Hope Rising: Lifting Students Up in the DR

Reaching Children through Christ-centered Schools

Worldwide Christian Schools (WWCS) and Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM) are coming together in support of COCREF, an association in the Dominican Republic made up of 16 Christ-centered schools and over 4,000 students.  COCREF’s mission is to serve the most disadvantaged population in the nation, providing children in need with access to quality, Christ-centered schooling.

Gladis González is just one example of how COCREF schools are bringing hope, a Christian worldview, and a future to children who would most likely have little opportunity for an education or a life beyond their village. 

Gladis was born in a small town in the interior of the Dominican Republic, surrounded by small sugarcane villages. She attended COCREF schools as a child, and it was there that she learned of God’s love for her and committed her life to Christ.  She worked hard, graduated from high school with honors and, with the help of a scholarship, enrolled in a university where she studied modern languages.

Today Gladis teaches English, French and Spanish in one of the Christian schools she grew up in.  Her love of learning and her gratitude to God is evident in the joy she brings to her classes each day.  She says: “I am part of the teaching staff here for the glory and honor of my beloved Lord!” 

Sponsor a Student

22% (UNICEF 2000 – 2007) of school-aged children in the Dominican Republic do not attend school, often because their parents cannot afford school fees.  What can you do?  Help students like Gladis by becoming a student sponsor through Hope Rising! 

Hope Rising connects one sponsor with one student in the Dominican Republic.  For just over a dollar a day, you can give a child hope through Christ-centered education.

Sponsors cover the cost of education for a child who cannot afford tuition, including school operational costs, desks, uniforms and textbooks. 

What makes this program distinctive from other child sponsorship programs?  Hope Rising focuses on providing access to Christian education.  It grows at a measured pace, expanding only when all of the students at a partner school who are eligible for the program have a sponsor.  If one child has received a sponsorship pledge, all of the children in his or her family will also receive support.

Your Commitment

As a Hope Rising sponsor, you are investing in the life of a child.  When you choose to sponsor a student, we encourage you to commit to the duration of his or her education at a partner school, but you may opt out of the program at any time.

Personal Contact with your Sponsored Student

You will have the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with your sponsored student.  Each year you will receive:

• an up-to-date photo and profile of your student, including family background, life goals and educational progress
• letters, art or school work from your student and the opportunity to correspond with him or her

Become a Hope Rising sponsor today! 

In the US: Select a student and sign up for automatic support online at www.hoperisingdr.org.

In Canada: Canadians can support the initiative through CRWM-Canada’s COCREF  program www.crwm.org/projects