The Dominican Republic faces an urgent challenge with increasing rates of teen pregnancy, that results in abortion and school drop–outs.  According to media sources, 2000 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 gave birth in two hospitals in Santo Domingo, in the first quarter of 2007; in 2006, the number was 9,628 teenagers. In the city of Santiago, two hospitals registered that of the average 661 births per month, 27 percent of the mothers were adolescents under 19 years of age.

The majority of these teenage girls are obligated to leave school, in violation of Law 136-03. The girls are often expelled from educational centers, thus denying them their right to education and around 70 percent drop out after giving birth. These teenage moms are often rejected by their parents, which makes them choose abortion, or they get pregnant up to three more times, thus limiting their opportunities to improve and develop their lives. 

Even though the government and other institutions have shown concern for the increasing statistics regarding this issue, the efforts will not be enough until everyone in the society assumes responsibility.  Factually, pregnancies are more common among girls of low income families, poor economic backgrounds, and lesser education and opportunities. The dysfunction of families, the lack of motivation,  as well as the exposure to a culture saturated with images of self-gratification, beauty and sex are some of the underlying causes behind this problem.  However, the good news is many of our girls are willing to change, open to receive, and ready to succeed.  They just need a person to believe in them.   

Through “Power in Learning” the girls will receive an opportunity to seek other venues and explore better ways.  We want to help lighten the burden that families, schools and the government have in the fight to preserve this generation of girls.  This program will help to prevent more girls becoming a statistic each day. 

“ Power in Learning,” (PIL) strives to give young girls a real sense of their value and self-worth, and strengthen their self-esteem. Power in Learning involves spiritual knowledge, academic reinforcement, technical and craft skills, and sports development.  Through these four areas in our program, girls learn the power of their potential, and are empowered to believe in it and act upon it. Just as the bee weaves her hive with determination, strategy and effort, we help our girls weaved their way into purpose and destiny. 

Our vision is to restore this generation to a place of excellence, growth and transformation.

Our mission is to empower young girls to attain positions of leadership and influence their generation through God’s wisdom, knowledge and skills.