Partnering with a Shared Purpose

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic

31 March 2010

It is often said that two heads are better than one, and that has proven true in the Dominican Republic. Most Church humanitarian efforts there succeed because of a trusted partner. Whether it is an NGO or a government agency, the Church seeks partners who share one purpose: to lift the lives of others above the rubble of poverty and despair to the great heights of self-reliance.

Sister Francom, a humanitarian missionary who serves with her husband in the D.R., said: “Part of our mission here is to find reputable partners with whom we can work. We look for a champion within that partnering agency who really wants to help people become self-reliant and raise their standard of living. Then we know that the program will be self-sustaining after we’re out of the picture.”

One of the Church’s partners in the D.R. is Sur Futuro. This NGO shares the Church’s commitment to community development in the country. LDS Charities and Sur Futuro have recognized that the economic depression of many villages in the D.R. can be ameliorated by improving farming techniques. These two organizations have labored together for three years to achieve this goal.

Sur Futuro supervises the farming project and identified two villages in desperate need of assistance. Elder Francom is grateful for Sur Futuro’s help in the identification process. He said: “One of the hardest things we have to do is to determine who to help. We so desperately want to help everyone, but we can’t. We work with our partner organization, who is trying to help the poorest of the poor.”

With this objective in mind, LDS Charities supplied pipe to the villagers. A group of local farmers dug the trenches—some of them as long as two kilometers—in order to get the water to the valley from a spring high in the mountain.

When the irrigation system was completed, Sur Futuro provided villagers with farming instruction—how to plant the crops and what sorts of crops to plant. The instructors understand the area and what is required for a successful harvest. LDS Charities provided seeds, small avocado trees, and oxen for plowing.

To ensure that villagers become self-reliant, Sur Futuro also teaches them how to manage budgets. Once the villagers are making more money by selling produce, the NGO follows up to make sure they are spending it correctly.

In addition, LDS Charities has site monitors in the two villages who monitor progress, take photographs, and report to Elder and Sister Francom. The reports reveal incredible results.

The lives of Dominicans in the two villages have been significantly improved and will continue to improve as they exercise principles of self-reliance. With the instruction and resources that they have been given from Sur Futuro and LDS Charities, they now have that ability. The project’s success would not have been possible without this strong partnership.

“This is an ideal partnership,” Kelvyn Cullimore, a short-term humanitarian specialist in the D.R., said with enthusiasm. “This is as good as it gets!”