Meet Daniesi Z, 8, from the Dominican Republic

This cool young lady is Daniesi Z, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She lives in a two-bedroom home with her parents, Juan (an electrician) and Juliana (a homemaker). The family income is $150 a month. Why did I choose to sponsor Daniesi? Because that $150 has to stretch to support at least nine people- Daniesi has six brothers and sisters!

Freisin, a brother, is 18; Bileisi, a sister, is 16; Juan is 13; Carlos is 11, then there's 8-year-old Daniesi; and youngest of all are the 4-year-old brother-sister twins (I'm assuming they're twins), Jesus and Emelin. So that $150 really has to stretch. And, sadly, it doesn't stretch far enough to allow Daniesi to attend school.

The home consists of wooden walls, a corrugated metal roof, and a concrete floor. I don't know about other members of the family, but Daniesi sleeps in a bed (probably shared with other family members). The family cooks over an open fire, has running water in their home, and electricity is available.

Most horrifying is their sanitary facility: an open field.

The latest report on Daniesi was compiled almost exactly a year ago, and it lists her height as 3'10" and weight as 39 lbs. She was born on 7/20/02, which means she just turned eight years old. For chores, she washes dishes, and for fun she likes to sing and play baseball. (Baseball is huge in the DR!) I love a girl who plays sports!
My priorities for Daniesi are getting her in school first, and then possibly trying to raise money to build her a latrine. No person should have to use an open field for their restroom. It's not dignified or sanitary. Not to mention the lack of privacy! I just realized that I take my indoor restrooms completely for granted.