The work that the Global Education Fund has accomplished in the Dominican Republic is unique in comparison to our other projects in Latin America. The Los Marranitos community of the Dominican Republic has the highest illiteracy rate of any country receiving aid from GEF, a staggering 98%. We were introduced to this desperate community by Julia Alvarez, author from the Dominican Republic who has written books such as How Garcia Girls Lost their Accents and Love in the Time of Butterflies. With the help of Julia Alvarez and twenty-one volunteers from the St. Andrews church in Wellesley MA, the school and literacy center was erected in July, 2001. This building in the Los Marranitos community not only houses the books donated by GEF, but community members are able to visit the center for literacy training and book discussions. Since 2001, graduates of Middlebury College have been living in the village promoting literacy and training three librarians who will eventually run the library.
IMPROVING THE LIVES OF ORPHANS AND
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