The center, located in San Cristóbal, promotes a dignified life for pregnant teenagers. Santo Domingo, October 15, 2024. First Lady Raquel Arbaje, president of the Cabinet for Children and Adolescents, along with María Isabel Pérez, executive president of Reservas del País Foundation, led the inauguration of the new Training Center for Young Mothers, built with the support of the Presidency of the Republic and the Fundación Reservas del País. The center, the second of its kind to open in the southern region, provides consultations and medical assistance to pregnant adolescents, providing follow-up care during their pregnancies, as well as psychological, nutritional, and training services. “We are delighted to contribute to this beautiful project led by our beloved Father Cruz María Echeverría, which provides medical and psychological assistance to pregnant teenagers in this community. Although the incidence of teenage pregnancies remains high, we have reason to be optimistic. The efforts we have been making together with the various institutions that make up the Children's Cabinet to prevent pregnancy and early marriages are bearing tangible fruit, as evidenced by a 9.5% decrease in pregnancies in 2023 compared to the previous year. We hope that this trend will continue until we achieve the eradication of this social scourge that affects the comprehensive development of our adolescents,” said Mrs. Raquel Arbaje.

Meanwhile, María Isabel Pérez, Executive President of the Reservas del País Foundation, stated: "Support for this initiative is part of the institution's "Social, Economic, Environmental, and Job Placement Well-being Program," which equips the provincial office and training room to create better medical care and training conditions for the benefit of pregnant adolescents in the community. "The project 'For a Comprehensive, Dignified Life for Young Mothers' is aligned with one of the strategic pillars of the Reservas del País Foundation, which seeks to promote the development of sources of income that generate greater financial inclusion and social well-being for our young adolescents," she concluded. For his part, Father Cruz María Echevarría, who is leading the project, expressed his gratitude to the Reservas del País Foundation for its support in equipping the center. "We are grateful to the First Lady and the Reservas del País Foundation for listening to our request to replicate the experience of the Haina center in San Cristóbal to continue providing Christian support to these young women who deserve a better future." The ceremony, attended by local authorities, culminated with the ribbon-cutting that officially inaugurated this new center, destined to be a beacon of light for the entire San Cristóbal community.