Helpng to make the dream a reality

Nov 2014 to Oct 2017
- Volunteered to oversee Construction of a New Hospital to replace a 27+ year old facility staffed and operated by Dominicans. I spent 3 years on behalf of the many donors to the REVOLUTION campaign - a 4.5 Million Dollar campaign to fund this project.
August 2017 to September 2018
Work ceased while Tax issues resolved
Oct 2018
Working as project consultant to help get this wonderful project completed.

Monday, June 17, 2019

Onward!


View looking Southeast, the large dark square area is the loading dock. The building is 95% plastered.


After a one+ year stoppage of work from August 2017 until October 2018, things are really coming along and there is much good news to report!

  • As you may recall, we stopped work in 2017 because we were at the point of needing to purchase finish materials - doors, windows, electrical wire and devices, paint, plumbing fixtures and more. Normally in the DR, when purchasing these types of goods an 18% tax is added, SRI was not willing to use your donated funds in order to pay this tax. Obtaining tax exemption is not an easy process in the DR, but when a $5M building is being built, the difficulties are worth the effort. This arduous task of meeting government requirements took place during this stoppage of work. Frank Beltre (project financial manager) devoted a huge amount of work into this task, and the benefits are now tangible. It is not a "one-and-done" process, but requires continued effort as each purchase must be have both vendor and purchaser approved by the government. Frank continually is working on applications for purchases and to date his efforts have saved the project $24,000. It is a vital step toward building the clinic as cost-effectively as possible.

  • Another huge step was the agreements between ACPSI (our Dominican partner) and Solid Rock regarding ownership and oversight of operations. Solid Rock and ACPSI are now co-owners, and a committee of equal representation from both organizations is and will continue to plan and manage the operation of the clinic. The clinic will be a Dominican-run facility, but there will be a beneficial North American presence - several US and Canadian medical folks plan to spend extended periods of time helping at the clinic from serving as doctors and nurses to emergency response capabilities, and my hope is that a strong relationship is established between the clinic and US medical schools - the potential is enormous for both sides, and especially for the poor in the San Juan region.

  • Additionally, ACPSI recently was granted tax exoneration on the importing of some goods that were shipped from the US. This is a huge step that can avoid import taxes that potentially could be as high as 40%. With this approval, we now can get materials and supplies shipped from the US without paying import taxes, so when manufacturers or US distributors are willing to help with the cost of their goods, we will be able to get them to the project tax-free.

  • In recent months we have been very encouraged that we hope to be partnering with a medical equipment and supplies non-profit that is a very established organization with ties to medical facilities around the world. This partnership can provide an economical source of disposable supplies that will continually be used at the clinic, and it looks promising that outfitting the entire facility with furnishings and medical equipment might cost less than our budgeted amount.

  • Finally, with heavy equipment being needed to finish-out the site with grading and earth-moving, we considered asking the Caterpillar dealer in Santo Domingo if they might help us out again as they did in 2015 - they are doing so again! Frank, Victor and some others from our construction team met with the CAT dealer and they will be providing many pieces of equipment, from backhoes to graders and loaders. 


So that 14 month pause was a very productive time in spite of the fact that no actual construction took place, and recent events have only added to the stream of positive news.

The stoppage did cause me to decide to re-locate back in Virginia, but construction is back in full swing with Frank and our Dominican engineer/builder Victor Polanco managing the work very well. We talk via phone up to twice a week, and I am staying very involved but from a distance. Many design details and other issues keep my mind in the DR. I am very encouraged with so many positive connections and successes - God will see it through.

I hope that with so many hanging issues now resolved, people and organizations will have the confidence and faith to provide Solid Rock with the funds needed to finish this project, open it's doors and continue 30 years of work well into the future for decades to come. Dr Canario opened the existing clinic in 1989  and the work that has taken place since then has saved countless lives both literally and spiritually, so it is a fitting 30th anniversary that this replacement facility will allow his  vision to take on a whole new scope of service doing God's work and serving the poor well into the future.


Good Stuff.


Ken

ps - Here are some exciting pictures showing progress at the site:

View from the Highway centered on the Emergency Room entrance

The Front Wall with the Northwest corner of the property at the left edge of the picture.

Tirso (our amazing security/everything man) atop one of the power poles that will hold the electrical power lines from across the highway before going underground on the site. The front wall extends across the front of the property behind him.

The pumphouse atop the 30,000 gallon cistern which is supplied from both the city water and our own well.

The second and final Septic Tank is now built

A finished Terrazzo Floor in one of the consult rooms!!

Detail of the Terrazzo Floor showing the decorative border in the floor.
These floors are economical, extremely durable and easy to clean.



Tuesday, January 15, 2019

A 15 month update

I now realize I have let this blog go somewhat dormant while letting updates be shared via facebook and mainly thru official blog updates Shannon Zimmerman posts on the Solid Rock site. 
I have waited until she posted the Solid Rock blog, as the emphasis should be on the project's site, not mine. This is a bit more personal for those of you who might be interested in taking a few minutes to read it.

My last post was almost a year ago, and I am sure you are aware that construction resumed in October pushed by by the optimism and strong faith of the Solid Rock board. As the one year anniversary came around and then again as we approached welcoming 2019, I thought I should post something - my how times flies and priorities shift!
My daily time is focused on my business, soliciting for new work and getting projects fully orchestrated well ahead of their start dates,  and I must admit it has taken some time to get "back in the saddle" and aclimate to our American society and it's pace!
I also spend time regularly on the Revolution project working on construction detail drawings, cost and scheduling issues along with twice-weekly phone calls with the amazing members of our Dominican construction team in San Juan.  Frank Beltre is just an amazing person God selected to be in his position with the project, a person of more integrity you will not find. It is always a pleasure to talk with Victor our builder/engineer as well as his co-workers and other Dominican engineers and workers who share Solid Rock's vision of an efficiently built Christian facility.
When we pulled up our stakes in the DR in October of 2017 and moved back to Roanoke I did not think I should continue to be considered a missionary and asked the church to stop listing me as such. Stacy and I are extremely grateful to the church and those of you who supported us prayerfully and financially. It was a life-changing time and I am grateful that I still often find myself considering life's issues from a different vantage point with priorities re-arranged. So I now consider my involvement with the project as that of a consultant as I do receive pay from SRI for time spent working or travelling on behalf of the project. Being self-employed is wonderful but also stressful, and I thank SRI for compensating me for my time.
Stacy and I have been back in our old home since December of 2017, and we have a renewed desire to make this "wonderful drafty old house" as up-kept as it deserves to be. She now works some at local plant nursery, and is very happy to back with her wonderful friends here in Roanoke.
As far as the project, I am probably as optimistic as I was four years ago when things were just ramping up. I feel so confident and grateful for the people working at the project site, it could not be in better hands. There is a whole lot of bad potential in a developing country, so having these great guys involved is heaven sent.
I sent an update to Shannon for her to post on the official project blog site, this summary is below.  I cannot overstate my appreciation for the thousands of you who have taken time out of your lives and offer your talents, abilities and sweat to the people of San Juan over the last 30 years. As I state in the update below, the new building will be a vehicle for people to serve others - Solid Rock International is exactly the same - a vehicle thru which people are able to serve others in need.
Thank you for your interest, prayers and support for the Revolution Project. It is amazing that SRI is approaching the $4 million mark raised from a wonderful collection of individuals, families and churches. We still hope someone like Bill Gates will step in, but really it means even more that simply many of you have been so generous and share Solid Rock's vision. It is easy to be pessimistic of a project in a third world country, but as someone who lived there for three years I can tell you that the need is real, there are amazing people in the mountains of the DR and Haiti who are in need and have nowhere to turn,  and thru this project we are collectively carrying out our calling - to help those in need.


Update:
We continue pushing forward with construction and are making good progress.
The concrete roof is now on approximately 90% of the building, and plastering is not too far behind.
The plumbing and electrical crews are working to get their rough-in work completed, and we hope some of the volunteer construction teams will help with painting.
We also plan to have construction teams begin working on the front wall of the property, with the plan to finally make the property look nice from the highway (much to the dismay of many Dominicans, we did not begin the project by completing a beautiful front wall  - which is what you often see here in the DR ... and years later the only thing built on the property is that front wall!)
It will be exciting to get the front wall built and then allow some of our garden-friendly volunteers to help add some low maintenance landscaping along the highway! We will also be final-grading the expansive front area so that work can begin on the parking and entrance areas. This will really make our progress stand out!
Many of the "guts" of a facility such as the 30,000 gallon cistern, a second septic tank and the installation of the power lines are being worked on, and we look forward to having some sample floors installed so that we can finalize our selections for the 46,000 square feet of flooring!
We are blessed to have such wonderful and sincere Dominican professionals involved with the project who are trying to help get things done as cost-effectively as possible. Dominican engineers are helping finalize structural plans for the roof structures at the main entrances and over the ambulances, and others are helping find building system components (such as electrical items) at discounted cost. I am now travelling to the project for a week every other month or so, and the thing I enjoy most is getting together with this group of Dominicans - they are great people. Frank Beltre is our onsite "conductor" and he is just amazing.
Challenges remain, as all significant purchases of items must still go through the lengthy tax-exemption paperwork process, and this has forced us to look further for suppliers who will meet the tax-exemption requirements - as both purchaser and supplier must be in good-standing with the detailed requirements. Frank continues assisting ACPSI (our Dominican partner) to push this process and stay on top of regular paperwork submittals. He will have put many miles on his truck travelling the 3+ hours to Santo Domingo to see that the bureaucratic paperwork moves along!
We hope to hear in the near future that the test shipment clears customs with import-tax exoneration, and finally issues with the Public Health department requirements seem to be getting clarified.
The goal in all of this of course is to simply try and meet what Jesus asked us all to do - help others who are in need. It is far from a simple step, but worth striving for. For 30 years thousands of amazing people have come from the US and Canada to San Juan de la Maguana offering their talents and love - this building is simply the vehicle that can help this amazing history continue for another 30 years and beyond. God is great.

Ken