Visiting the school in Costa Rica

Author: Jenny Chaplin

As soon as we started planning our trip to Costa Rica we knew we wanted it to be more than just another vacation.  We really wanted to do something for the local community and that is when we started researching different donation opportunities. We came across a tiny school which was in great need of school supplies.  Through our research we found out that majority of schools in Costa Rica are very poorly funded and in great need of help.

This particular school is located in a rural area in Monterey (outskirts of La Fortuna) and has only three classrooms for 45 students.  It has one kindergarten for kids ages 4-6 and two classes for older kids ages 6 and above.  There are only 4 teachers.

A few weeks prior to our trip we started a donation drive for school supplies and toys for the children.  The response was absolutely amazing.  We were able to collect so many valuable supplies.  A couple days before we left for Costa Rica we made a family trip to the local stores in the twin cities and Sasha had a blast filling up the cart with crayons, paints, stickers, toys and candies for the kids.  We collected 130 lbs of supplies!  It was quite a challenge trying to fit all the goodies into travel-friendly packaging.

Upon arrival we were so pleased to discover that nothing was damaged and remained in great shape.  One thing we did not count on was the sheer amount of STUFF and the tiny size of our car.  For about an hour we had to play “luggage Tetris” trying to cram everything into our toy-size Suzuki Jimny, which does not come with a trunk!  After overcoming that hurdle we started our three hour ride to the school.  We were aware that no one at the school spoke English and made prior arrangements with an interpreter named Ricky from a small travel agency Pura Vida! Eh? to help us out.  The next challenge was to somehow find room in our already overstuffed vehicle for another person.  The car was so full that I graciously offered to ride on top of the car or to jog behind it J.  But, as we all inhaled we were able to squeeze Ricky in.

One could probably devote an entire book to the treacherous roads of Costa Rica.  I will just mention that one of the few roads that is paved and lit is the national ONE LANE highway.  Majority of the roads are made up of mud and rocks pressed together and do not have a shoulder on either side.   It is probably wise not to have a large meal prior to a long road trip due to running the risk of “losing your cookies” due to extreme “bumpiness”.  We were so grateful to have rented a 4x4, because as we got stuck a couple times trying to climb each hill and going over boulders we knew that trip would have been impossible in a regular sedan.

As we drove and watched our entire world jump up and down behind our window we saw the most beautiful, lush and pristine forests with a sleeping volcano in the background.  The most amazing tropical birds provided the best musical soundtrack on the planet. The fields were green and carefully tended to.  The life stock was lazily grazing out in the pastures enjoying the sun and the succulent greenery.   And among all that beauty we saw tiny houses, which looked more like shacks nestled between the palm trees and tropical plants.  Most houses looked absolutely unlivable as some were missing entire walls.  As we drove by we could see the family life pass us by inside of them.  A lot of shacks were missing glass on the windows and were either covered with rags or completely boarded up.  I noticed some roofs were pieced together by ply wood and held down by heavy objects such as boulders and even shoes.

As we found out immediately after getting off the plane, the mosquitos in CR are absolutely evil creatures and every human to them is a blood donor.   Plus, being that is indeed the rainforest it rains on and off pretty much all day.  I am not sure how the local people can withstand the elements being so poorly protected.  Frequently, the houses looked so broken down and dilapidated that we started seriously doubting how anyone could live in such deplorable conditions.  We began observing for signs of life.  A lonely toy in the front yard, clothes hanging out to dry, smoke coming out from the top of the house were the give aways that people actually lived there.  It absolutely broke our hearts seeing the terrible conditions people are forced to live in.  It was like a cruel joke to be surrounded by all this beauty, a true paradise and such extreme, unbearable poverty.

But the people of CR are so amazing.  They have a saying “Pura Vida” meaning “pure life”.  You hear it everywhere, it’s a form of saying “hello”, “good bye”, “you are welcome”-  it’s a well wish to your friends.   One can find that logo on t-shirts and billboards. People are happy, they love life, because it’s PURA VIDA.  Indeed.

As we were slowly making our way to the school we observed many kids walking along the side of the road.  Most of them walked alone without any adult supervision.  They carried their backpacks and umbrellas.

As we arrived at the school it started raining (we were already getting used to the constant rain and the damp air, “It is indeed the Rainforest” the locals kept reminding us).  As we have observed, all schools in CR look exactly the same.  The school is made up of a small network of long, single story buildings. They reminded me of army barracks with iron bars on all the windows and a fence around the perimeter.  Some buildings are designated for classrooms and others for cafeteria and bathrooms.  They are typically blue and white or light green color.  We did not see any playgrounds but they do have an occasional soccer field on the premises.

We were greeted outside by one of the teachers.  They were expecting us.  The class was in session and we asked whether they wanted us to wait until the class was over.   But the teacher said we are welcome to come in.  He helped us unload the car and as we entered the room, dragging the mud in on our shoes (and completely embarrassed about making a huge mess).  We were shocked to find a sparkling clean tiled floor.  It rains every day (It is indeed the Rainforest J), there is mud right outside the door, kids play outside during recess, I am not sure how they keep the rooms so clean.  The walls were pretty bear with just a few kids art works on the walls.  Each student was sitting at a school desk listening quietly to their teacher (it was a religious studies class).  All students in CR wear uniforms.  Both boys and girls wear white shirts and blue pants, girls have a choice of either pants or skirts.  I immediately noticed how spotlessly clean their uniforms were.  As we entered, the entire classroom said “Hello” to us and then it was quiet again.  The female teacher who was leading the class did not appear too happy with us.  She looked a little apprehensive.

Our interpreter Ricky stepped up as we were bringing the bags in and told the kids that we brought some school supplies for them.  The kids were looking at us with curiosity.

We opened the first box and pulled out large bundles of colored construction paper and markers.  With Ricky’s help we asked if there is anyone in the room who likes to draw.  Every single hand shot up in the air.  We started pulling things out of the box and laying them out on the table that was right by the door.  Next, we pulled out half a dozen boxes of band-aids with fun cartoon characters.  After explaining to the teachers and the kids what that was, judging by the excitement in the room we thought for sure someone is going to run outside and scrape their knee on purpose just to get the fun band-aid.  Then, we pulled out some bottles of antiseptic and I think the female teacher’s heart began to melt.  We also gave packages and packages of stickers and I think we finely won her over.

Next, we pulled out shiny soccer balls and the kids went ballistic (soccer is the most popular sport in Costa Rica).  When the sparkling pencils came out the kids were uncontrollable.  Finally, they managed to form a line so each child could receive two pencils.  And then it was the stuffed animals.  The kids were jumping up and down, screaming and crying.  The reaction took us completely by surprise.  Both boys and girls were hugging and kissing their toys, they were rocking and petting them.  Our hearts swelled up with joy.  My hands were shaking and I was completely choked up trying to hold back the tears.  It was very emotional to see how much joy a simple toy could bring to a child.

One of the boys caught my eye.  He was about 9, a little chubby kid, with thick black wavy hair and deep brown eyes.  He emanated kindness.  The little boy reminded me of a teddy bear.  We pulled out lots of toys, kittens, tigers, and puppies.  But when I pulled out a teddy bear I knew exactly who I was going to give it to.  The little boy with big brown eyes.  He came up and hugged me for the longest time and that was completely unexpected.  He was so grateful. Tears flooded my eyes as I was trying to pull myself together.   I watched him talking to the bear and pulling it close to him.  His face was lit up with a huge smile.  I remember he kept asking our interpreter something over and over again.  I asked him to translate.  Ricky said the little boy kept wondering whether he could take the teddy bear home.  I guess he just could not believe that someone would give him something so precious and allow keeping it.  As I watched the little boy I grabbed my phone and pulled up a picture on the screen of my two girls, Sasha and Ali cuddling on the sofa.   I showed the picture to him.  And what happened next was just beyond words.  The interpreter was talking to the teachers at the time and I was on my own.  I don’t know exactly what the boy said but it’s the way he started talking to my girls.  Like a mother would talk to her child, with love and tenderness.  He immediately wanted to know their names and ages (that is the only thing I was able to understand without the interpreter).   I think he said that they look like me.  He talked to them for a very long time.

And then we pulled out the candy!  At that point the kids were beyond control.  They were screaming and laughing and jumping up and down.  It felt like Christmas.  The two teachers helped us get the kids into some sort of line so everyone would get the same amount of treats.

At the very end of our visit we unwrapped a karaoke machine and a huge art set with oils, pastels, crayons and brushes.  As the children surrounded the art set we gave out stickers and they stood in awe   barely containing their excitement of the art supplies.  No one dared to touch it.

The male teacher offered to give us a tour of the school grounds.  There were two other classrooms which were almost identical to the first one.  One classroom was for the kindergarteners, there were very few toys, I saw three very old, broken down dolls and a couple of dresses for them, a couple of trucks, and a few other toys.  Each child had a little cubby with his/her name on it.   Everything was put away and very neatly organized.  It was glaringly obvious how much love and care the teachers put into those three very simple classrooms.

As we made our way outside, jumping over large puddles and pulling our shoes out of mud we saw a lonely sink behind the classrooms.  To get to it, one has to walk over a makeshift little bridge made up of building materials and thrown over a large puddle of water.   Right next to it, we saw a smaller building in the process of construction, meant to be a cafeteria once completed. There was also a tiny, broken down shack, which could only fit a bed and a small fridge.  One of the teacher’s stays there because he lives too far away from school and only goes home on weekends.

There was a beautiful, miniature green soccer field.  It was positioned right in front of the main building with two goals without netting.  As we looked up, we saw multiple holes on top of the building.  Turns out, they were made by the soccer balls of the future national champions J.  School does not have the budget to fix the walls, unfortunately.

During our mini tour I kept asking the teacher about the children.  What do they eat during the day, how do they get school supplies and how do they get to school.

We were told that the school provides one meal a day for the kids, which is usually rice and beans.  Most of the families are so poor, that sometimes parents have to choose between buying rice or pen and paper.  We were also told there are no school buses and most people do not have cars.  So, in the morning, as the parents go off to work, the kids have to walk to school by themselves along the treacherous muddy roads, climbing up the steep hills, drenched with rainwater, and bitten by mosquitoes.  I asked whether the kids were safe to walk on their own.  Apparently, the crime rate is very low in CR, the only thing kids have to be mindful of are the snakes lurking in the grass.  There are over  125 varieties of snakes and some are poisonous.  We were told one of the girls, has to walk for ONE hour to school each way by herself.  And on very humid days she has trouble catching her breath from the heat and needs lots of water to cool herself down.  We were told she is the best runner in the entire school.  She is also the smallest in her class.

As our journey came to an end we knew the gift those beautiful children had given us was so much more than anything we could have given them.

The people of Costa Rica live in deplorable conditions.  But they love their country, they protect their environment and they love their children.  They love life.

PURA VIDA!