Oct 17
On Wednesday October 5th we were contacted by Gail Keller, a counselor from Eugene, Oregon. She was visiting Costa Rica for a few days with her brother, husband and niece, and wanted to share the work she does with an orphanage in the US.
On this day, I met Gail early in the afternoon and took a taxi to the orphanage in San Ramón. The home is managed by Doña Roxiris and four tías (aunts) that also live in the orphanage.The home hosts twelve children who are no older than 13 years old. Our volunteers work in the orphanage helping with babysitting, cleaning, tutoring or just giving a hand with whatever is needed. The orphanage is funded by government resources for the protection of childhood and there is also a community group that also fundraises for the home. Volunteers work with the aim of making these kids life as good as it can be while being institutionalized.
Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 06
Last Tuesday was a great day. I got up early to prepare breakfast for the volunteers in the dorm. Our Dorm Mother (Dona Isabel) was on vacation so I had the honor to cook breakfast, it was great to see everybody wake up and leave for their projects.
Today, Stuart was changing his construction as the project he was working on the house was completed. We walk to the bus stop by the university, waited for the bus to San Pedro and got off at the grocery store called Los Rombos.
Read the rest of this entry »
Sep 21
In Costa Rica, English has become one of the main requirements for most job applications because the tourist industry increases every year. uVolunteer started a project in 2007 in which our volunteers teach English to people in San Ramón according to this economic and social context. The population to which the project is addressed are to those who don´t have the time or money to pay for private education.
The English community class is a great opportunity to interact with the locals and explore Costa Rican culture. The project began with 20 students and two classes. The project opened as a conjunction between the uVolunteer volunteers and local volunteers like Danilo and Daython, and has been growing since then. The first volunteer to teach at the Evening class was Joachim Mowinckel whose experience can be read about at http://www.uvolunteer.org/costa-rica/volunteer-stories/joachim-mowinckel.php. More than 50 volunteers have contributed with the program during the last 4 years. uVolunteer would like to say thank you so much for all your help.
Read the rest of this entry »
Jul 06
Today was Kathleen Stanford`s first day at Simón Bolívar kindergarten. We arrived at the project at 7 am and we were welcomed by a small crowd of six years olds. In Costa Rica public education is quite good and children start receiving it when they are 5 years old when they enter the educational system in “Pre-kinder”. Kathleen’s volunteer work was taking place with the kids at kindergarten, or as the Costa Ricans call it “kinder”.
Read the rest of this entry »
May 06
Last weekend I went on a trip to Monteverde. It was about a 3-hour bus trip from San Ramon. We stayed at a hostel called Monteverde Backpackers. The gentleman who works at that hostel could not have been more accommodating. When we first arrived, we told him that we were going to a restaurant in town. He asked which restaurant and when we told him, he told us how expensive that specific place was. He then told us about a great little buffet-style restaurant close to the hostel. We thanked him for telling us about it, and went to check it out. The food ended up being incredible and we ate like kings (and queens) for about four dollars each.
Read the rest of this entry »
Apr 08
Volunteering at the community education project at Bajo Tejares district in San Ramón is very rewarding. The district is the poorest of the region and people struggle everyday to make enough money for a meal for the next day.
Read the rest of this entry »
