My Nonprofit Reviews

I have had a wonderful and exceptional experience working with ALP. They have a unique, streamlined process that is distinct and powerful in the aid world. With ALP, you are put in touch with the needs of a unique school, rather than a Westerner's idea about what a rural school in far away 'Africa' might need. In my case, a couple of friends and I collected books tailored to the needs of Good Shepherd High School in Siteki, Swaziland. The school had asked specifically for books that would cater to its community library, which had mostly young readers. They also asked for schools that would open up the minds of young Swazis to technology. That is exactly what we tried to fulfill.

On the tail end of the process, it is the receiver that has to pay for bringing the books from the port to the schools. This idea is embedded in the philosophy that the receivers have to take ownership of the books. Furthermore, the ALP board makes an effort to use their own personal funds to go to different countries on the African continent and see if the books are taken care of. All this is pretty much unheard in the development industry, where expensive 'experts' fly first class on aid money and live lavishly in the developing world (see William Easterly's White Man's Burder and Deborah Brautigam's The Dragon's Gift).

So to ALP, here is a well-deserved and overdue 5-star ranking from a kid who grew up reading your books back in Swaziland.

I was a volunteer for early February 2013 for 8 days. The Mariposa Foundatio. Took great care of us (the volunteers from Middlebury College) and exposed us to the work they were in the works of setting up, currently doing, and well as how they had grown from the work doen in the previous year. It was an authentic experience in that it was a beautiful mixture of Dominicans and non-Dominicans workin together to improve the lives (yes, quite literally all the factes of life) for young Dominican girls/teens.

I would recommend one to try out the Mariposa Foundation experience to get a taste of the beauty Nd great potential of the Dominican Republic

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