Academia de La Montanita Cristiana

Stretching internationally to address the socio-educational plight of children in the Dominican Republic, Rhema Christian Ministries completed its first overseas elementary school – Academia de La Montanita Cristiana in August 2005. This institution has been designed to educate and equip poor and orphaned children living in a small village in the city of Barahona called La Montanita.

Barahona is the 5th largest city in the Dominican, located near the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and is approximately 200KM west of the capital city, Santo Domingo. The children of La Montanita are extremely impoverished; approximately 30% are orphans- usually living with poor relatives, or on the streets. The remaining 70% are children living in abject poverty, whose parents cannot find work, or find sufficient food to adequately feed and care for their children.

Rhema commenced work on this project in 2002, in partnership with a local church in Barahona called Iglesia Evangelista Jerusalem. Since 1984, the Pastor of this local church has been providing hot meals, medicine and basic education to the poor and orphaned children of Barahona.

Academia de La Montanita Cristiana currently provides education, biblical teaching and nutritious meals to 105 children in the region daily. To effectively cater to the educational needs of these children, the school day is divided into two sessions. Session 1 is held from 8:30am – 12:00pm and Session 2 is held from 1:00pm – 4:30pm. A brief description of the education and nutrition programs is provided below.

Education Program

• The curriculum has been developed by trained teachers to meet the educational requirements of the Dominican Republic;
• Classes are delivered in Spanish;
• The program offers children courses such as basic math, language skills, English (as a second language), basic computer knowledge, Christian teachings and other life-skills that will help them in the future;
• Physical education; and
• Classes are segmented into junior, intermediate and senior levels.

Nutrition Program

• Children are provided with one nutritious meal per day to aid in their growth and development