The foundation has owned land in this village and has built a medical clinic, school, and is in the process of building a church. However, they have not been able to obtain permission to build houses -- until this week.
The story of the Samaritan's Foundation is a truly inspiring story and one full of miracles. There is man named Elio who was born in Italy. When he was a young man he accepted Christ as his Savior and his family would no longer let him live with them. So, he was very poor and didn't have a place to stay. Somehow he met some people and they arranged for him to move to Canada to work. Elio worked very hard and was able to save up a little money. He wanted to repay the people who had paid for him to move to Canada but they wouldn't take his money. They told him to do the same for others. Elio continued to work very hard and became a successful business man in Canada all the while helping people in Canada. Twenty years ago Elio and his wife retired to Florida. They went on a vacation to Dominican Republic. Elio went for a walk past the resort area and saw the poverty. He asked God, "Why do you allow this to happen?" Elio said that God told him, "What are you going to do about it?" So, Elio decided to help build one family a house. However, he couldn't stop with one house. So, he formed the Samaritan's foundation and twenty years later, Elio and the Samaritan's Foundation are still building. I don't know the exact count but I can off the top of my head name four whole villages that Samaritan's foundation has built. I am sure there are more.
The amazing thing is that the Samaritan's Foundation really doesn't do fund raising that I have ever heard of. It all God working through different people and laying it on people's hearts to help build houses and schools for the poor in the Dominican Republic.
Elio is now in his 80s and looking to slow down a bit. I am sure he prayed for someone to take over what he has been doing because God has blessed the Samaritan's foundation with a new wonderful couple to handle the day to day work of the Samaritan's foundation. That couple are my new good friends in the DR -- John and Jane Huizinga.
The village (Los Algodones) where Samaritan's foundation is now going to be able to build houses is a village where Haitan people live. The picture in this posting is one example of a house. It has extreme poverty but it is located in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The problem was that across the valley is a very rich new gated community. A high up government official lived in that community or somewhere near. From what I understand, he was blocking the development but 'somehow' he is no longer in office. So, the new people in charge saw the quality of work that was done with the school and the medical clinic so they have agreed to let Samaritan's Foundation start building houses in Los Algodones!!
Oh -- and by the way -- Elio has a new name for the area where the school, clinic, and church are located in this village. He has named it 'Villa Esperanza" (Village of Hope).
The house on the left is a cinder block house that Samaritan's foundation builds. It is a house in the Nazareth village. It generally has two bedrooms, a bathroom and a common room used for living and cooking. The shack on the right is what people in Los Algodones are living in today.
I am not doing justice to describing this story. It is truly a story of miracles. I hope someday somebody makes a movie about Elio and the Samaritan's foundation because it is truly inspiring.
1 comment:
Very interesting.
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