By Deron Denton
The story surrounding the naming of La Canela – a community in the province of Santiago, Dominican Republic – is that neighbors would meet in the shade of a wild canela tree (canela is Spanish for “cinnamon”) to discuss business and other issues. When the area was being settled, around 1920, there were roughly 35 families who farmed this land, and their homes were relatively far apart.
“People used to get together at such a tree,” confirmed an elderly man named Mr. Ramon to our staff in Santiago. “This became a custom and for this reason, today this place is called La Canela.”
"The Only One"
Residents in La Canela also tell of a street that is named after Children International. When visitors ask about the origins of the street’s name, they would do well to speak – as we did – with the very active volunteer moms who petitioned the city government to give the street its name.
Among them was the community matriarch whose nickname translates as “The Only One.” Her real name is Isibelkis Almonte. She has been a volunteer mom with the organization since the year Children International began enrolling children here.
“When I started volunteering in 1988,” she told us, “my son was only two. He wasn’t even sponsored then. I still have two [other] sons in the program. Both of them,” she says, “are grateful…and pray for their sponsors every night.”
Children International Ave.
Like the boulevard that intersects with Children International Avenue, the gratitude runs wide in La Canela. Another of the more vocal volunteer mothers we spoke with was Elizabeth Silverio. She’s been volunteering almost as long as Isibelkis.
“We wanted to name the street [after Children International] because of the many ways the organization has benefited the people and improved the community,” said Elizabeth.
“The former city council,” added Isibelkis, “named streets after people who didn’t really help us or who weren’t even Dominicans. So we all got together and wrote a letter asking the government to rename the street after Children International.”
It is obvious that the residents of La Canela take a great deal of pride in their community. Hardly a piece of trash littered the streets. Many of the homes, though obviously built and occupied by impoverished families, were painted and in relatively good shape.
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A few of La Canela’s volunteer moms proudly gather under
the street sign for which they petitioned the city government. |
From the heart
The mothers ascribed much of the community’s improvement over the past 20 years to the presence of Children International. “Children used to walk the streets without shoes,” Elizabeth told us, “and the streets themselves were more dangerous to walk on. The children were sick more often. Now they are generally much healthier.”
The moms mentioned other improvements they attributed to the organization: numerous home repairs, book donations to schools and libraries – even the fact that the local park was being improved.
“Volunteer mothers and the active youth program have been directly responsible for some of these things,” Isibelkis said. “Having the program here has certainly had an influence on all of these improvements. The program benefits the entire community, not just the sponsorship community.”
Elizabeth agreed, stating, “All the things the children and youth learn, they teach to other children – even non-sponsored children. They often give presentations and workshops in school.” The topics they cover include everything from health and nutrition to computer classes and civic responsibility.
She also added that their efforts to get the street named after Children International – and all the volunteer work they do – is a pleasure. “It’s not really work,” she said, “it is giving back. What we do, we do from the heart.”
Seeing a street named after the organization that you support is really the same as having a street named after you – our sponsors. In La Canela, as in communities all over the world, you are helping impoverished residents find their way out of the dead-end of poverty.
Sponsor a needy child and begin your own special connection.
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