Tourists and residents who know Sosúa for about 20 years or longer, have to agree:
Sosúa became more prosperous in the course of these 20 years.
Most roads are paved and many wooden houses were replaced by stone houses.
Twenty years ago the cars and taxis you saw driving around were in a very bad condition, that has changed a lot too.
The Sosúa area has indeed changed a lot in these years.
But this increase in wealth is unfortunately not for everyone.
Nearly half of the Dominican population, some 45.7% live below the poverty line.
4.5 million people living on the poverty line
Many residents of Charamicos, Sosúa Abajo, Maranatha, La Unión and Villa Liberación are unemployed and can afford no more than one meal a day.
Thanks to donations of the volunteers of foundations like 'Sosúa Kids' many children have the opportunity to go to school.
Because thanks to these volunteers about 600 kids receive school uniforms and supplies in a backpack to go to school.
The problem is that many jobs in education and the government are only accessible for (incompetent) members of the ruling parties.
Nepotism and patronage are rampant and make it very difficult for qualified people to get a good job.
Tourism in Sosúa has indeed provided many jobs.
But the wages are so low (between 8,000 to 10,000 pesos per month) and from those wages it is impossible to live for a family.
The re-elected President Danilo Medina has already announced the creation of a social safety net in the form of pensions, child and elderly care and creating jobs.
He also wants to continue with the improvement and expansion of education.
So there is still hope for improvement.
