History:  Christopher Columbus explored and claimed the island on his first voyage in 1492; it became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821 but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844.  In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865.

Population:  10,790,744 (2023 est.)

Language:  Spanish

Government:  Presidential Republic

Capital City:  Santo Domingo

Agricultural Products:  Sugar cane, bananas, papayas, rice, plantains, milk, avocados, fruit, pineapples, coconuts

Industries:  Tourism, sugar processing, gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco, electrical components, medical devices

Religions:  44.3% Roman Catholic, 13% Evangelical, 7.9% Protestant, 1.4% Adventist, 1.8% Other, 29.4% None

Our Ministry Partner:  CECCAI-Centro Cristiano de Capacitación y Ayuda Infantil (Christian Center of Formation and Children’s Help) is our ministry partner in the Domican Republic.  CECCAI was founded by Pastor Kendar Robles and his wife Hozanna through Iglesia Bautista Getsemani (Gethsemane Baptist Church).  Their mission is to bring hope to this desperate community through the good news of the gospel and transform the poverty mindset.  

They currently serve in the community of Los Tres Brazos, specifically the area of the Basurero (Trash Dump).  This is a community steeped in poverty. Currently, families are living on top of the trash, using decomposing trash to even the land and provide a piece of “land” that is free. The estimated median income in the community (not statistical but estimated) is between $40 and $50 a month, with many living below that level and very few with any consistent form of income.