Early Education and Childcare on Saona Island
As part of our mission to extend the Hogar del Niño educational model nationwide, we took a major step with the opening of Hogar del Niño-Saona on 26 June 2024. This initiative represents a firm commitment to education and child well-being in communities with limited access to essential services.
A safe space for learning and child development. Hogar del Niño-Saona offers a safe and stimulating environment for the island’s children, providing quality care and education to:
18 babies from 2 months to 2 years old, cared for from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. by a dedicated team of professionals, including trained teachers and assistants.
19 children aged 3 to 6, taught by three teachers employed by Patronato Benéfico Oriental, Inc., ensuring structured learning adapted to their needs.
Impact on the community. Saona Island, with more than 500 residents spread across its 110 km², faces significant challenges in access to education. By opening this centre we aim to ease one of the main difficulties affecting the island’s families: having to send their children to live with relatives or friends off the island in order to go to school.
Every year more than 60 children have to leave the island temporarily to access formal education. With this new centre we hope to reduce that figure and provide an accessible, quality educational alternative within the community itself.
More than 200 families will also benefit directly from this project, ensuring their children receive care and education in a suitable environment without being separated from their family.
A promising future. The opening of Hogar del Niño-Saona is only the beginning. With the support of our community, our donors and our strategic partners, we will keep working to strengthen and expand this educational model, so that more children in vulnerable communities have access to quality education from early childhood.
If you would like to contribute to this cause or learn more about our projects, we invite you to join our mission. Together we can make a difference in the lives of these children and their families.
In pictures
The Hogar del Niño Infant Room on Saona Island.
This programme exists because someone sustains it
The Patronato is funded by donations from individuals and companies, and by the income from its own self-sustaining projects. Every contribution turns into meals, classes and medical care that happen tomorrow morning.
