Dominican Republic, 2008

Magdalena and her mother had nothing when her father left. Then her mother mysteriously disappeared. Her biological father heard about Magdalena’s situation, and took her to live with him in the Dominican Republic. She had not had any schooling up to that point. 

When Magdalena Yan was just 2 years old, her father left Haiti for work in the Dominican Republic, and did not return. She and her mother were left with nothing, and they were starving. In desperation to survive, her mother married another man and they had three more children.

But when Magdalena was nine, her mother mysteriously disappeared. Her biological father heard about Magdalena’s situation, came back and took her to live with him in the Dominican Republic.

“I never had the opportunity to attend school up to that point, and did not speak Spanish, so no school would accept me,” Magdalena shared. “But the pastor of my church found a way to enroll me in the La Restaurada School sponsored by Outreach International.”

“The teachers had a lot of patience and dedication with me, and so I reached the first year of high school.  At 16, I am now enrolled in a course to become a beautician so I can earn a living.  My father had a terrible motorcycle accident three years ago and can’t work, but with my training I now have a future of hope.”

In Dominican Republic, 40% of students don’t have access to school. Public schools cannot subsidize more than 50%, and most families cannot afford private schools. For those children, there is little opportunity to make their dreams a reality.

Magdalena adds, “There are millions of hopeless people like me in the world, and they need someone, too. I am thankful someone was watching out for me.”