A Brief history of the Ilori Children’s Education Program

Way back in October 2008, WWD-F in Costa Rica created the Ilori Program specifically for at-risk children, most affected by HIV/AIDS, crime and poverty, by engineering workshops that awaken the children’s creativity through dance, art and music; offer exercises to improve their flexibility, motor coordination and equilibrium; as well as use creative visualizations to develop their concentration, attention and memory.

A critical component of these workshops was to convey different values such as respect; taking care of self, one another, all life forms, and things; sharing; co-operation; the value of friendship; etc, as well as to promote an awareness of ecology in its broadest sense, by encouraging respect and care for all living beings. We also provided the children with healthy meals, emphasizing the importance of good nutrition.

In 2009, WWD-F organized a total of 12 workshops consciously designed to raise awareness and develop friendly attitudes to nature and the environment.  These workshops were known as, “The earth is my home so I take care of it.”  To achieve our objective, we offered the children a series of participatory experiences which allowed them to reflect on the importance of caring for the environment by taking them to various national parks, ecological nurseries, aquariums, as well as visits to local rivers and mountains.   Through stories, puppets, theatre, talks, and games, they learned about ecology, recycling, basic care of animals and plants, and how and why to keep the environment clean.

In addition to our “The earth is my home so I take care of it” series, we celebrated International Children’s Day at the national amusement park, and ended the year with a special Christmas party, where the children played co-operative games, swam in a swimming pool and were given gifts.  A local company generously donated jumping castles, candy floss and ice cream.  This Christmas Party was such a success with both the children and the parents that it has quickly become an annual tradition (for photos of the 2010’s Christmas Party, visit here!)

The majority of these children are immigrants living, in the slums of Costa Rica, in tiny tin houses, with no green areas, unpaved streets and poor drainage. Most families do not have the financial resources for recreational and leisure activities.  Therefore, our workshops give the children the rare opportunity to positively interact with other children and adults; make contact with and enjoy nature; visit beautiful places which otherwise would not be accessible to them; learn all kinds of things; play; and introduce them to different music and arts.  We believe that through these activities the children have been able to develop social skills, practical living skills as well as self-confidence and self-awareness.  For more photos of past workshops, please visit our FaceBook page!

But we would rather you hear it from the children and mothers themselves:

Fabiola, 14 years old

My name is Fabiola and I live in Asseri, San Jose, Costa Rica with my 2 younger sisters and my mother.  I come to the Ilori workshops with my aunt, grandmother, sisters and cousins.  In the beginning I was not keen in attending the workshops as I am quite shy and found it difficult speak to people. Now it fills me with happiness to see all the children enjoying themselves, their smiles, their screams, even the ones that cry bring me joy.

I stopped being so quiet and now speak to all the people, and even though I am a teenager when I am with the children of Ilori I feel like a child of 7years again.  In the workshops they teach us respect, cooperation, to share, honesty, no fighting, never to give up, to care and love each other and many more things.  We also have a chance to play and enjoy ourselves.

What I really like about the Ilori workshops is the following:

They help us when we have a problem.

They teach us moral values

We get a chance to know beautiful places

They treat us with a lot of affection

I can only say thank you very much for everything they have taught me, my sisters and cousins.

Karla Payan, mother of 3 children: Bradley, Vanessa, and Illaney

Ilori workshops teach the children to share, to dialogue, they motivate the children to become independent and more humble, to respect and to care for each other and that we are all equal.  It is a great opportunity that they give us and I am very happy for what they do for us.  My kids become very excited when I tell them that we are going to a workshop with Ercy from Ilori.  God bless them for all they have done and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.  I am so happy that we got the chance to go to so many places that we did not know.  Once again, from me and my kids thank you so much.  God bless!

Ilori Education Program puts the “play” back in playshop!

Over the past month, at every Ilori Educational Program “playshop” with the children of La Carpio, we have been using Wise Heart Books’ Smart Values Series.  Each book contains an important message for children, such as building a strong and healthy body or cultivating positive thoughts and habits, or developing love for oneself and the world around them.  Therefore, we have created group and individual activities centered around the values presented in the books.

In addition to inspiring and educating readers, as well as promoting literacy among the children, every sale of a Wise Heart Book generates funding for our Ilori Children’s Educational Program in La Carpio. 

We have been using Wise Heart Books’ Smart Values Series, which is a collection of five delightful stories that help children understand the positive and transformative nature of good values.  Each story describes how certain values – such as generosity, cleanliness, and honesty – can change us for the better.

About Annie the Ant:

Annie the Ant is having a hard time watching over her friends, Lazy and Hasty. Lazy never wants to work hard like the other ants in the colony, and Hasty is always getting into trouble because she always leaps before she thinks. When Annie and her friends are endangered by a cat, the two wayward ants have a chance to change themselves and save the day.

The kids read Annie the Ant together, followed by a facilitated group discussion about the values of hard work, patience, and cooperation.  In order to make sure the kids understood the message, they were asked to re-create the story as a drama and did some accompanying art work.

About Manny the Mouse:

After losing his tail to the baker’s cat, Manny the mouse quickly learns the consequences of stealing flour from the bakery. In this delightful and twisted tale of a tail, the mouse learns the importance of respecting what belongs to others.

The kids read Manny the Mouse together, followed by a facilitated group discussion about why stealing is wrong.  They played “pin the tail” on Manny the Mouse and even made character masks, which they used to act out scenes from the story.

They just started reading Captain Grimy, who happens to be the dirtiest, most miserable, one-legged sea captain in the world, who likes nothing better than to pollute the seas.  There is a lot to learn from Captain Grimy’s story, lessons about the importance of personal hygiene as well as respect for our environment.

Other books in the Smart Values Series include:

The Magic Bucket

The Wise Woman of the Mountain

Please make sure to check out our FaceBook page for videos and photos of these playshops with the children!

You too, can use Wise Heart Books to teach values to your children and know that each sale is a tangible way to support our Ilori Children’s Educational Programs in La Carpio!

By the way, Happy Semana Santa to all!

Tamale Tuesday in La Carpio

Every week, Bien de Mujer hosts holistic, educational playshops as part of our Ilori Children’s Education program—which seeks to nurture the mind, heart, body, and spirit of each child living in La Carpio, the slums of San Jose, Costa Rica.  This past Tuesday, March 29, we had a full house of enthusiastic kids, as well as a group of hard-working women, from our Granos Solidarios women’s group, cooking up tamales to sell throughout the neighborhood.

Each Ilori playshop usually begins with songs and some yoga or dance, and this week, we continued to use Wise Heart Books as a tool to teach values to the kids.  They read “Captain Grimy”, “Manny the Mouse” and “Annie the Ant” together, followed by games and exercises to reinforce the lessons in the books.  If you visit the Bien de Mujer/ Women’s Wellbeing and Development Foundation FaceBook page , you will see some videos taken by a volunteer.

While the children were busy doing art work and playing games, the women of Granos Solidarios were busy making home-made tamales, to sell, and thus raise funds for the Granos Solidarios group business fund.  The Granos Solidarios are working to develop their current tamale-making micro-business into a larger, sustainable business; while at the same time, they are learning business skills 101, basic finance management, and how to work efficiently as a team.

The women of Granos Solidarios are so enthusiastic about this growing tamale business that the women had to be separated into two working groups, so each group alternates, each month.  To further support our children’s educational programs or the work of Granos Solidarios, please send us a donation at

Thank you again for your generosity of spirit!

Using Wise Heart Books to teach the children in La Carpio values

Wise Heart Books is a socially conscious company designed by educators, parents, and artists to create books and educational materials that nurture the whole child: body, mind and spirit.  Each book contains an important message for children, such as building a strong and healthy body or cultivating positive thoughts and habits, or developing love for oneself and the world around them.

In addition to inspiring and educating readers, every sale of a Wise Heart Book generates funding for our Ilori Children’s Educational Program in La Carpio.  Last week, we held a day-long playshop, using two Wise Heart Books from the Smart Values Series:  Annie the Ant and Manny the Mouse.

The Smart Values Series is a collection of five delightful stories that help children understand the positive and transformative nature of good values.  Each story describes how certain values – such as generosity, cleanliness, and honesty – can change us for the better.

About Annie the Ant:

Annie the Ant is having a hard time watching over her friends, Lazy and Hasty. Lazy never wants to work hard like the other ants in the colony, and Hasty is always getting into trouble because she always leaps before she thinks. When Annie and her friends are endangered by a cat, the two wayward ants have a chance to change themselves and save the day.

The kids read Annie the Ant together, followed by a facilitated group discussion about the values of hard work, patience, and cooperation.  In order to make sure the kids understood the message, they were asked to re-create the story as a drama and did some accompanying art work.

About Manny the Mouse:

After losing his tail to the baker’s cat, Manny the mouse quickly learns the consequences of stealing flour from the bakery. In this delightful and twisted tale of a tail, the mouse learns the importance of respecting what belongs to others.

The kids read Manny the Mouse together, followed by a facilitated group discussion about why stealing is wrong.  They played “pin the tail” on Manny the Mouse and filled out some coloring books of Manny and the other characters.

Other books in the Smart Values Series include:

Captain Grimy

The Magic Bucket

The Wise Woman of the Mountain

Buying Wise Heart Books is not just a long-lasting gift to your children or grand children, but a tangible way to support our Ilori Children’s Educational Programs in La Carpio: http://wiseheartbooks.com

Thank you again for all your support!

More gratitude for the Children’s Christmas party, from the mothers and children themselves!

This past Tuesday, January 18, felt like a family reunion between the Women’s Wellbeing and Development Foundation/Bien de Mujer staff and the women and children we work with in La Carpio.  Because our women and children’s community education center is still under renovation, 35 kids, a few mothers, and we, all gathered at a local church in La Carpio for some value-teaching group games and exercises, as well as fruit and biscuits.

Authentic gratitude for our Children’s Christmas Party was tangible, and we just wanted to share some of these sentiments:

From the Mothers:

The Xmas party was very beautiful, very well organized. The kids enjoyed it very much!  They gave us food and the gifts were fantastic.  Thank you very much for everything.

Maria Isabel Suarez Gonzalez, Mother

My name is Jazmina Pupiro and I went to the party with my 5 children.  It was a wonderful party:  there was a pool, games, food, ice cream and cake, and beautiful gifts!

Jazmina Pupiro, Mother

Everything was fantastic!  The gifts, the pool!  I liked the games very much.  My daughter loved the pool and her gift.

Maria Rizo, Mother

I loved everything about the party.  The children loved their gifts and had a lot of fun. They enjoyed the food– it was a great surprise for them.  These workshops are very good for the children, they learn a lot in them and they help them a lot. The people that organize them are very good people and they really are great with the children.

Jaquelin Caliz Soza, Mother

I am very grateful to these wonderful people for everything they do for the children.  The party was wonderful.  Thank you so much.

Martha Paniagua, Mother

From some of the kids:

My name is Amanda and the party was beautiful and wonderful.  I will never forget it.  Thank you so much.

Amanda, 13 years old

I loved the party!  Thank you to everybody that organized this party for us, children.

Leyter Dixon Caliz, 12 years old

It was fabulous!  I was very happy that Ercy and Sonia were there, they are very good people.

Emmanuel, 13 years old

I loved the party, especially the pool! Keilyn Patricia, 11 years old

I loved everything about the party, especially the gifts, cannot wait to go again! Dana Paola Cruz, 12 years old

I enjoyed the party very much and I really loved the pool. Genesis Zuniga, 9 years old

For me, I loved everything about the party, especially the gifts. Paola Ortiz, 13 years old

Then we asked the little ‘uns:  “What part of the Christmas Party was your favorite?”

The pool, I wanted to swim three times! Valery, 5 years old

Everything! Henrito, 3 years old

Santa and the gifts!       Alison Nicole, 5 years old

The gifts, the ice cream and the jumping castles!        Jacol, 6 years old

The jumping castles and Santa! Angie, 5 years old

Again, this unforgettable experience for the kids, parents, and us, would not have been possible without all the hard-working volunteers and all the generous donations from people like you!  Gracias por todo!

What 2011 looks like for the Women’s Wellbeing and Development Foundation/Bien de Mujer, Costa Rica

Happy New Year!

We, at the Women’s Wellbeing and Development Foundation/Bien de Mujer, are all back, from the holidays, in our offices in Guadalupe, San Jose (some of us more tan than others!)  Last week, we got together to evaluate our recent end-of-the-year events, mainly the annual Children’s Christmas Party and the Granos Solidarios Christmas Party, as well as to discuss and outline our objectives for the upcoming year.

Our annual report will be coming out in the near future, but in 2011, our main objective is to complete the eco-conscious construction and development of our women and children’s community education center, in La Carpio.  In addition to completing this monumental task, we are actively seeking to partner with local and international organizations in the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation and monitoring of the holistic experiential learning, values-teaching, and practical life-skills workshops and classes we provide to the women and children living in La Carpio.

Ideally, our women and children’s community education center will serve as a model community playground and alternative education center that addresses the well-being, internal and external development, and quality education and empowerment of women and children living in La Carpio, San Jose (Costa Rica.)

A day in La Carpio

I would love to do a survey of tourists and Costa Ricans (who live outside of San Jose), and ask them if they have ever heard of “La Carpio”?  I suspect most of them, both visitors and Ticos alike, will answer “no.”  “La Carpio” is basically the “slums” of San Jose and like most slums, unless you live there or have family there, no one ever visits, much less wants to accidentally end up there while trying to find the San Pedro Mall.

The Women’s Well-Being and Development Foundation (WWD-F) , known in Costa Rica as “Bien de Mujer“,  is one of the few local women-designed and operated; non-profit, community-based organizations specifically addressing the well-being, internal and external development, and quality education and empowerment of women and children living in La Carpio.  (Just my cup of coffee!)

Previously, I was just a fan and supporter of the quality work of WWD-F; now, I am a volunteer member of this extraordinary, international team of powerful, inspired, and resourceful women.  WWD-F might be new to you, but I have done some pro bono consulting with them in the past, as well as actively promoted last year’s big children’s Christmas party.

For the time being, I am taking on various roles with WWD-F which range from promoting this year’s Annual Children’s Christmas Party (which will be held on DEC 21); working on their new website (http://www.wwd-f.org/index.html) as well as assisting in the design of an integrated social media communications and marketing plan; and marketing their new series of children’s books, called Wise Heart Books, which focus on teaching values to children in a fun, memorable way.

Current projects of the Women’s Well-Being and Development Foundation (WWD-F):

• Experiential, uplifting children’s education program called Ilori Educational Program, which includes “playshops”, fieldtrips, and events/activities outside of La Carpio.
• Educational Center Canto Al Sol: a preschool located in Lomas de Tepeyac, San Jose– with programs such as yoga, swimming, music and the arts, in addition to early childhood development education.
• Wise Heart children’s books—which will partially fund all current WWD-F projects
• Women’s Support Group called Granos Solidarios, which is currently working on putting together a small group business, in addition to training and support in conflict resolution; parenting skills; nutrition; self-esteem development; community organization; and holistic health care.
• The Sattva Vita Complementary  Health Care Center, located in Guadalupe, San Jose, which is staffed by certified Aryuvedic practitioners and other professional alternative and holistic health providers.

WWD-F just purchased two buildings in La Carpio (and intend to purchase a third building) and are actively in the process of transforming this series of buildings, in the middle of the slums, into an eco-friendly, safe, welcoming, and most importantly, fun women and children’s community education center with everything from an organic garden and playground to classrooms, library and computer lab and more! 

For information about WWD-F:  http://www.wwd-f.org/index.html

By Kelly N Patterson