By all measures the new Ciudad del Cielo school will be much more than just another school, regional Seventh-day Adventist church leaders said during the official inauguration of the new facilities in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on July 26.
“We are talking about a brand-new school in an area with about 80 Adventist congregation and no nearby options of Adventist education,” they reported. “This will be an education and evangelism center.”
Leaders and officers follow the program on July 26, including Maranatha Volunteers International country director Gilberto Araújo and his wife, Glaúcia.
Photo: Dominican Union Conference
Church leaders, government officers, and Maranatha Volunteers International leaders participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Ciudad del Cielo school in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, July 26.
Photo: Maranatha Volunteers International
Facade of the new Ciudad del Cielo school in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on its inauguration day.
Photo: Maranatha Volunteers International
Community members and guests filled the main hall of the new Ciudad del Cielo school in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Photo: Maranatha Volunteers International
An Ongoing Evangelistic Series
The new facilities became a reality thanks to the steady support and involvement of Maranatha Volunteers International (Maranatha), a supporting ministry of the Adventist Church that builds churches and schools and digs water wells around the world.
Maranatha leaders also agreed that the school is poised to become more than just another educational institution.
“We are talking here about a center of evangelism,” said Laura Noble, in charge of Maranatha donor relations. “It’s like offering a 15-year-long evangelistic series, five days a week, for at least nine months a year. It reinforces the importance of Adventist education.”
The completion of the Ciudad del Cielo campus, including its new school, was the result of three years of hard work and major donor commitments, especially after the sudden death of Darrell Hardy, former Maranatha vice president of construction, in November 2022.
After his untimely death Maranatha decided to support the completion of the project, one of the last initiatives in which Hardy had been involved, to honor the memory of his service.
The results speak for themselves, Maranatha leaders and others attending the inauguration ceremony said. Gabriela Hardy, who was married to Darrell for 35 years, agreed.
“If Darrell could see this building, he would be very proud of the results,” she said.
Santo Domingo Norte mayor Betty Gerónimo Santana attends the ceremony.
Photo: Dominican Union Conference
Gabriela Hardy shares insights about her late husband, Darrell Hardy, former vice president of construction for Maranatha Volunteers International, as their son Christopher interprets her words into English.
Photo: Maranatha Volunteers International
Church leaders honor Maranatha Volunteers International leaders for their contribution to the Adventist work in Dominican Republic.
Photo: Maranatha Volunteers International
Maranatha Volunteers International leaders share details about the construction process. Speaking is Kyle Fiess, vice president of projects.
Photo: Dominican Union Conference
A Different School
The school, with capacity for at least 200 students, follows similar blueprint plans of buildings Maranatha has constructed in other countries. As a way of honoring Hardy’s memory, however, the facilities include special details in facade, floors, and equipment.
Also, taking into account that the country is affected by occasional hurricanes, Maranatha board members with architecture and structural engineering knowledge introduced some improvements to the roof structure.
“Roof reinforcements make it hurricane-resistant now, as it should be ready to withstand up to 180-mile [290-kilometer] winds,” one of them reported.
Another special feature is a brand-new kindergarten, which is separated from the grade-school building. The facilities behind the Ciudad del Cielo church on the same campus, include special classrooms equipped for 4- and 5-year-olds, restrooms exclusively prepared for that age group, and a colorful playground.
“It is a top-notch facility, with includes the best materials and furniture,” Maranatha leaders reported.
The school also includes an adjustable basketball court and enough space to spend recess time in the open.
A group of prospective students of the new Ciudad del Cielo school try the new desks in one of the classrooms during inauguration day, July 26.
Photo: Maranatha Volunteers International
Play structures of the new kindergarten in Ciudad del Cielo.
Photo: Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review
One of the new kindergarten classrooms.
Photo: Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review
A Show of Support
As a donor-based ministry, Maranatha relies heavily on supporters to move initiatives from the drawing board to completion. The ministry also resorts to volunteer-based mission trips to complete projects.
On July 26, dozens of supporters attended the inauguration festivities in Ciudad del Cielo. Among them was Greg Hatch, an Adventist technology consultant based in Houston who has been involved in mission projects since he was a child. Now retired, he has moved full-time to organize and facilitate volunteers’ trips and lead construction projects to support Maranatha mission initiatives.
“Darrell was a very special person,” Hatch said about his involvement in the Ciudad del Cielo project. “Before I would start leading a project, we would always touch base, and I knew I could count on him to answer any question or provide advice. When I was told that he had died and that Maranatha planned to honor Darrell with this campus, I said, ‘I’m going to bring as many volunteer groups as I can.’”
Among the groups Hatch took to the Dominican Republic, one worked specifically in the school building. Others worked on the church and the perimeter.
“Every opportunity I had, I came down here as a leader of a group or in any other capacity to build this in his memory, because he did so much.”
Maranatha Volunteers International leaders and board members with expertise in construction, architecture, and engineering discuss details of the roof of the new school.
Photo: Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review
The roof includes a special structure that makes it hurricane-resistant.
Photo: Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review
A choir of children and prospective students of the new school performs a musical item during the July 26 inauguration ceremony.
Photo: Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review
Inauguration Day
The official inauguration ceremony took place in the early afternoon of July 26, at the end of the nearby Adventist church inauguration earlier that morning. Besides regional church leaders and members of the Maranatha board, Betty Gerónimo Santana, the mayor of Santo Domingo Norte, attended the event.
Addressing those present, Gerónimo shared that the the Ciudad del Cielo project had the full support of the town.
“We worked around the campus, paving the streets around the complex to improve access,” she reported. “And for anything you need [in the future], we’ll be there to support you, because Santo Domingo Norte loves working with this church.”
As part of the ceremony, a children’s choir, led by Adventist teacher Natali Cáceres, performed a special musical item. The choir, which includes members as little as 3 years old, is made up mostly of students who had been attending either other Adventist schools far from the area or public schools, in the hopes of having an Adventist school nearby one day. Now many of their parents are ready to transfer them to the new school, Cáceres reported.
According to regional church leaders, by the end of July there were 120 families who had already enrolled and paid the fees for the full year. Classes are set to start on August 20, they reported.
Among them is José Alberto Santana, a local construction worker that worked for Maranatha on the Ciudad del Cielo project.
“Some of my children are too old to attend this school,” he said. “But I hope that my 7-year-old daughter, Tiffany, can study here at Ciudad del Cielo. It’s what we have been waiting for.”
Alexandra Beltré, Education director of the Dominican Union Conference, addresses church leaders, government officers, and community members on July 26.
Photo: Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review
José Alberto Santana and his family pose for a picture after the inauguration of the new school. He worked on the Ciudad del Cielo project and now hopes to enroll his youngest daughter, Tiffany, as a student.
Photo: Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review
Abner De los Santos, president of the Inter-American Division, reflects on the significance of Adventist education as Maranatha Volunteers International vice president Kenneth Weiss interprets into English.
Photo: Dominican Union Conference
A Wholistic Enterprise
In closing remarks, Abner De los Santos, newly elected president of the Inter-American Division, highlighted what Adventist education is all about.
“This school will not just deal with one development area,” he reminded those attending the ceremony. “This is about a wholistic development of every area—the physical, mental, spiritual, and social aspects.”
De los Santos emphasized that teachers must know that their job is to educate children, so those young minds learn to think by themselves and not only reflect the thoughts of others.
“And this is not an education for this life only,” he emphasized. “It must prepare students for eternity.”
Maranatha Volunteers International is a supporting ministry not affiliated with the corporate Seventh-day Adventist Church. The original article was published on the Adventist Review news site. Join the ANN WhatsApp Channel for the latest Adventist news.
