New Progresando Center Puts Santa Fe, San Pedro de Macori?s on Road to Progress

New Progresando Center Puts Santa Fe, San Pedro de Macori?s on Road to Progress
San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic 6/18/2012

With an investment of nearly $11.2 billion Dominican pesos, the Progresando Santa Fe Center for Training and Production in San Pedro de Macorís was inaugurated, propelling the residents of this area onto the road toward progress.

Cedeño de Fernández said, “this Progresando Center will provide educational opportunities to members of the 4,374 families who from part of Progresando as well as 129 links and 17 supervising volunteers who have seen that with this decision and effort, the comprehensive human development of the family and community can be achieved.”

In keeping with her objective of empowering families toward a sustainable future, First Lady Margarita Cedeño de Fernández inaugurated a Progresando Training and Production Center in the Santa Fe sector of this province where residents will able to learn a skill that will guarantee finding work to sustain their families.

Cedeño de Fernández expressed her appreciation to the State Sugar Council (CEA in Spanish), who gave 1,500 square meters of land for the construction of the center. She thanked the government of the Republic of China – Taiwan, for their donation of $10.1 billion pesos for the building of the center as well as IDOTEL, which took charge of installing all the computer equipment in the classrooms at a cost of $11.5 billion pesos.

She explained that the Progresando Training Center was conceived with the intention of creating opportunities for citizens who live in extreme poverty in the community of Santa Fe and its surrounding areas of the “Sultana of the East.”

Cedeño de Fernández said, “this Progresando Center will provide educational opportunities to members of the 4,374 families who from part of Progresando as well as 129 links and 17 supervising volunteers who have seen that with this decision and effort, the comprehensive human development of the family and community can be achieved.”

She stressed that many of these families are already reaping the benefits of progress and that they have assumed the responsibility of becoming responsible for their own development. Some of the members have received training from the LEFOCADI Center for Training and Education, which has enabled them to become take part in the labor market.

“Martina Rosendo, resident of the Azul neighborhood of San Pedro, was a timid and soft-spoken housewife who lived on what her husband produced. She now tells us, joyfully, that Progresando helped her overcome her shyness and that she has taken courses in pastry making and handicrafts which has allowed her to sell her products and generate money for the household, thus improving the whole family’s living conditions.  Her experience has motivated other families to get involved in the Program, to take advantage of the courses. Her example has shown others what they can also do and achieve,” said Cedeño de Fernández.

At the end of the activity, the First Lady received a heartfelt appreciation from representatives of the little league; Abraham Solano from the locality of Santa Fe, who are pleased with the contribution from the Office of the First (DPD in Spanish) for its participation in the international tournament and for the building of the basketball court that meets the needs of the young people who enjoy sports as they follow the belief of  “sound body, sound mind.”

In her speech, the First Lady said this new building, the 34th of its kind, has classrooms for pastry-making classes, repairing household appliances, a cosmetology area and lab for computer and theory classes. There are also administrative offices, a basketball court, reception area, kitchen for the employees, bathrooms, a storage area, connections for water to drink and the garden area, filter system, a perimeter fence, electrical cable lines and a potable water area.

Training Courses

The Center will offer courses in computer and electrical appliance repair, installation and maintenance of electrical systems, installation and fabrication of electronic converters, bread baking, baker’s assistant, dessert making and assistant and cake decoration.

In the computer area, there will be classes in digital literacy, information technology, using such programs as Office, webpage design, accounting, accounting assistance, tax preparation and executive secretarial courses.

Other classes to be offered will include haircutting, styling, coloring, permanents and how to give facials, do make-up, facial cleansing, permanent make-up with tattoos and fingernail design.

Among those who attended the activity were the Ambassador Extraordinaire and Plenipotentiary from the Republic of China – Taiwan, Tomas Ping-Fu Hou; Alcibiades Tavarez, Governor of San Pedro de Macorís Province; Parish Priest, Apolinar Soriano and Ligia Amada Melo, Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology  (MESCyT in Spanish) and municipal officials and Progresando family members.