The House of Hope

House of Hope is a non profit organisation that is based in Dominica. It was established by a small group of residents who were concerned for the welfare of mentally and physically challenged children in their community. Children who were receiving little or no help, or who had effectively been abandoned. Delices is a small farming village on the south east coast of the island, a very pretty place, with most of its inhabitants eking a living from subsistence farming and the harvest of bay trees, a traditional cash crop that is distilled for its natural oil.

There is no safety net for children born with mental or physical problems, nor are parents usually equipped nor able to care properly for them. Delices is far from unique in this respect with no state funded social services, nor a pool of expertise on hand to provide the help, guidance and training that is needed. Instead, this kind of care is either provided by family, local and international volunteers, or religious organisations.

The House of Hope was set up several years ago and was run from a rented house in the village. With financial assistance provided by the state and also through private donations it has recently moved to a newly constructed building on the outskirts of Delices. It currently has five permanent residents with a range of physical and mental problems. There are six members of staff who give their time voluntarily to care for Lydia, Cristobel, Darcy, Marissa, and Melissa. They do an extraordinary job.

In my guide book I try to encourage people to travel positively and, if they can, give something back to the place that has given them an opportunity to escape, have a great adventure, enjoy nature, and relax. The House of Hope is just one of many small organisations that are run by a handful of loving and caring people from local communities who do their best to help others, often against seemingly overwhelming odds and minimal resources. Page 50 of the current Bradt Dominica guide has a list of such groups. If you can do something to help them, please try. The House of Hope has a website: www.houseofhope-delices.org/wordpress. Email and phone contacts are: houseofhopedelices@gmail.com  +1 767 446 2263 or +1 767 446 2208. And here is the House of Hope newsletter in Pdf format.