A little bit about La Chaves!

La Chaves and La Rambla are rural agricultural communities of less than 500 residents each. Most families incomes are based on local farms, be it pineapple, banana or decorative plants for exporting and children grow up expecting this to be their future. Both communities have deep socio-economic struggles, from poverty to domestic violence and hunger. English learning gives the youth of these communities opportunities outside of the path that has been traveled over and over again by their relatives.
 
Students from these two communities attended JumpStart La Rambla 2014, making it a complete success and creating the demand for another camp in 2015. The Costa Rican Ministry of Education teacher from JS La Rambla signed on for JumpStart La Chaves immediately, seeing a great opportunity for himself and his students. More than half of JumpStart La Chaves attendees have never had English classes before, this camp will be propelling them into a life with more potential.
 
La Chaves and La Rambla are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the camp, prepared to offer their youth the chance to explore better futures.

-America, PCV

More events in Turrialba!

Turrialba is continuing to show commitment as a community to the upcoming JumpStart camp that begins in three weeks! In November, the community hosted a soccer tournament. The 6th grade boys won the tournament, and four teams of self-organized students came out to play!! All of the students helped ref and keep score and they did a great job :)

-Tia, TEFL volunteer in Turrialba

 
 

Update on Quepos!

What an amazing place to be! JumpStart Quepos is coming together wonderfully!  Just under 3 weeks away from Day 1 of camp, and students have freshly completed their pre-assessments as parents are gearing up for a JumpStart fundraiser! Thanks to the 3kilos of fish donation from  Martec and a 40 person choir troupe from Juniata College in Pennsylvania, JumpStart parents will be selling ceviche and arroz con leche at the concert production for the community!! A huge shout out of thanks to the community for their participation in making JumpStart Quepos a success!!

In addition, not only is Global Visions International supplying 3 volunteers to aid for the duration of the camp, they've also made a donation of essential materials for the camp!! Hooray for collaboration with a fellow service organization! Tremendous thanks!!

 

-Ramona, Youth Development Peace Corps Volunteer

A little bit about Boca de Arenal!

Boca de Arenal is a large community of over 5,000 residents that is located in northern Costa Rica. Most of the residents work in the pineapple or sugar cane plants that cover most of the land in Boca de Arenal. Working in these plants or fields is no walk in the park, but it's the only source of income available to those who did not graduate from high school. Many of the students from Boca de Arenal aspire to improve their job choices and attain careers such as a tourist guide. Living in a country such as Costa Rica that is quickly developing in tourism now requires a higher level of English for these careers to be obtained. 

In 2015, JumpStart will work for the first time with 22 rising seventh grade students from the primary school in Boca de Arenal. In a community overwhelmed with violence and drugs, we believe JumpStart will provide a positive impact. The community, parents, and students are all very excited about this camp opportunity, and are joining together to help make this camp a success and with a little help it can go beyond our expectations. 

-Marisela Núñez, Peace Corps Volunteer, JumpStart Boca de Arenal