Upskill a Community to Fight Poverty in Costa Rica

Dear Supporters,

In line with SDG 3, Good Health and Well Being, one of our long-term objectives at GVI Quepos is to improve access to education and wellness to El Cocal community.

El Cocal is the main community we work in, and we have been working there for seven years (since GVI opened its hub in Quepos). El Cocal is unique because it’s a semi-illegal settlement as all the houses on the peninsula are built too close to the water according to Costa Rican legal standards. For this reason, the community doesn’t receive much governmental assistance. To further complicate things, there is a large immigrant population living on the peninsula, the majority being from Nicaraguan. Many of the Nicaraguan residents of El Cocal are in difficult situations as it’s very difficult for them to get legal documentation such as a passport or ID card, and this also means many of these immigrants receive no health insurance.

We (GVI Quepos volunteers and staff) promoted a fundraiser for a woman named Eneyda. Eneyda has been working with us since the beginning of GVI Quepos. She cooks lunch for our volunteers every day and sees us as her “GVI family.” Apart from cooking for us, she also welcomes us by inviting us to family events such as birthday parties, and really enjoys having our volunteers come and cook with her. Even if the volunteers don’t speak Spanish and she doesn’t speak English, they communicate and have a great time. She truly is part of the GVI Quepos family and it wouldn’t be the same without her.

Eneyda is an immigrant from Nicaragua who came to Costa Rica twenty years ago with her nine children walking and using public transport. She brought her family here to Costa Rica so they would be safer and get a better education. She receives no health insurance from the government and as she is getting older, some of her health conditions have worsened. She has thrombosis in her right foot, gastritis, high blood pressure, and anemia. The medications she requires cost around $200 USD per month and she will need them for the rest of her life.

We were fortunate enough to have raised enough money to fund her medications for at least six months. Many former volunteers and their families reached out with kind words, photos of their time with Eneyda, and their donations.

With so much gratitude, thank you! 

GVI Quepos