Cottage micro-businesses

Helping others is part of all we do, and there are several ways in which we do that. 

1) We try to meet immediate needs like food, clothing, school supplies, shoes, etc. by providing it whenever we can. We usually do this with the help of visiting teams from the U.S.   As frequently as we have doctors or dentists available we also do medical and/or dental outreaches and through the donations of glasses by the Lions Club, we provide vision clinics as well.

2) Restoration Ranch is a more long-term approach. By raising children with the training and education they need to become productive and successful citizens, we hope to reduce the numbers of people who need others to provide for them.

3) A third way we assist others is by helping them help themselves. Many in these poor communities have abilities and talents and a desire to work, but lack other resources. When we discover these people we work with them to find a way for them to have their own cottage industry and provide for their family with dignity, using their talents. 

Tanya and Marcia

We first met Tanya when she and her sister approached us to ask for prayer. Tanya was intentionally blinded at the age of 7, was raped at the age of 13, and delivered a child before her 14th birthday. Her father was jailed for the rape, and her mother, Marcia, attempts to provide for her family of 7 children. Her blind daughter is the oldest. Marcia knows how to sew, but had no machine and no customers in  her extremely  poor neighborhood. Through supporters of this ministry a sewing machine was purchased for her. Now Restoration Ranch has contracted with her to make souvenir pillows so that she has a way to feed and house her family. It is also a means for  individuals like you to help her do so.

Sports and Equipment

Life is hard in the poor communities where we work most frequently. One of the easiest ways to encourage wonderful personal interaction and create fun is through sports. We often arrive in a neighborhood carrying bats, balls, glove, soccer balls, footballs, frisbees, and other equipment needed to put together whatever form of fun the group needs.  While we always bring equipment to leave behind, we quickly learned that it would be impossible to provide every child with the equipment desired so we created a sports lending library.  The kids come and ask for what they need for that day's activity. They are then expected to return it so that others can do the same.  It's been a wonderful success so far.

 Education, Tools, and Supplies

Public school is free of charge here, but children are required to wear a uniform and provide their school supplies.  This is frequently completely unattainable for some families. The uniforms are very inexpensive, but often that is all the parents can pay for.  Restoration Ranch, through the donations from its many US support teams, has been providing school supplies for every child in two separate school systems each year.  While it varies occasionally, each child usually is supplied with notebooks, pencils, pens, scissors, ruler, markers, erasers, and other odds and ends. They get so excited. 

Restoration Ranch, again through donations from churches and individuals, provided computers and printers to both schools so the teachers could have the tools needed to do their work better. We even provided a salary for one teacher for nearly two years.
​

Medical, Dental, and Vision

Restoration Ranch has been blessed with so many open doors in the communities that we always have a school, a church, or a community center in which we can set up dental, medical, or vision clinics.  These are limited primarily by the cost of providing basic medicines for each campaign. Those who cannot afford a doctor usually cannot pay for the medicines needed to bring relief to their ailments either.  So each clinic we do, (dental or medical) includes basic medicines free of charge to the patients.  through donations from the Lions Club, Our vision clinics give eye glasses to each patient as well.

Food and Clothing

Many of the poorest and most remote areas struggle to have even the most simple things, such as food or clothing. Most of the groups who come down to work at Restoration Ranch are also taken to some of these areas where they have the experience of providing rice, beans, and toiletries to each person in the community. Many times we are also able to give them shoes and/or clothing. It's a humbling experience and more than once we have seen a team member so moved by it that they gave away their own shoes, placing them on the rough dirty feet of another, and walked away barefoot.

Water

Through our connection with Will and Tara, their pastors and friend, Bart Smelley, we were introduced to an organization called Filter of Hope. Through them Restoration Ranch and the groups who come have been able to provide water filters to the poorest of the poor so that they can have clean water available. To an American or most Europeans that may not seem like a big deal, but many of the illnesses we treat in our medical clinics are directly or indirectly tied to the unavailability of clean water. They drink from rivers where animals leave their waste, neighbors take a bath, or a local house builder washes out his paint brushes.  This doesn't include the natural amoeba and bacteria that abound. We are so thankful for this connection that has such a huge impact on the health of our communities..

Drug Rehab
​

One of our favorite outreaches is to an local home for rehabilitation of addicts. Men willingly come to this residential home where they live and are taught skills and coping methods until they are strong enough to leave and make a fresh start. We were introduced to this particular location by Milkella, who told us that these 37 men were running out of food; they had enough for one more day.  Restoration Ranch and the group that was with us agreed that we would buy food and head up the mountain to help these men who were working so diligently to put their life back on track.  We now go as frequently as possible to take resources to our guys there in Ocoa and to support them in their efforts to begin a new life.
​

English 

Dominican law requires that English be taught in schools.  However, most of the rural schools have no one available who even speaks english.  In this economy being able to speak English increases your job opportunities and salary possibilities tremendously.  We started out helping with English learning by doing a two week intensive workshop. Then we had an intern come and volunteer his time to teach English all year long in two local schools.  Now we have morphed that again. Tara is also teaching the teachers how to speak and teach English! Once they can speak and teach the language they will then do the work of teaching the students each and every year.  Productive long-term community development.