A few months ago, we shared the story of two foundations joining forces to support the completion of a multipurpose hall for the Poor Sisters of Saint Francis in the El Valiente community of Santo Domingo Este. Friar José María Guerrero had told us that the project just needed one final push — much like the hall already operating in El Caliche, which serves as a homework room, summer camp space for children, a venue for INFOTEP technical courses for workforce integration, and a place for religious formation and values.

The article Supporting the Franciscan Sisters’ Multipurpose Hall in Valiente describes the project with photos from the site visit, a budget summary, and a link to the full line-item breakdown. With that campaign, FINDESA and Evolution Foundation joined the network of solidarity that had already carried the project to that point: a land donation, in-kind contributions of cement bags, cash donations for rebar and materials, and the work of masons who volunteered their time or accepted reduced pay — or, as Friar José put it, “to be settled later when the funds come in.”

The two foundations picked up the baton from all the individuals and organizations that had brought the project to where we reported it, and began running toward the goal of being ready to restart construction once 20% of the budget was secured. Before knocking on the first ten doors, that threshold was already surpassed — and we were able to tell the Franciscan sisters we would be ready in the first week of February.

Yet solidarity relay races don’t follow the rigid format of track and field competitions. There is no fixed number of runners, no exact point where the baton must be passed, no prescribed distance. The only similarity is that it’s a team victory — one where every individual contribution mattered.

That’s why we received with great joy a piece of news we immediately shared with the sisters of Valiente: an organization we had presented the project to decided to take on full responsibility for completing the civil construction, improving aspects of the design, and adding features to make the space more functional. Engineers affiliated with that organization have already visited the sisters to assess the site, and they will announce the completion of the project in due course. The funds raised through the FINDESA and Evolution Foundation campaigns will also be invested in the work.

Both foundations express their gratitude to everyone who contributed. This is a solidarity relay race working exactly as it should: each runner carried their part, and together we crossed the finish line.

Original article by José Alfredo Guerrero.