Cabarete, Dominican Republic.- On Thursday, October 22, The DREAM Center in Cabarete, Puerto Plata province (north) hosted an open house for their Estrellas Joevenes (Young Stars) program.

While the pre-opening crowd trickled in, a group of Young Stars gathered in a back classroom to watch a preview of the program’s slideshow. As pictures of the Stars flashed by on the screen -- painting murals, participating in classes, out on a field trip, all bright smiles and open minds -- the hovering halo of participants sang harmoniously (at the top of their lungs) to the musical accompaniment, “El Amor” by Tito El Bambino. Teachers, volunteers, and us few early birds all stood at rapt attention, completely moved by their joy.

The evening progressed as parents, volunteers and donors went from classroom to classroom, observing projects the kids have been working on. In Reading and Writing, children read from papers they’d written about the novel, Esperanza Renace. In Math, students stood at the front of the class and explained how we use mathematics in real life situations, like banks, grocery stores and guaguas (buses).

Young Stars is a program for 10 to 18 year old at risk youth, aimed at providing them more time in the classroom, greater opportunity for high school graduation, a deeper appreciation of math and literacy, and healthy, leadership inspiring extracurricular activities. All very important stuff -- considering that statistics show merely 10% of Dominican children go on to graduate high school.

A musical event indeed, Young Star, Edileisa Rodrigez Garcia performed a series of songs on the piano, the extracurricular activity of her choosing for over a year now. Once the show was over and everyone in DREAM land was all smiles, fruit punch and empanadas were served, and a traditional Dominican band played us off into the “Starry” night.