Fundacion Marlee Jo - from a fan's point of view

I remember a few years back, in 2004,  when I visited my friends Limor (Nessa) and Ofir (Oro) for the first time since they moved to the Dominican Republic, the way they were with the local kids. On every trip, either long or short, driving or walking through towns and villages, whenever there were kids playing on the side of the road, and they always do, or stopping in and around the villages exploring, they always had a bag of sweets to hand out to the kids. The nice thing, I always thought, in the way they were doing it was that they never gave away the bag to let the kids divide it between themselves. No, they would take a few out of the bag and hand them one by one to make sure everyone will get some. It didn't look as if that was all, from Nessa's and Oro's perspective; it wasn't just "to give the poor kid a sweet". They always enjoyed talking and playing with them before continuing on to their destination. It always looked as they enjoyed it themselves, maybe even more than the kids...

A few years later they had their own kids. The kids of "Agua Sabrosa". Over 60 kids currently, and growing. I am one of their witnesses from the beginning. I heard the stories of how it was founded, the connection between the two with Marlee-Jo Jacobson, the woman behind the idea and the finance of the foundation at the start. I am watching it growing and developing through the years with their main drive of building a community center to provide good health and education with the hope to have a better future for these kids and the village in general. Most of the people in this charming village live without running water and until recently no electricity in the beautiful surroundings of El-Limon, Samana.
Three years ago Limor and Ofir bought a plot of land in the village but did not have enough money at the time to build the center. They put their mark in the middle of the plot, a little shed, just a floor and a roof so at least they would have a little space to hold their activities in rainy days.

Last year they managed to start the constructions from donations received through the years. Unfortunately it is still not complete due to finance reasons, but they do have a building now with what is planned to be a classroom, a library room, a kitchen, a clinic and toilets. Still no doors or windows, but it's definitely a huge progress.
Their work is not limited to Carnivals and construction. The list is long. In addition to their weekly activities in the village they often take the kids on trips, help financing schools for the more misfortunes, medical treatments and medicines, handling emergency situations as well as the smooth running of the foundation. That sounds like impressive words, right? What does it mean though?... it means they keep lists and records of all their kids with their data such as birth date (if known), family relations, education level and health problems. They have folders with all the kid's work and art from their activities, anything to keep track of their level and progress. They are constantly in search for donations and volunteer work of professionals . They organise medical teams that come and spend a few days (voluntarily) to examine the kids, consult and treat them. They contact specialists to come and talk with the kids on important subjects as sex and safety. They collect and organise donations of any sort such as 2nd hand cloths, toys and manage its distribution fairly and evenly. In short, the work never ends. And did I mention that all this work is done by the two of them alone? Of course there are some temporary volunteers that come and go but also their visits and donations are all properly managed and recorded.

So do I sound as a sales person trying to promote this incredible work? Yes, I do. Because one year after my first visit to Agua Sabrosa, I see progress. I see the same kids as last year (and many more) a bit calmer, a bit more disciplined. I see the kids enjoying sitting down with board games, books and coloring papers, learning how to play chess and not just running outside playing or fighting being the macho man. How they are aware when they're doing something bad or wrong. How they feel proud when they receive a positive feedback for doing right or given a responsible task. Maybe the two of them won't change the world and maybe they won't be able to help the whole village but even if only one kid will be able to go to university and get a good education, that, in my view is worth the effort. Even if only just one girl in this village will not be pregnant before she turns 18 years old, it will be worth it and it should be encouraged. But how about the scenario of fulfilling their currently new dream of establishing a Montessori school in their ground and have 20 kids going on to university in the capital or abroad, how about that? Is that a fantasy from another dream, or is it just about possible to achieve?

 
Fundacion Marleejo website

View movies on YouTube channel

Contact Limor and Ofir: fundacionmarleejo@gmail.com

More own stories from a fan's point of view on the fundacion can be found on its own page here in this blog.