Upskill a Community to Fight Poverty in Costa Rica

Dear Supporters,

From each of the experiences that we all live, we must learn something new, and that is a fact during this year.

Despite the fact that many of us had structured plans about what we were going to do, we had to face great challenges that we had not anticipated, changes that initially could generate uncertainty, but from which we learned little by little.

One of our main pillars is quality education, with which we always try to provide knowledge to people so that they have greater opportunities, hence facing a pandemic, meant a change, not a complete barrier, during the period of confinement by COVID, here in Quepos, it was not possible for us to continue teaching English classes for students who regularly attended our lessons, so we had to adapt to the circumstances and decided to continue teaching classes using technological tools, in our case Skype.

Initially, we were not completely sure that we could count on the attendance of many of the students since not everyone had easy access to the internet or smartphones , but happily many of them began to attend, something new for them and for us, which taught us that wanting is power. The classes managed to strengthen the knowledge they had, clarify doubts, and learn new topics that will facilitate the participation of students at a higher level, once we can re-teach the lessons in the community.

Members of the El Cocal community have had to face different difficulties during the times of the pandemic, but at the same time, they have managed to unify more in search of a common good.

Thanks to the participation in community development workshops and the initiative of one of the community leaders, Giovanni, they communicated through WhatsApp groups and organized different activities, always trying to respect health protocols to avoid any inconvenience, two were organized different sales of hot vegetable soup, in order to raise funds to cover the expenses of water and electricity of the Community Centre and another to raise funds and to install a sink at the main entrance of the Community Centre and maintain the sewer and drain of the bathroom.

We must take into consideration that for the members of the community, the good work that we have done to maintain the community centre, such as the change of the roof that we managed to do thanks to the collaboration of all of you, are motivation to take their own initiatives and achieve their goals, seeing the results of everyone's cooperation. Now the members of the community have a more suitable place to carry out different activities and the children a safer place to learn and play.

Thinking about future projects within the community, where we would like to try to create a community garden, during these days in the patio of our house in Quepos, we have started a small garden with vegetables to see if the weather is favourable and the products grow well. . Fortunately, many of them are bearing fruit and in a few days and months we will be able to collect lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, celery, onions, peppers, beets and pineapples; so we would hope that with everyone's help, in the near future, we will be able to implement the crops, first around the Community Centre and then in some houses in the community.

Working with our partners is always valued and of importance, since we can expand our contribution, and it is the case with ASOMACAO, Ana María is the head of this association that watches over the welfare of scarlet macaws, and in previous days speaking with She told us that the macaw population is increasing and that it will be necessary to build new nests for future incubations, with which we hope to collaborate with it, since it is a native species of the area that is in the process of natural reintegration and we would like to be able to collaborate, so together, with your help, we can continue working in this project.

Of everything, we always try to take the most positive, and with all the ups and downs of this year, it is thanks to the collaboration of all the people who with their donations help us to achieve our goals, objectives that are always redeemable and profitable from the best way, so for all of us it is always a huge thank you for being part of this path that leads us to make dreams come true.

During these times of adversity, we want to extend thanks for your collaboration in our projects. It is thanks to each of your contributions that we can strengthen all the work we do in the community.

With Gratitude

Costa Rica Community

Dear Supporters,

Thanks to the efforts of many people who supported us this time it has been possible to move to a better place for our Teaching English Project. This program is very important in the locality because it allows the participants to have better employment opportunities.

The last rainy season made the conditions of the Theatre where we used to teach become unsafe, and some wild animals started to get into the place, including some racoons that like to take classes. After all the teamwork between us and the community, it was possible to use the Community Centre of Quepos (ADI) lead by “Integral Development Association of Quepos”.   People responded very well and now our classes increased by 50%, a reason why part of the raised funds were used to buy supplies like chairs and tables to make for a better learning environment.  

Throughout this time we have continued our alliances with different partners which have allowed us do activities such as beach cleaning recollecting more than 700 kilograms of garbage of the shore, workshops to empower the community related with self-esteem, first aids and how to have clean classrooms.

Part of the funds are being used to purchase more than 450 healthy snacks for the children of el Cocal. Due to the lack of resources in their families, children eat very unhealthily, which affects their teeth, growth and learning process. One of the important alliances we did, was with the municipality and the dental care department, which helped us visit the community and assist the children for one week.

It is worth mentioning that thanks to everyone's support it was also possible to acquire new materials, so children can work during the program every day. Additionally, Partners of Greentique made possible to do a field trip to a Butterfly Sanctuary, they sponsor the children from El Cocal, and did a meaningful experience for them, because they’ve never had the chance before to be outside of their community and visit a wild refuge. They learned about wildlife, mangroves, reptiles and how butterflies live and reproduce. 

Another important point to mention is due the school El Cocal conditions are not the most favorable right now (no windows, half of the roof is roosted, and one wall is about to fall), children of kindergarten are not having everyday classes, they have to share classroom with other grades or when the older students are in sports; so we are receiving them at the community centre in the Childcare programme and volunteers are doing and excellent job creating materials and activities to continue stimulating their creativity and motor skills.

One of the following steps is to continue with the Community Development long term goals in Quepos and el Cocal, and help to  maintain the classrooms of the school and be able to change the roof as was done with the Community Centre that we work at the moment in Cocal.

It is important to mention that everything has been achieved thanks to the participation of community members and the generous donations of all of you, volunteers, friends and families of the locality. 

We are grateful for your generosity, it is with your help that we continue to pursue the further development of our activities, as well as community members are participating more and more alongside our dedicated volunteers. 

Thank you, the huge progress being made in Quepos and el Cocal community cannot occur without your kind support.

With Gratitude,

Costa Rica Community