Slums are neighborhoods where thousands of people live in abject poverty, separated by only tin walls. Young people who grow up surrounded by the oppressive helplessness of open sewage, scarce resources and little education face dramatic temptation to attempt to escape by choosing to make money through crime or illicit drug trade. Boy With a Ball's work has solved this problem by developing relational teams who walk into these communities to help youth walk into their dreams.
Poverty creates a fertile recruiting ground for illicit drug use, drug trafficking and drug-related crime in any neighborhood in any country. Costa Rican squatter's settlements or precarios represent breeding grounds for drug use and criminal activity. Costa Rica has over 300 of these precarios in which more than 33,095 families live, almost all of them existing below the poverty line. The majority of those living in precarios are immigrant families from Nicaragua inhabiting small tin shacks
This project will allow Boy With a Ball to continue their work to develop healthy young people and families within El Triangulo and Los Cuadros squatter's settlements through the organization's proven methodology of sending in highly-skilled outreach teams to connect with these families within their own homes and then draw them into mentoring relationships and developmental support groups from which they can be equipped to not only grow but to turn and help reach and develop their neighbors.
We will conduct outreach activities throughout the week in each squatter's settlement, develop two leadership groups made of local leaders from Los Cuadros, utilize community walkthroughs and census to conduct evaluation of needs in Los Cuadros, expand our work in Los Cuadros by launching programs that respond to identified needs and establish 29 developmental small groups in El Triangulo and 13 developmental small groups in Los Cuadros. 800 people will receive direct services, 12,000 indirect.
My first day living in a precario, I hated it, but one of the gifts I have received in my life has been to meet the Boy With a Ballers who gave their lives to help me. Now my dream is to do the same.
- Raquel Henriquez Lanuza, Program Director
Total Funding Received to Date: $6,141
Remaining Goal to be Funded: $3,859
Total Funding Goal: $10,000
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