By Anna Cait Wade | Associate Director of Donor Relations
Dear Friends,
Thanks to supporters like you, the Mariposa Center for Girls is becoming more beautiful every day! The Mariposa Center, a home away from home for 150 girls, provides a refuge for Dominican and Haitian girls to learn, play and grow in a safe, nurturing environment. On our campus, we are educating the leaders of tomorrow. For this reason, we take special care in designing a dynamic learning center for our girls.
This summer, through a collaborative effort of more than 300 international volunteers, we created an interactive reading garden in a previously unused part of campus - the area between the back of the building and security wall. This new walking garden was inspired by the beloved children’s book by Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. For the Mariposas, which translates to butterflies in English, this story of a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly is the perfect visualization of growth and transformation. Mariposas begin programs at age 8 and continue until they are 18. Throughout this decade, they undergo a number of changes, confront many obstacles and become leaders in their community. As the girls walk through the garden, they can see themselves evolving right alongside the very hungry caterpillar.
At the end of this summer, our Center is saying hasta pronto to nine of the original Mariposas who recently graduated from high school. When they first began programs, the Mariposa Center did not exist. After Mariposa purchased the land and dilapidated building that has become our beloved Center for Girls, these young women and their families helped to clean and renovate it. Mariposa graduate, Aritza, who will be attend United World College Costa Rica in the fall, remarks, “The Mariposa Center has been my second home, where I have developed as a person and where I came to know my second sisters. This garden for las chiquitas will be their safe place where they can reflect and express their feelings.”
As we say goodbye to the Mariposas who have found their wings, we continue to improve and beautify the Center for those that follow behind them. We send our gratitude to each one of you who make it possible for our Center to continuously transform and change into a place of inspiration, creativity and stewardship for the girls who call it home.
With gratitude,
The girls, families, staff and volunteers at The Mariposa DR Foundation
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