Christian Hope Community Association (CHCA) is a non-profit organization committed to positively impact the lives of impoverished children and their families in the Dominican Republic through the teachings and the love of Jesus Christ.

CHCA was formed in December of 2012. It was birth to continue and expand the impact of the ministry (Hogar Cristiano para Niños Huerfanos (HCNH) of the late Pastor Paulino Paradys and his wife Ondina Perez in the Dominican Republic. 

In 2002 Ishani Ramalingam took a great leap of faith and took her first trip to meet Pastor Paulino and to see the work he was doing in the Barahona, Dominican Republic. This was the beginning of a partnership that has now joined so many hearts to the vision and mission of CHCA. In 2003, Ishani invited Angeline (Sharma) Gnanasegaram and myself, Kenisha Taylor on our first journey to Barahona to join her and Pastor Paulino in spreading the love of Jesus through creative Bible lessons, games and so much more. This first trip impacted our lives immensely, that it completely changed the trajectory of our lives back in Toronto!

In order to fully know and understanding who we are, I need to take you back in time:

Pastor Paulino Paradys and his wife Ondina Perez in April 1984 founded Hogar Cristiano para Niños Huerfanos (HCNH). The couple were deeply moved by the condition that children in their community were living in. This led them to take the first steps to spark change by feeding needy and hungry children under a mango tree of their village Palmarito, in Barahona. Pastor Paulino committed $5 pesos out of his $15 pesos monthly salary to provide food for the needy children. 

Prior to the incorporation of HCNH, Pastor Paulino was overwhelmed by this great need, and it was at this time that financial support came from William de Jesus, a resident of Florida, USA which led to the incorporation of Hogar Cristiano para Niños Huerfanos, Inc (non-profit). In 2001 the couple extended their help to the area of Villa Central, and started feeding and sharing the gospel with the impoverish children in the area.

Sometimes our lives will take different paths that we may not fully understand but what I have learnt through the years, is that when we give our lives over to the LORD, nothing is wasted. He uses everything: the joys, the pains, the success, the failures…EVERYTHING!

When I started off this journey (2013) of living in the Dominican Republic (Full-time ministry), I started off with my first husband Merquisedec (Mecky) Paradys (the son of the late Pastor Paulino) and our three sons, Joseph, Micaias and Jeremiah. We served together for several years and the ministry grew and the impact expanded. Unfortunately, 2017 our marriage ended and Mecky decided to move back to Toronto. I felt strongly then and even more strongly today that I was and am to continue to serve and live in the Dominican Republic. With the help of my ex-husband Mecky I founded the Dominican non-profit Fundacion Esperanza Cristiana Comunitaria (FECC), together CHCA and FECC are breaking barriers and strongholds in so many children and young people lives for the Kingdom of Light. CHCA and FECC are  two independent governing bodies that are continuing and expanding the vision of the late Pastor Paulino in Villa Central, Barahona.

I have had the privilege to serve this community for the past 20 years, March 2023 was our 10 years of living and serving full-time! I am now remarried to Luis Manuel Perez, (who is the lead for the agricultural program and Job/Skills Training Program at Eden, our blended family consist of six wonderful children (Joseph, Micaias, Jeremiah, Abimael, Charlotte and Christian) and looking forward to the next 20  plus years of following the call and my personal journey with our Lord as we continue to redeem souls from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of light.