New English classes for the kids in La Carpio

Even though our women and children’s center, in La Carpio, is still under renovation, we are gathering there because we can no longer fit all the children in the local church!  This past Tuesday, two students from the University of Costa Rica, Laura Méndez Delgado and Mark Solano Hernandez, came out to teach over 35 children English, as part of the university’s community work program. 

Fluency in English is a highly marketable asset to most jobs in Costa Rica, and usually, children from poor families cannot afford English classes, so instantly they are at a disadvantage to youth from more economically-stable homes, especially, if their parents do not speak any English.  Therefore, by teaching the children, in our Ilori Education Program, English we are providing them with a highly valuable skill that may just give them the lead in the workforce.

In addition to English lessons, the children also sang songs, did some artwork, practiced some yoga, and they have been reading “The Little Prince” together.   Thank you again to our volunteer teachers, as well as all the people who continue to support our work at Bien de Mujer!

Update on the women and children’s center in La Carpio, April 4, 2011

One would assume our biggest challenge in creating a women and children’s community educational center and playground in La Carpio would be raising funds; however, as it turns out, security of the property in this impoverished neighborhood has become an issue.  Last week, one of our buildings was broken into and tools were stolen.  This just confirms the desperation of the local people and teaches us that we need to make security a priority.

On a lighter note, we were able to raise the remaining $3000 to buy out the third, and final, building to complete our vision for the women and children’s center and in addition, we received a generous donation of $4000 USD from GP Service, a local Costa Rican company, for the construction of the playground area.

This week, we will be tiling the floor of the second building, which means it is almost ready to be fully utilized!  With the help of Morron Design, a local architect firm, we are drawing up the plans both for the play area and the third building.  Our vision is to connect all three buildings, centering around the play area.  As soon as we have the final blueprints we will post them on this blog.

Thank you again to all our local and international supporters—our dream is in motion!

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!

Celebrating International Women’s Day with the women of Granos Solidarios

In honor of International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future, held every March 8^th, Bien de Mujer organized a special outing to celebrate the women of our Granos Solidarios group.  To read about the history of this women’s group–all their projects and activities, please visit our previous blog.

At 9 am, on March 19^th, 50 women from Granos Solidarios packed onto a bus from La Carpio and headed, singing all the way, to Parque del Este for a day of fun and relaxation.  The day started off with yoga in the park, swimming in the park pool, and some group games and exercises.  After lunch, the women were serenaded by a Nicaraguan folk singer, which became a sing-along and much dancing!

For many women, this outing was the only time they had been away from La Carpio, or away from their husbands and families.   It was truly a special day for the women of Granos Solidarios, to see all the photos from this celebration of our women: http://www.flickr.com/photos/biendemujer/sets/72157626320455708/

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!

Urgent Opportunity to help complete our vision for our women & children’s center!

As you may know, we have been busy transforming two neglected buildings into on our women and children’s community playground and education center in La Carpio; home to our Ilori Children’s Education programs and our local women’s group, Granos Solidarios.  Recently, very serendipitously, the house on the other side of the first building came up for sale, and we knew, in our hearts, this was meant to be for the expansion and completion of our vision for the women and children’s center.

Therefore, we took a huge leap of faith; vigorously negotiated with the owner (bargained down to $17,000 USD total!); and managed to scrape $14,000 USD together, required for the down payment.  We signed the papers on Monday, February 28^th –now, we have until the end of March (March 31 is the deadline!) to come up with the remaining $3000 to “seal the deal.”

Therefore, we are appealing to our neighbors, supporters, and fans to contribute to pulling $3000 USD together by March 31.  Twenty dollars here and $50 there, adds up quickly; no contribution is too small!  Already individuals, companies and peer organizations are working with us to make our vision a reality.  A local donated a double-door fridge.  Local companies have pledged to assist us with creating an organic and aesthetic garden, the design and construction of the playground, as well as interior furnishings.

Grupo Armonia, a local collective of environmental professionals and artists, which seeks to connect and facilitate ecological consciousness movements throughout Costa Rica and Central America, and actively promotes the reconnection of humanity with the spirit of the earth through various activities, workshops, and the muy popular “Feria Verde” (Saturday morning Green Farmer’s Market in Barrio Aranjuez, San Jose), has hooked us up with an eco-architect!  They will also be designing and creating a “vertical” organic veggie garden, as frequently used in urban permaculture.

Cemex has already donated a truck load of cement, and Mecco, another local company, has donated a truck of sand and gravel.  In others words, we are getting to our complete vision for the women and children’s center at a rapid pace and all we need to seal the deal is $3000.  Therefore, if there is any amount you can share, please donate here:

 

Or if you happen to be in Costa Rica, you can always donate directly to the Women’s Wellbeing and Development Foundation, Costa Rica at our bank:

Nombre: BAC San José, Costa Rica
Swift: BSNJCRSJ
Nombre del banco: BAC San José, Costa Rica
Número de cuenta: 906417993 (Moneda extranjera y americana)
Número de cuenta: 906418017

Thank you again for all your time, consideration, and support.  And before I forget, Happy International Women’s Day!

Meet our neighbors in La Carpio, Costa Rica

Every time I mention I work in “La Carpio” to a Costa Rican, they grimace and ask, “But isn’t that dangerous?”  This reaction is most likely because the only times “La Carpio” is mentioned in the local media it involves drugs, crime or violence.  Most visitors to Costa Rica have never even heard of La Carpio because the local media (and the tourism industry) is proficient at covering up any blemishes on the face of Paradise.  But yes, despite Pura Vida, there is poverty, disease, crime, and neglect in Costa Rica; however, most of it seems to be isolated to one particular San Jose neighborhood:  La Carpio.

Founded by squatters in the mid-1990s, La Carpio’s estimated 40,000 residents, around half of whom are immigrants and refugees from Nicaragua and other Central American countries, live in an area of 296 square kilometers, encircled by two heavily polluted rivers and the city landfill (which receives over 700 tons of waste daily.)  As a matter of fact, more garbage-per-capita comes from the wealthy, predominantly ex-patriot community of Escazu into the La Carpio landfill, than from La Carpio residents themselves.*

Forgoing the obvious environmental hazards of living in La Carpio, like most “slums” throughout the world, public infrastructure such as schools, clinics, roads, security, and sanitation systems are under-resourced or plainly neglected; unemployment is high; drug and alcohol abuse is common; low levels of education; large families with single parent homes; and there is a high prevalence of HIV and other chronic diseases.

Without getting into the complicated reasons why such a place continues to exist in a country whose pride and reputation lie in being an eco-progressive, peaceful “social democracy”, I will refer you to more qualified (and eye-opening) resources such as

http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/2782
http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2008/october/04/nac04.htm
http://www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm?id_article=547

It is within this context that we, at the Women’s Wellbeing and Development Foundation/Bien de Mujer, are actively building our women and children’s community playground and education center, which seeks to be a safe, eco-conscious, community education and resource center for both local women and children living in La Carpio.

“If you build it, they will come…”

Thanks to bighearted donations from the Charles and Betti Saunders Foundation, AMURTEL USA and a few local Costa Rican companies, including 40 bags of cement from Cemex, WWDF/Bien de Mujer is currently renovating two concrete buildings in the heart of La Carpio, the slums of San Jose, Costa Rica.  These buildings will become the women and children’s community playground and education center; home to our Ilori Children’s Education programs and our local women’s group, Granos Solidarios.

Anantoliy Yujimets, originally from the Ukraine, with a background in reforestation engineering and over 20 years construction experience, is heading our renovations work with the help of two local workers.  Anantoliy has worked with WWD-F for over 8 years; he previously built the Sattva Vita Holistic Health and Education Center in Managua, Nicaragua.

Our first renovation goal was to break open these cold concrete “boxes” (standard housing in La Carpio), to allow for some fresh air and sunlight.  The second goal was to internally connect the two buildings.  Rooms are being created for a library and entertainment center; arts, crafts and music studio; an indoor play room (for rainy days!); venues for workshops and classes; as well as a community kitchen (funded by the Charles and Betti Saunders Foundation), for instructional purposes, the actual preparation of nutritional meals for the children, and for the Granos Solidarios food preparation business.  Electricity and water systems have already been implemented.

Here are some recent photos, taken just last week, of the work done over the past couple of weeks:

We will continue to keep you updated on the center renovations work.  In the meanwhile, we are meeting at local churches and, sometimes, homes throughout La Carpio, until it is possible to meet in the actual center.  Of course, we can use more help and professional input on both the creation of the playground and the interior design–especially from artists, eco-designers, urban perma-culture specialists, etc. to assist us in making this center a safe, eco-conscious, artistic, and welcoming example to the local community.

*If you have some talents or skills you would like to share, please do not hesitate to contact Aine Ni, WWD-F/Bien de Mujer Director, at aine@wwd-f.org . To donate to the creation of this women and children’s community playground and education center in la Carpio: http://www.wwd-f.org/help.html