The Bishop's Message

Our Episcopal Schools: Educate...a Permanent Challenge for the Church

In the Dominican Episcopal Church, we have adopted a phrase that has a profound meaning. It is a great teaching for those with whom we identify, for we are committed to the education of young people: "What we do for a child today is what society will receive from them in the future."

Since 1920, the Church in the Dominican Republic has dedicated a large portion of its resources to the education of children and young people. Thus, in our classrooms, tens of thousands of people have learned to read and have graduated from high school, and then were able to continue on to university studies.

The Church now has 16 schools. The smallest have less than 50 children, the largest around 900. However, 16% of our population is illiterate, and 56% of the adult population has not passed eighth grade.

As a result of the poverty in which we live, a considerable number of our students are from families with limited resources. As indicators of that poverty, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) reports that forty-two of each thousand babies born in our country will die, and twenty-five percent of the total population is malnourished. These facts ought to be of concern even to those who are not practicing Christians.

So as to aid a goodly number of students in their formal education, the Diocese of the Dominican Republic has developed a scholarship program for the most needy. This past year we provided scholarships for over 400 children. 

The resources to cover the cost of the scholarships come from hundreds of "angels" of God from diverse parishes across the United States, and other places, where, with a great spirit if disinterested generosity, once a year they send $250 to $350 to provide a scholarship for the education of a Dominican child.

For the school year which began this September, we hope to provide 500 scholarships for poor children in our schools. For this reason, we appeal to the good will and charity of Christian brothers and sisters of the Church, in our country, in the United States, and in other latitudes, to provide scholarships to educate more children. We remember the phrase, "What we do for a child today is what society will receive from them in the future," This is in harmony with Jesus' words when he affirms, 'He who receives a child in my name, receives me."

May God pour his blessings upon you all.

Faithfully in Christ,

+ The Rt. Rev. Julio C. Holguin

Diocesan Bishop