Recycling in Santo Domingo
The Peña de Horeb Christian School launched a project to encourage students to serve their community by keeping it clean.
Nestled in a busy urban area near Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Peña de Horeb Christian School is seeing the fruit of an initiative: “I Like and Take Care of the Community Where I Live.” The project began several years ago as teachers at the school sought to answer a simple but profound question: How can we love and serve the place God has given us?
The project started simply, with students and teachers walking through their neighbourhoods, observing and listening. The community surrounding the school often struggles with limited public services like garbage collection. Students noticed piles of trash, neglected spaces, and a general sense of resignation among residents.
“We are teaching the kids that as owners of God’s creation, they have to take care of it,” Pamela Reyes, secretary from the Peña de Horeb Christian School, told recent visitors to the school. “That’s why we have a special recycling program for the boxes from the meals provided.” The school uses over 180 milk and juice boxes a day. “That’s a lot of trash.” Rather than letting this waste accumulate, the school appointed “environmental commissioners,” students who collect, wash, flatten and bundle the boxes into packages of 25. “This is how they start taking care of the environment.”
Ripple effects
The project didn’t stop at recycling. It sparked conversations about dignity, community pride and shared responsibility. School families joined clean-up days. Peña de Horeb teachers hope that the broader community narrative will shift from neglect to care, from indifference to love.
One student observed: “Even though I’ve lived in this community my whole life, I’ve never appreciated how much value it has. I am now proud of my community and ready to do my best for the glory of God.”
Teachers at Peña de Horeb Christian School launched the initiative after “Teaching for Transformation” training provided by EduDeo Ministries. One of the strengths of this training is that it gives all teachers the tools to design learning experiences that connect deeply with real-world needs and God’s call to stewardship. In 2025, 136 teachers in the Dominican Republic received this training. As EduDeo’s Executive Director Phil Beck notes, “Transformation often begins not with grand gestures, but with faithful steps: a clean schoolyard, a recycled carton, a child who believes their community matters.”
