“Children will not remember you for the material things you provided but for the feeling that you cherished them.” ~ Richard L. Evans
In three days, I am returning to the Dominican Republic and am super excited!! Partly because the Canadian winter is harsh and I am ready to thaw but mostly because I can’t wait to see my students. I have volunteered for over a year teaching English at the top of a mountain in Santo Domingo.
Since being home in Canada, I have visited schools in the Windsor/Leamington area distributing over 300 letters written by these Dominican children. And this time when I return to the DR, I am bringing loads of letters written by some pretty wonderful children here in Canada (the letters above…) I want to say thank you to all of the teachers and children that have participated in this project in both countries.
Meeting and connecting the children through old fashioned letter writing has reinforced my belief that despite cultural and material differences in wealth – we are the same. We love our families, our pets, our friends, we like to laugh and play. Each group of children drew similar pictures, joked with each other and were excited about sharing their experiences with a new friend.
The intention of starting this pen pal program was to simply connect children, creating awareness of and to focus on our similarities despite where we live in the world. I am grateful for the new connections made and am so excited and inspired about continuing and developing other ideas for future programs.
It all starts with one idea 🙂 Follow Your Heart!!
Best wishes to you today!
Kelly McIntyre M.Sc.
