Sharing Our Holly & Jolly

"When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully,
everyone is blessed."
~ Maya Angelou

Happy holidays, beautiful yogis!

This week, I am dedicating my newsletter, and my Saturday morning class, to a phenomenal cause: the Saugatuck High School Interact Club and their decade-long effort to support the children in Batey 106, Dominican Republic.

First, a little background. A batey is a small village home to sugarcane workers and their families. These people typically have immigrated from Haiti, and the low wages earned from cutting sugar cane aren’t enough to match the cost of living, let alone get ahead. 

Sugarcane production is the Dominican Republic's largest and most important export, and there are an estimated 500,000 to 1 million Haitians working in the sugar industry.
 
The Interact Club at Saugatuck High School has been working with, Batey 106 since 2012. Over the years, the Interact Club has raised money for the following:

• Clean water filters;
• Two community latrines;
• 3 classrooms for the local school;
• And now, they aim to build a playground.

Twenty-one Saugatuck High School students are heading back to Batey 106 in January 2022. Because of the longstanding relationship with the batey, the Saugatuck students get to be involved throughout the entire process:

• Interviewing community members to assess needs and desires; 
• Planning and problem solving for the decided project; 
• Raising funds to match the project budget;
• Working in person on the project and with the community. 

It's this last one where the magic really happens.

Yes, Batey 106 benefits from the work of the Interact Club and its donors. 

And, every student who works on the project and makes the trip . . . is transformed.   ​

---

Click here to see how you can join the Holly Jolly