Monday 2 November 2009

Escuela Tales . . . on video

This video shows just a little of one of the local schools, Escuela Tuetal Sur - the director is Humberto Soto, the counselor is Juan Vargas and the school this month celebrates its 20th anniversary. Of particular note is that about half of this school was built thanks to the generous support of Fundacion Educar, a US based foundation managed locally in Alajuela. Thanks to Mark and Amy, the videographers from Karmalized Pictures, for donating this video for the school . . . waytogo Amy and Mark, muchas gracias!

Book donations have helped and if you want to help the kids in some way we hope you will consider bringing one book or 10 books if you are visiting Costa Rica. The best books are in Spanish for younger kids but if you have atlases, dictionaries, nature books or reference works in English they work well too. Things for pre-school or kindergarten kids are really helpful as they have nothing much at all.

Here are a few ways you can do this.

If you are visiting Costa Rica and passing through the main International Airport in Alajuela, stop by the taxi booth at the arrivals exit of the airport. Give the books you bring in a box or bag labeled "Pura Vida Hotel/Tuetal Phone:2430-2929 for Escuela Tuetal Sur" tell the booth that the "hotel pays" and they will taxi the box to the hotel and we will take them to the school that week.

If you are visiting and staying at the Pura Vida Hotel (just up the road from the Escuela Tuetal Sur) leave the books with the hotel on your visit. If you like you can schedule a visit at the school (350 kids) and the staff and children would love to show you around.



If you have computer donations (in particular, any unused older Windoze laptops) or computer supplies they will be donated to the Escuela Poasito (which was destroyed in the
January 2009 6.2 earthquake
and has now been rebuilt). This school (250 kids) is not far from Poas Volcano and makes a great visit when you are at Poas, but do let us schedule it for you so as not to interrupt the kids too much.

This pic is from the recent inauguration of the new school (the other school up at Poasito near Poas Volcano . . . Randal Luna, the school counselor is speaking and seated behind the quizzical stars of the moment are Minster Garnier, the head of education and Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica.  to the right of the President but just off camera is the directora and driver of the school, Sonia Barrantes (in the photo below thanking the farmer who donated the land for the new school).

If you are visiting ANYWHERE else in Costa Rica, contact your hotel and ask them if you can help with something for their closest public escuela (primary school) or colegio (high school).

1 comment:

leavesandlizards said...

Great work Berni and Nhi!