San
Vito is a mountain town located along the Talamanca mountain range in the
Southeast region of Costa Rica. The area of Coto Brus has a cultural as
rich and lush as its natural beauty yet it trails behind the rest of the
country economical because its still largely dependent on agriculture while
other regions prosper from tourism. This area lacks the infrastructure to
bring in large amounts of tourist and it was only 50 years ago that this part
of the country was nearly uninhabitable and inaccessible from the
capital. Regardless of these factors Coto Brus continues to flourish as a
tightly knit community and San Vito, its capital city bloomed from 45
inhabitants in 1952 to over 15,000 current day. The development of this
region was largely sponsored by Italian colonist that settled in the area after
World War II. Among the earliest settlers was the priest Umberto Melloni
who helped installed the first automatic telephone in all of Costa Rica in the
heart of the Coto Brus region, San Vito.
San
Vito is the anchor for all of Coto Brus by being the most densely populated
district of the region and by keeping the legacy of its Italian settlers alive
through the practice of Italian in schools and at its cultural center.
One High School, proudly named CTP Umberto Melloni sent six students to compete
in the Coto regional Spelling Bee. Of the forty participants competing at
the junior and senior high school level, five students from Umberto Melloni
placed and two of these students have qualified to compete at the national
level. This is an impressive feat considering they have never competed in
a Spelling Bee, let alone a competition conducted entirely in English.
These students from San Vito come from parents who are farmers and shop
attendants and when they compete at the national level its not only for
themselves, they are competing for the pride of all of Coto. So this is
where they need help. This opportunity to compete in a competition across
country might have never taken place without the help of funds from the
Ministery of Public Education. Likewise, the Peace Corps is working hard
to provide this underdeveloped region with more opportunities for economic
growth, one of these opportunities is called Jumpstart.
Jumpstart
is a 4 week intensive English camp for students that have not received proper
English instruction prior to entering High School. This camp will enable
students to be prepared to learn at the technical High School level without
being left behind. Umberto Melloni High School has three specialties
which look for students with a strong proficiency in English. These
specialties have the highest graduation rates and high rates of students
continuing their studies in institutions of higher learning, therefore it would
be imperative to give 6th graders with few resources the confidence to secure
spots in these selective specialties. It is already evident throughout
many Costa Rican communities that academic success hinges on competency in
English. Please help twenty transitioning 6th grade students from three
rural towns in San Vito have a fighting chance at academic success through
sponsoring its local Jumpstart camp today.
Below: PCV Nateara pictured with some of her students after competing in an English Spelling Bee
