Siquirres is a developing town of about 50,000 residents two
hours outside of San José in the western corner of the province of Limón. The
vast amount of Siquirres’ monetary supply and job creation sprouts from
construction and plantation work in banana and pineapple fields. The latter
occupation dominates and is the career path for many who do not pursue/finish
higher education. Jobs creation has become stagnant and day to day life in high
volume homes is straining. Child labor, drug use, domestic violence and broken
homes unfortunately are societal realities in Siquirries; but the Siquirreño
amidst all this is upbeat outgoing and friendly.
Limon as a province is heterogeneously composed of native Costa
Ricans and West Indian descendants who have established the English language as
a fading staple of the province. The English present now is broken and infused
with Spanish and Creole. Outside of this mutation of the language English is poorly
dispersed throughout the town – even inside of the classroom.
For Jumpstart 2015 we will be impacting students from four
elementary schools: two rural and two of high priority and attention due to
lack of necessities and other societal realities of the feeding communities. By
executing this project we are sharpening some life tools for the students and
aiming to provide them a fighting chance against complacency and poverty. The
community’s future relies on today’s youth and through Jumpstart we can start
an educational ripple that can flow great lengths.
