The Barnabas Foundation...

 Today is a DR holiday which will be observed on Monday, the 20th. I have a group going to Dajabon Monday to do some shopping. The Haitian border is open on Mondays and Fridays and it is wild- a lot of bargains can be found.  Victor, Felix, Milagros, Carolina, Pilar, Mecho and some others will all be a part of the adventure.  Here is a little history about August 16th:

From DR1.com 

Restoration Day
President Leonel Fernandez will be in Santiago to celebrate today's national holiday, Restoration Day. Although the DR gained its independence from Haiti in 1844, by 1861 it had reverted back to being a colony of Spain. With the help of Haitian revolutionaries who feared the presence of Spain on the island, the war against Spain broke out. Restoration Day celebrates the day, August 16 1863, on which the national war of "restoration" began. By 1865, Ulises Heureaux and Gregorio Luperon had restored the Republic. Fernandez will be present at the unveiling of the remodeled Heroes Monument in Santiago. The Monument, which is 55 years old, has undergone a five-month restoration project led by the Ministry of Culture. Dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo built the Monument in his own honor in 1944, but after his regime was ousted the imposing structure was renamed in memory of the Heroes of the 1863 Restoration War against Spain.