Project: Conversion of the SOS Nursery School in Limón, Costa Rica, into an SOS Social Centre.
When SOS Children began working in Limón, a large town on the east coast of Costa Rica, in 2000, there were no good quality nursery schools in the area. Over the last few years, however, the government has invested heavily in pre-school education in Limón, and it has set up many new nursery schools of a high standard. As a result, there is no need for the SOS Nursery School in the area any more, as every child can now attend a state-run nursery school. The project SOS Children needs funds for is to convert this nursery school into an SOS Social Centre, which will provide day-care facilities to young children, as well as training courses for their parents. The Social Centre will support local parents. It will cost £3,752.47 to carry out this conversion.
Costa Rica is situated between Nicaragua and Panama in Central America. A country of four million people, Costa Rica is a fairly stable democracy, unlike many other countries in the region. The government may not have many resources, but it has invested heavily in health and education, or social development. As a result, the life expectancy in Costa Rica is 76.8 (which rivals the UK), 96 per cent of adults are literate, and the HIV rate is around 0.5 per cent. It has an efficient social welfare system, and is a very peaceful country: it doesn’t even have an army! Despite all this however, 20 per cent of the population still lives below the poverty line, and some children do fall out of the social welfare system. Many people in Costa Rica work on the land, but recent low world coffee and banana prices have hit farmers here badly, leading to more poverty. Costa Rica is also prone to natural disasters, which leave many children orphaned.
SOS Children began working in Costa Rica due to a natural disaster. A devastating earthquake ripped through the country in 1972, leaving thousands of children orphaned. Construction work on the country’s first Children’s Village began, and SOS Children’s Village Tres Rios, near the capital city San José, was opened in 1975. A second Children’s Village was opened in Limón in 2000.
The SOS Social Centre in the town opened in March 2005,
but it has been operating in temporary accommodation since it opened. Converting the SOS Nursery School will mean the Social Centre can have a permanent, safe home. The Social Centre operates a child day-care centre for 80 babies and young children everyday, while their parents are out at work. The day-care centre, when it has a permanent home, will have three classrooms, a lunch hall, and a big playground, which the young children will really love! The Social Centre also runs training courses for parents, and there are 25 participants per course. Courses on offer include child care and child nutrition. The Social Centre also offers these parents support in setting up small businesses in the form of training and start-up grants. This helps poorer parents become more self-sufficient and independent, as well as increasing their self-esteem and confidence. It is a fantastic, sustainable project.
Alongside the Social Centre is the Children’s Village, which was opened in March 2000. It provides a loving home to 141 children, who live in 16 family homes. There is also a basketball court and a football field at the Village. Recently, all the houses have been painted and they are all different colours, which means the Village is really bright now! The children love it!