F.A.Q.

What is Project Esperanza's relationship with the Dominican government?

Project Esperanza is registered with the Dominican government as an ONG (Organización No Gubernamental - Non-Governmental Organization).

Personnel in the office of the Secretary of Education in the capital of Santo Domingo are prepared to give their support by helping to register our home school and grassroot schools as official Dominican schools.

What is Project Esperanza's relationship with Virginia Tech?

We are registered as a Student Organization on the Virginia Tech campus. We work with VT students and professors who help us raise awareness about our project and volunteer their time. We have also worked with the Service Learning Center at Virginia Tech, which has provided support and volunteers for our after-school program.

Have you received any recrimination for working with Haitian street kids, who are not looked on favorably by Dominicans?

Yes. We are going through a very gradual process of growing roots in Puerto Plata and continuing ongoing dialogues with residents about why we do what we do, what they think about it, and how we can work together. There are always negative attitudes towards the population of people that we work with, but there are also successes in terms of bridges being built between our cultures.

So who's actually in charge of this organization? 

Many people are surprised to learn that our non-profit is led by recently graduated college students. Though our leadership is young, we have gained valuable experience through the trials of launching and maintaining our project. We have a readiness to learn from the people and institutions around us combined with an unwavering mission to develop our goals.

Where do your funds come from?

The majority of our funds come from donors who live in Blacksburg and other areas of Virginia (as well as a few out-of-state and international supporters). This has given our organization a unique foundation of total community support. Though we are now seeking larger sources of funding through grants, our local community will always play an important role in making things happen in our programs both in Blacksburg and in the Dominican Republic.