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New toilet for Bombita
COPA Health Adviser Amy Edelstein has recently sent a number of photographs of the construction phase of a new toilet block in Bombita. Amy writes in her email "After Storm Noel, most latrines were covered by the floods and the mud leaving the village to do their necessities in the cane fields in the village itself. The money for the latrine project was donated by a NGO that focuses on health. Now the village will have latrines shared between 3 households which excites them not only because they will have some privacy and cleanliness but because they will be able to have visitors from outside of the village to receive. The latrines are build up high to keep from water and mud blocking them and also this kind of latrine lasts longer and can be emptied and used again.” click here.
Graduation Day 2008
Graduation Day is always an exciting day for the 8th grade students and this particular event in 2008 was no exception. These pictures show some of the 8th grade students from La Hoya. In following tradition, the students gathered in the central park and walked with their Godmother or Godfather to the school for the ceremony. It was a very proud day for staff, students, families and COPA volunteers.
Rain and more rain
Severe weather conditions brought about by hurricanes Gustav and more recently Ike have had an impact on the Dominican Republic. Report in full>>>
The COPA UK AGM - 18th October 2008
Over the last few years the UK committee has pondered long and hard on how to involve more sponsors at the Annual General Meeting and has considered changing the location. The Hayley Westenra concert in October this year (raising funds for COPA and UNICEF) has provided a focus for us to do just this as it coincides with the date of our AGM. We have therefore decided, as an experiment, to hold the AGM in the afternoon of the concert at Wesley Place Methodist Church, Lawton Road, Alsager, Stoke-on-Trent, ST7 2RU.
It is still true that the largest proportion of sponsors is still from the Gloucester/Swindon area but there are a number of groupings elsewhere who are raising money and recruiting sponsors for COPA. One such group is the Wesley Place Methodist Church at Alsager, Stoke- on-Trent. As always, all sponsors are invited to attend and further details will appear on the website in September. We are sorry if this is inconvenient for some of our regular AGM attendees but we do feel it to be only fair to make this annual meeting available to other sponsors. We will of course review the situation for future years perhaps alternating between Gloucester and another venue. We would welcome your views.
The International Conference
In February 2008 representatives of COPA UK travelled to the Dominican Republic for an International Conference. Roger Tovey, UK Vice Chairperson provides details of the meeting.
Click here for other news stories from this year or click on one of the links below to download a newsletter.
Further newsletters will be available for downloading soon.
Thank you!
COPA would like to express a huge 'thank you' to sponsors and supporters who have held fundraising events or are planning to raise money for the Flood Appeal. A substantial amount has been raised so far and this will enable us to re-equip the schools and support the communities further.
Observing the COPA effect in the Dominican Republic
Committee members of COPA USA, UK and Guernsey and the COPA team in the DR met in the International COPA Conference. Faye Drewry, COPA USA committee member, said the conference was "both positive and productive."
Five months after Noel
Five months after Tropical Storm Noel caused so much destruction in Bombita and La Hoya, there are many signs that progress has been made in the clean-up operation.
Make a donation to the Flood Emergency Fund