Today we’d like to introduce you to Lillian Fanjul de Azqueta and Lillian “Lyanne” Azqueta.
Lillian and Lillian “Lyanne”, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
MIR (Mission International Rescue) Charities is a non-profit organization that works to supply the Dominican Republic’s most marginalized people with a variety of life-altering services. Since 1990, we have served the women, youth, and children of La Romana and the Eastern region of the Dominican Republic by partnering with and providing funding for social programs. With the help of benefactors and individual contributions, the programs provide a home, medical assistance, education and technical preparation for the people that are most in need in our community.
In 1988, after a pilgrimage to Bosnia, Lian Fanjul de Azqueta, the founder of what has come to be MIR Charities, felt an overwhelming need to give to those in need in her community. Humbly, Lian began a small food distribution service with a colleague. They packed bags of food in her mother’s garage and distributed it to families in the nearby town of Pahokee, Florida. Later that same year, her brother Alfonso Fanjul won the Sugar Golf Tournament and donated his winnings to his sister to use as seed money to begin educational programs in the Dominican Republic and that is when MIR began. MIR has grown quickly in order to provide the people of the Dominican Republic with hope, support, and education they need and deserve.
The foundation thrives on donations made by people who believe in our mission. It is led by the Fanjul family who gives generously and encourages others to join them in supporting MIR. Indeed, many people and companies have joined in over the years through special events, one on one appeals, and special projects. Events include the Annual Magical Splendor Gala which features a golf tournament and an exclusive fashion show gala featuring top designers from around the world. This and last year’s designer is Naeem Kahn who not only presents his latest haute couture collection but also donates several of his masterpieces to auction for MIR. The event is held at Casa de Campo, Casa Grande, the home of Alfy and Raysa Fanjul.
Has it been a smooth road?
Challenges include functioning in a foreign country while supporting it from the United States and encouraging kids to stay in school long enough to obtain a vocational degree or continue on to college.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Current PROJECTS:
Politecnico MIR Esperanza (School for Boys): founded on 1998, this school focuses on providing valuable professional information to children and adolescents in an effort to fight against poverty and to stimulate the development of rural areas in the eastern region of the Dominican Republic. A specialized academic curriculum was designed so that opportunities for development are created from 5th through 12th grades. At the present time, students have the opportunity to complete Technical Degrees in Refrigeration and Electricity. Our School inhibits the exodus of rural youth to bigger cities; a practice, which creates additional, tension to other urban areas whereas the values and the traditions of the bases of the rural communities disappear. In 2010, our first kindergarten and 1st-grade classes opened.
Politecnico Fundacion MIR (School for Girls): founded in 1998 and run in collaboration with the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation, provides education for girls from 5th through 12th grades. During the final two years, students receive vocational training in bookkeeping, hospitality, nursing and culinary arts. Currently, girls are enrolled in the school have a graduation rate of 95%, a rate not often achieved in the DR. This school plays a crucial role in a country where the likelihood of attending school past fifth grade is less than 40%. Hundreds of young ladies have graduated since the school’s inauguration in 1998.
Casa Internacional is a guest house located on the Politecnico MIR Esperanza Campus, which provides housing for U.S. and international medical and public health students, resident physicians, seminarians, teachers and other visitors who work with any of MIR’s many programs. Each year, many students from Columbia, Harvard, Duke, Baylor, and other universities participate in rotations at a local clinic and stay at Casa Internacional.
Dental Program MIR has its own dental clinic with a full-time dentist to take care of the needs of the students, staff and their families. Thanks to volunteer dentists from New York, Columbia University, Rutgers University and Sloan Kettering, our community is able to receive extensive care otherwise not available. This program is led by Dr. James Hudson of New York.
MIR collaborates with Florida International University (FIU) on multiple levels. First, is our Teacher Training Program: where the MIR teachers attend workshops led by FIU professors. The MIR teachers learn the latest and most effective teaching methods, then apply them at the MIR schools. Workshops are held multiple times per year. Our second collaboration with FIU is the Student Mentoring Program. FIU students organize summer camps, field days, homework help and many other fun educational programs with the MIR children
Contact Info:
- Address: Mission International Rescue (MIR) Charities
626 N. Dixie Highway West Palm Beach, FL 33401 - Website: www.mircharities.org
- Phone: 561-366-5092
- Email: dh@nhckids.org
- Instagram: FundacionMir
- Facebook: FundacionMIr
- Twitter: FundacionMir
Image Credit:
Alex Gort Photography
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