Get To Know the YMCA (ACJ) of the Dominican Republic

The YMCA (ACJ) of the Dominican Republic was founded in 1967 and, since the very beginning, has focused its programs on children coming from the poor districts of Santo Domingo city.

The YMCA was the first in the country to start programs for street children and also pioneered the first private technical school to allow people on a low income people to learn a profession in just a few months.

Currently the YMCA has four different branches with a membership of almost 1,500 children in school programs, from kindergarten to the eight grade of secondary school. In addition more than 800 hundred young people and adults, especially women and single mothers, are learning a trade in our technical school and in our beauty school.

Nutrition for Life is another important YMCA program, through which the YMCA provide hundreds of thousands of prenatal multivitamin pills to maternity hospitals and to others organisations specialising in nutrition. More than 10,000 women benefit from this program.

The YMCA has a strong program for youth called Cuerpo de Lideres George Williams, (The George Williams Leaders Body). This leadership program directly involves more than 165 members and has been an important way of promoting the work of the YMCA.

Our young leaders are involved in many social welfare activities that include HIV and AIDS and drugs prevention programs, self-esteem programmes, recreational activities, public relations and work in the community with homeless people and others.

Every year the YMCA sends young people to the USA to participate in a work and travel program organised by the YMCA International of New York. This year about 55 young people will join the US Summer Camp Programs.

In 2007 the YMCA is looking for ways to extend its programs to others communities and to open new branches in other cities of the Dominican Republic. Our vision is to create a YMCA Federation. The YMCA runs on a deficit so we are planning to open programs for the middle classes to try to generate more income and not be dependent on international support.

Andres Fortunato
YMCA Dominican Republic

“Get to know the YMCA” is a new feature to profile the work of YMCAs around the world. If you would like to share more about your YMCA, please contact danthe@ymca.int