hope - Sabaneta.

On our first trip into the impoverished village of Loma Bajita, we encountered Carlos. He is a young man that had his leg crushed and femur completely broken working on a construction site. He had no way of affording medical care nor surgery. Unfortunately, this is a very common injury in the Dominican Republic. Many people suffer trauma that they cannot afford to treat, so the wounds get worse until a broken leg turns into an amputation. These men can no longer work and provide for their families. In the most severe cases, these amputations become infected and end up causing gangrene and eventual death. We were lucky to find Carlos a month and a half after his initial injury. He was in immense pain, and the wound was infected, but we knew that if we could get him surgery right away, his leg would be saved. We reached out to our friends and family on social media for help to raise the money needed for his surgery, and they responded! Because of the positive response and huge hearts of our friends, we were able to pay for Carlos' surgery and post-operative care. He is doing very well in his recovery. His life is now completely changed thanks to the generous donations we received. Thank you to everyone who made this possible! We will continue to post updates along his road to recovery.

Update! Carlos is working so hard in physical therapy. We are so proud of him. Each day when we go to pick him up for therapy, he is early (which is rare for island culture) and so full of joy. He is getting stronger and more mobile. Carlos is sincerely grateful and feels indebted to us - we have assured him that, because of the love of Christ, his debt has already been paid. We will continue a relationship with him - we are excited about his future.

Carlos's Surgery

Update of Physical Therapy! You All Made This Possible! Carlos had broken his femur one and a half months before we found him. He was desperate with no hope of a surgery.

We were called when a 6 year-old girl was rushed to the capital for emergency eye surgery. She was playing with scissors and accidently poked her eye. She has already received one surgery, and needs another surgery to possibly save her eye. We are so grateful for our FaceBook family who immediately stepped up and raised the money for this surgery. During this process, it was discovered that she has sickle cell anemia. She is currently undergoing treatment to become stronger and hopefully able to receive the second eye surgery. Please be in prayer for her and her mom. We will keep everyone updated.

Little Manuela

Manuela - 6 year old girl. When trying to save her eye from an accident, we discovered that she has sickle cell anemia. She is struggling to be strong enough for surgery.

In the village of Loma Bajita, where we have been working for the last month, we immediately discovered a severe problem that was infecting the entire community. Scabies, or skin lice, is a highly contagious infection that causes unbearable itching, rashes, and sores. We found that every family in this community was suffering with this problem and decided that we had to respond. In order to rid an entire village of scabies, you must treat every home and every individual at one time. This is a massive undertaking, but we are excited to improve the everyday lives of these wonderful people. Along with providing all of the necessary elements for treatment, we will help educate the people on prevention techniques to help keep this village from becoming infected once again. On April 19th, we are going to distribute all of the treatment by going individually into the 300 homes in Loma Bajita. We expect to treat 1,500 people on that day, as well as working with the community leaders to make sure all of the necessary steps are taken. We are so blessed to be joined by our friends from 4 other mission organizations: GoMad, Love Restored, Journey Into Hope, and Samaritan Foundation. Please pray for us as we approach this massive project!

PROJECT COMPLETED!! Thanks to all who volunteered and the village leaders led by Bato & Sonia, the treatment was a great success. The people were so grateful and followed directions in treating their families. The village children now show their scares where they "USED to have scabies" with joy. We are so grateful for all of our Raiz supporters!

Treating 1,500 in One Day - Project Completed!!

This village is in desperate need of treatment for scabies (skin mites). We will be treating 1,500 people - 300 families in one day.

We were asked by our friend, Richard, to help medically in Villa Loma Bajita. As we went in for the first time, we encountered so many medical needs. The village is densely populated with one bedroom homes stacked against each other. The Haitian children and their families greeted us warmly. We teamed up with Dr. Dre- who has just finished medical school and has family living in this village- and went home to home caring for the needs. Many children had cold symptoms, but several of the babies were suffering from pneumonia. It seems unfathomable that a cheap antibiotic is not financially possible for the mother to afford, even when it comes down to life or death. But, unfortunately, this is the reality. The fatality rate in 3rd world countries due a lack a simple resources is staggering. It's one thing to read about situations like this, but a totally sobering to hold the children in your arms. We started the babies on Amoxicillin, which was about $4 for each baby. You could see the relief as the mothers said, "merci!" (thank you). We followed up several times the next week, and within 14 days, the babies were all well. Many of you watched the video that we posted of this little guy above, and have asked about his situation. He and the young lady who has taken him in are both doing well. We will continue to provide update on this villages' fight with pneumonia.

Babies With Pneumonia

When working in the village, Loma Bajita (Redemption) for the first time, we did not know what to expect.

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RAIZ is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.