Wakefield Rotary Helps Supply Dominican School

The Wakefield Rotary Club announced this week that it had provided $5,000 for new equipment at a school in an impoverished region of the Dominican Republic.

According to the announcement, La Escuela Cajuil is a new school in the Dominican town of Macao. Local Rotary members worked with Dominican counterparts from the Rotary Club of Punta Cana-Bavaro to provide the supplies.

Specifically, the funds from Wakefield reportedly helped purchase: 50 children's desks, a teacher's desk and chair, a water cooler, filing cabinets, cleaning and janitorial supplies, and 50 basic learning books and literacy supports.

"When we heard that the kids needed simple things, we knew we could help," said Wakefield Rotary Club President Amy Luckiewicz. "Our Board of Directors acted very fast, just like they would for a local need, and approved the funds to be sent to our partner club in the Dominican Republic."

In their announcement, the Wakefield Rotary explained that the project began last year when member Bob Mailhoit was talking to some real estate clients about the club's interest in supporting an international project. The clients, Paul and Dolores Tierney, were reportedly planning to relocate to the Dominican Republic and are members of the previously mentioned Punta Cana-Bavaro Rotary. 

On Friday, the Dominican Rotary members plan to present the new school to community members in Macao. Looking ahead, Wakefield Rotary members Suzanne Bowering and Lisa Roderick plan to go to Punta Cana for vacation this summer and will bring extra luggage filled with school supplies to personally give the teachers.

Along with this, the Wakefield High School Rotary Interact Club will reportedly send the school some sporting goods as part of their first international service project.

“We don’t want this to be just a one-time financial project,” said Mailhoit. “It’s important to us that the kids know that people want to invest in their education. In fact, it’s one of the best things our club can invest in locally as well.”

For more about the Wakefield Rotary, visit their Facebook page here.