Tag Archives: Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation

Health, Youth Sports

The Boyz on the Corner

As I was driving out today, I came across what we call “the boyz on the corner”. They all remember me as the condom lady from years past when Common Ground worked with them on reproductive health care.

The thing is…today we had a normal conversation. They weren’t all edgey. we talked about the “gangs” of La Carpio and how they longed for more peace and less violence. And how great it could be if we organized an activity where we could all just sit down together…who knows. ? Maybe the time has come, I thought. Finally. Maybe.

Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation, Health, La Carpio

A Mother’s Continued Struggle

A mother, with her little baby she is breast feeding, and her oldest daughter who just earned her second degree in patient care. On her way to becoming a doctor. 16 years old…her 13 year old boy is in extreme screaming pain in the hospital after surgical intervention on which they “drained the liquid out of his médula”, she has to choose between staying in the hospital, caring for her other kids and going into witness protection. Which is required. We have provided food for her every day, paid for a woman to watch the kids, and given her the money for the moving truck. Also..our team has given her lunches and tracked down sacks for her to pack in. The ” plan ” of the OIJ is to take the kids in a van with her and her daughter out of the hospital in an ambulance and drive them all five hours away to a house at the edge of the highway in xxxxxx. An hour away from the nearest hospital, the nearest high school and five hours from the school where the daughter studies medicine. They will pay the rent for one f..ING month and then she is on her own. I’m trying to negotiate a house for her nearer to San Jose. I cannot imagine how her daughter will survive being bounced around in an ambulance four hours.

Names and locations omitted for protection.

Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation

Tax Exemption / Tributacion

It was a three hour interview. With two people from tributación. And guess what? They were delightful. Attentive. Respectful. Kind. Interested. And obviously they had read all the material I had given them.

As luck would have it…a delightful volunteer group of 25 Canadians had changed their schedule so the inspectors were even able to see our volunteer program in action. Truly and much to my surprise the whole experience was great. All our team was on alert and showed their love for our programs.

Our wish came true and we will continue to be eligible for tax exempt donations. The tributación people had read our documents with their hearts. We are all so grateful and happy. Coming next ..the formal written report. And next report period…2025.

La Carpio

A Mother’s Struggle

Yesterday we visited Oneida, mother of Osmani who is the 13 year old who is still in the hospital after being caught in a gun incident. Child welfare and police inspectors visited her house on Tuesday. They declared the house inadequate.

She is not allowed to talk to anyone for legal reasons. It is an active investigation . She has to move out of La Carpio. She spends her days and nights between staying in the hospital with Osmani, searching for food and taking care of her other kids. If child welfare makes a surprise visit and finds the kids without a caretaker they can take them all away and she will not be allowed to see them or know where they are.

Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation goes into action. We loaded her down with food. We will provide her with a child care person. And we will search for a home for her. Somehow we have to get her out of this nightmare. This is such a clear case of severe trauma coming at her from all directions.

No images for security reasons.

Youth Sports

Pedro and Rescate Soccer Team

Soccer coach Pedro has 150 youth under his care. He has been doing this for 15 years. He is the father substitute for all of them . He takes them to games, to outings, to get the food. He sets up their competitions with other leagues. He organizes training sessions. He gives them advice and counseling. He lives in the community and he is available 24/7. When they lose a game he consoles them. When they win he celebrates.

His philosophy is that it is not about the win. It is about the play. He has made La Carpio to be respected and not made fun of. Before and after every game he does a circle and prepares the team for what is to come. I think this is Love.

Please consider supporting this cause through a donation to the CRHF. Your financial support is critical to developing healthy communities. Donations can be destined for specific areas of interest, including ‘youth sports’. Thanks for considering us for your giving! Click here to donate

Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation, La Carpio

Celebrating 25 Years – Love Grows

Many people talk about the epidemic of violence and hatred that is flooding our lands in the past few years.  They are horrified at yet another mass shooting or tiktok post urging people to take negative action.  One wonders where is the Good that used to be? How are we to combat this emotional virus that seems all around us?

One group of people committed to the ideals of empathy and compassion seem to have found an antidote to this illness through a systemitized effort that brings together a diverse group of people who believe in a dream. This dream is shared as people learn to show empathy – a heart mind connectio – and compassion – a heart soul connection that fearlessly performs Right Actions to make real change in the lives of many people.

On Sunday May 7, the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation or CRHF sponsored its 25th year anniversary with a gala event at the Hotel Marriott in Belen Costa Rica.

After months of preparation, the people of La Carpio displayed the products of their efforts to cure their barrio.

Crafts made by grandmothers, teens and indigenous, bunkbeds as part of a shelter program, basic food baskets, sports activities, educational packages, and much more were on display to that visitors could get an idea of how this organization works.

Our spiral model of development was represented by a large model created out of hula hoops and brightly colored ribbon.

Three theater productions were featured.  One with the grandmothers showing how a woman came to La Carpio after her difficult abusive relation.  Another presented by the teen girls linked the story of Anne Frank with Covid in Carpio and Ukraine.  The third presentation was by the men of our group and is designed to show how youth abuse affects men from Nicaragua.

The Hotel Marriott generously provided a wonderful meal served with all the formality of the day.  Surprised to see a fork AND a knife, AND a piece of cloth called a napkin, the members of our sport league Rescate took valiantly went at the cutting of the meat. Meanwhile, the little kids were thrilled to find a bathroom faucet with HOT water coming out,

To make the cultural exchange even more interesting, the guests were interested to see the modified Montessori program that the Foundation sponsors and to learn about our Street children rescue program.

Then the show began….

The “minis” of our Montessori program sang the song “We are the Flowers of the Garden” showcasing their delightful costumes as flowers, sun, rain, and earth.  Who could resist the site of little children wiggling and singing a song about nature’s rhythms?

The soccer boys and girls made a pageant of the song “We Are the Champions” complete with a mockup of the wonderful bus we had been donated.

Next, the group of elementary kids sang the song “Prendo una vela”.. l light a candle …to honor 12 of their chosen heroes.  The candle they held was in a hand painted bottle with a copy of a painting by Patricia Erickson called “The Moon is a Woman’s Thing”.  Each of the children then gifted a candle to the women in the audience.  The men were given a hand painted rock with the saying “Upon this rock my church will be built”.

Then, the whole group sang the song “You Raise Me Up” ending with the creation of a human pyramid as the kids raised their arms in gratitude to the audience.

To end the evening, one girl, Francini came out alone and sang our theme song..Love Grows..one by one…two by two…four by four.”  She was soon joined by the rest of the group of children from the La Libertad section of La Carpio who repeated the song and its hand movements.

And finally, everyone stood and sang the song together.

Love grows..one by one…two by two…four by four. Love grows round in a circle and comes back to you to knock on your front door.

My final words to everyone: 

I was I

And

You were you.

Now

I am you…

And you are me…

And

We are We

It was a sweet evening indeed.

Gail Nystrom

Founder and Director

Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation

We are very grateful for all the people who assisted and supported us in this very important event. We would also like to thank everyone who has supported us through the years and provided the resources to change the lives of thousands of the most vulnerable people in Costa Rica. We hope to have honored your support for our cause. Thank you for sharing our dream!

Proceeds from this activity will go toward:

Libros para todos program for the northern zone

A library program for, about and by indigenous in Suretka Talamanca

A Museum/Library in Amubri de Talamanca

Food baskets for La Carpio

Housing for la Carpio

Small businesses for single mothers heads of household

Volunteers

Preparing for 25 years

Creating something beautiful and impactful always has its challenges. We have done a lot of activities to give people a chance to showcase their work over the years. I’m glad to have had past experiences to keep me calm for this upcoming event at the Marriott; Sometimes I don’t know what possessed me to try this experience. But, here we are. The people are so serious and committed to creating a wonderful evening.

The montesori kids have to hold a candle..they practiced yesterday how to hold the candle with Reverence. They have worked so hard to create their visual display of their hero. And they are so attentive to our instructions about how to listen to the music to know when to turn around, when to hold the candle up, when to hold hands…Full attention to our instructions and giving ideas as well. The same with the minis. They are so excited to be dressed as flowers and sun and rain. They are learning that they ARE the flowers in the garden of life.

And the soccer boys…just amazing to see those big strong guys lifting their trophies into the air. The teachers and the Auto Mercado staff and the former street . kids are all preparing their displays to showcase the work they do day in and day out. The grandmothers are practicing their play and creating handcrafts. The teen girls have revamped the scenery for their play and it is so impactful. Harold is creating a scary looking airplane for the scene about Ukrania. We will be making a bus as well. The two French volunteers are hard at work making a giant spiral out of hula hoops. And Katya is busy at the computer creating all the pamphlets and publicity and lists and instructions.

And the indigenous are coming in all the way from Talamanca with their crafts and their necessary presence.

I have a lot of errands to run to keep everyone supplied with what they need. No matter what happens, they will all have the satisfaction of knowing that they have worked hard as a team to create something epic. It won’t be perfect but it will be heartfelt. I doubt I’ll make it through without crying…not for sad, but for happy.

“love grows one by one two by two….four by four…love grows…round in a circle…comes back to …you and knocks at your front door”

Volunteers

CRHF 25 year celebration

It is our honor and privilege to invite you to share in the celebration of 25 years since the establishment of the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation. We have been working tirelessly since 1997 to find creative and realistic solutions to complex challenges related to situations of poverty and inequality.

We will provide an evening of gratitude for all the people who have supported, served and received services through the efforts of the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation.

Volunteers

What’s it like to visit CRHF in La Carpio?

Welcoming

First, you will be greeted at the street as your bus or car drives up. We accompany you up the stairs and our team will be on hand to greet you in our center. A short tour of the place ensues with explanation of each room, its role and its importance. Sewing and creative room, office and storage of tools and dry goods, reception area where thirty families per day await the arrival of food from Auto Mercado, Fruit and vegetable distribution area, kitchen where hot meals are prepared every day, bathroom, lunch room, english classroom, model Montessori classroom, library, elementary classroom. When we started the space was just one vast area dedicated to provide space for a church. Each of these areas is now furnished with donated items and lovingly cared for.

Next, we will sit together and I will share a bit about our spiral model of development and how it applies to our daily work. Lately I have also been sharing with volunteers about their experience with COVID and now, more school shootings.

Service Field Visit

After this, we take a break, making sure everyone has water and head off to our designated project site. During the walk, we greet people and talk to them so they can tell their stories. We also tell the stories of the houses because we know who has lived there from 25 years ago! Projects include a hands on light construction project like painting the walls of every house in a particular sector, or making bunk beds for families, or distributing plants or even setting a big blanket on the ground and doing art with a sector of children.

Lunch Break

After about 2 hours, we will walk back to our main Montessori center where a delicious, healthy buffet meal will be waiting. We include a protein, green salad, fresh fruits, vegetables, rice, bread and a drink. As we are eating, the teen girls and grandmothers are setting up their crafts fair so we encourage everyone to wander around in order to see what souvenirs they would like to buy. These two groups run their own small business and the Foundation leaves the pricing and administration of the crafts up to their creators.

Debrief

While you are wandering, we are reconfiguring the classroom into a theater venue and voila…when you finish with your purchases, you return to the “theater” and one of our five productions will be presented. These plays are true stories about issues we deal with either in La Carpio or the world. They are all interactive and the audience gets to become part of our story. We then have a round table discussion with the actors followed by a short debrief with me.

Finally, as a tribute and a thank you to all our guests, we present everyone with a symbolic gift made by one of our grandmothers.If you are here for longer we have projects that are more complex and more time to spend with the beautiful, open hearted children of one of our three centers.

Your bus will pick you up right in front of our building and, safe and sound, you will be on your way.

What is the purpose of your visit?

First, we are proud of what we have accomplished thanks to all of you. We want to share our experiences and show you how we are all so equal dealing with the same human difficulties. We love to talk to you…in spite of some language differences. However, the kids have gotten over their shyness of volunteers and eagerly await the chance to practice their English and to be part of your project – helping to paint walls, install bunkbeds, mix cement, paint a mural.

Second, our medium term goal is to educate the children with the reading of interesting and informative books.We want to promote a population of readers. Most of the kids don’t have computers in their houses but are adept at using their phone. However….research is beginning to show that too much tik tok may not be so good after all. We want the children to find joy and enchantment in the act of reading.Our final goal which is long term, is for you to go away with hope, joy and commitment to the cause of easing suffering and not being afraid to try. There are so many things you can do right in your own neighborhood/country to make life better.

Also, we want to show everyone that this neighborhood called La Carpio is not the drug infested, violent place that it is often portrayed as in the press. it is a place of families and community that shares their victories and sorrows and sticks together.

If you would like to program a visit – it is NOT a tour – please give us a call or click here for more information on our volunteer programs.

Thank you

Volunteers

End of Year Teatro Expresivo

Image
Pedro and Gail take some of the kids to el “Teatro Espressivo”.

Our end of year activities included a visit to Teatro Expresivo to see the delightful play ” A Christmas Carol” adapted to Costa Rican culture. Our chosen kids, who all got highest grades, laughed and got somber at the antics of the actors. Afterwards we treated them to a Cafe Britt hot chocolate and cookie. We are so grateful to Britt for making this activity possible for our population. La Carpio presente. In the front row….interacting with the actors on stage.