Tag Archives: La Carpio

New Year 2024 Day 1 Celebration and Birthdays

What an amazing way to start the New Year! Volunteers Vicki Schwarz and her friends sponsored a fantastic New Year party in order to celebrate her and Dans birthdays and to teach children about healthy eating…

Doña Antonia came through with a delicious tomatoes-only spaghetti sauce with spiral noodles. the 50 kids got a glass of milk to drink along with it. The desert was a fresh fruit cup with some ice cream and a home baked cookie.

We had fun singing together and Adolfo gave his life story to the kids. He emphasized belief in yourself, never give up and accept help when needed. An extra bonus was Alcider also had his birthday.

Each child was given a lovingly wrapped present of a notebook crayons or colored pencil or clay. Three children got a special gift that was raffled off. Our Automercado food program supplied a yummy chocolate cake. As the kids left they all got a hug from all the volunteers and then we sat down to eat together. Because we were starving.

A few tears of joy were shed. What a loving way to spend a birthday and a beginning of a new year. Thanks to our amazing team who set up the room, gathered the children and made sure everything went smoothly. Thanks so much to the volunteers and their coordinator Vicki for their wonderful new year 2024 first day.

ps. this was a party created with love and higher consciousness to celebrate birth and new beginnings. And it was fun and stress free. Everyone had a part to play and we all got along great. Mutual respect and true caring. No power plays on this day.
True gratitude.

2023 CRHF Christmas Party – An Unforgettable Day

Some days are just meant to be unforgettable. Our donor Gary has given us a generous Christmas party for many years . But this time his assistant had an incredibly plucky idea…Let’s just take everyone to Parque de Diversiones – the national amusement park .

So.. with great trepidation and a pinch of hope we potted our scheme. The ever patient Katya who is our assistant began to make the list. And wound up checking it much more than twice. Our faithful teachers vetted every single person. And the meticulous Natasha took care of all the details having to do with the Park, payments and protocols.

Somehow – with help From above, we pulled it off. Nearly six hundred children and parents…who live near this financially unaccessible national amusement park, who pass by it on their way to and from anywhere, were able to enjoy a day of pure excitement and joy. They walked and rode and ate to their heart’s content. And, we didn’t lose anyone and no one got hurt.

Reuniting in Plaza de la Democracia: Liberation, Family and Unexpected Celebrations

The day of the commemoration liberation from the army we were standing in the Democracy Plaza. Waiting. Someone said…look, there is the president and they are filming him. Of course we had to go and cureosiar. Sure enough. There was a film crew filming a president…But it was an actor look alike of President Figueres…doing a reenactment of the speech had dismantling the army.

BUT we were there for another mission. We were waiting for volunteer Julie, who had arrived just a week ago, to meet for the first time since she was nine months old, her very alive mother. It “only” took a few days to find Julie’s long lost family and there we were.  Waiting. Suddenly, we saw them mother, brother, sister and two delightful nephews walking toward us. Then there were hugs as they found each other again. Tears flowed and there was a kind of peace in the air. A relief and a calm.

Then we gathered ourselves to walk across the street to a local restaurant that had been tipped off about this life changing event. The Calypso band asked ” what song shall we play?’ and all we could think of was “happy birthday to you”. So there it was…and the whole restaurants broke into applause. A great meal, profound conversation and wonderful little drawings by the two little kids as a gift for “tia”. And all this transpired right there in the Democracy Plaza. Where years ago an army leader took a sledge hammer to a fortress wall forever changing the destiny of all Costa Rican children. Even the adopted ones.It was a good day.

Empowering Communities Through Partnerships: The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation’s Work Against Hunger

A Lifeline from Surplus: The Automercado Partnership
In the relentless work against poverty, the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation has forged a crucial alliance with the Automercado supermarket chain. This section explores the daily routine of collecting surplus products and transforming them into basic food baskets for the community.

Nourishing Lives: Basic Food Baskets for Diverse Communities
Delving deeper into the impact of the Automercado partnership, this section highlights how the foundation’s outreach program reaches various segments of the community, providing nutritious food to the elderly, single mothers, disabled individuals, unemployed men, and refugees.

Small Business, Big Impact: Food Sustainable Livelihoods
Explore how the earnings generated from the modest sums paid by community members for the food baskets contribute to a sustainable small business enterprise. Learn how more than 50 individuals are supported, creating a positive economic cycle within the community.

Beyond Relief: A Holistic Approach to Poverty
This section emphasizes that the foundation’s efforts go beyond traditional humanitarian aid by promoting healthy eating habits. It introduces the educational sessions on making nutritious juices from rescued raw foods and the impact of these sessions on creating a healthier community.

Community Empowerment: Fostering Solidarity and Awareness
Highlight the foundation’s unique role in fostering a sense of community and solidarity through its programs. Explore how the hands-on educational approach empowers individuals to make better food choices and take responsibility for their well-being.

Sowing Seeds of Well-Being: Long-Term Impact
In conclusion, this section reflects on the lasting impact of the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation’s collaborative efforts. It emphasizes the foundation as a beacon of hope and showcases how sustained community engagement and empowerment can create enduring solutions to combat poverty.

New Home, Family Constellations

Building a concrete floor for the new house.

A woman was selling her house so she could return to Nicaragua. Our donor funded the $2500. Only in Carpio can you get a house that cheap. It is being upgraded by Geancarlos so his mother can move into it. She will then leave Geancarlos and his wife Brenda her house which is bigger. Child welfare will then return custody of her two sisters to Brenda. Their mother died after childbirth two years ago. Family constellations in poverty communities are so complex.

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.

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.

Cafe Howie

This is our first day of “Cafe Howie” named after our donor. We have started small..the four table and chair sets that Alan refurbished. A lovely white linen tablecloth from donations. The sweet rose flower arrangements left over from the gala dinner. Fresh hot coffee. Vegetable health drink. Fresh fruit smoothie. Arroz con leche and atol made with fresh cow’s milk. Wonderful warm homemade sweet bread. And lively music.

This first week is free samples. Next week we will ask c1000 colones for any two products. Humble beginnings but…big dreams

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.

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