 |
Walking With the Poor - Notes From the Field |
|
MISSION AWARENESS TRIP TO COSTA RICA Heartfelt greetings from this beautiful land. All over the world, folk dances are big among our sponsored children. Natural beauty masks poverty Many families in Costa Rica live in poorly constructed homes made of tin and cardboard with no access to running water. Extreme poverty exists throughout Latin America and Costa Rica is no exception. CFCA has been working to help build hope among the poor of Costa Rica since 1988. The San Jose project aids almost 4,000 children and about 200 aging persons in 25 subprojects with educational and clothing benefits. CFCA provides daily groceries for the poorest families, and several communities have opened nutritional centers to accommodate larger groups. Medical benefits are also available to both sponsored children and aging persons through medical visits and special attention in the health areas of ophthalmology, dentistry and nutrition. CFCA is ‘of the people’
In a picturesque mountain town (altitude about 6,000 ft) about 1.5 hours southeast of San Jose over winding mountain roads, the San Pablo subproject serves 454 children and 13 aging. Coffee production in the area is strong but seasonal, leading to high unemployment. Small coffee producers are looking for options and new crops like avocado. Many women have become single mothers, making it even harder to cope. Staff here report that some young women are forced to turn to prostitution. Over 200 sponsored families were waiting for us in the spacious central park. CFCA t-shirts filled the square. Hugs by children, parents and grandparents preceded a symbolic walk through town, including three sponsored in wheelchairs. Sponsors and sponsored families celebrated Mass at San Pablo Parish Church, with a quality conjunto (group of musicians) for the music. Our celebrant, Father Joseph, very much believes in the CFCA program. “It is of the people,” he said. For the offertory, sponsored children presented symbols of our offerings: “We present the Lord with this candle as a sign of the light that brings hope and restores dignity. “We present the Lord with this shovel as a symbol of hard work from so many fathers and mothers who struggle to bring up their children. “We present these notebooks as a symbol of the daily effort of students searching for a better future. “We present the Lord with these letters a symbol of the strengthened bonds of friendship and solidarity between sponsors and sponsored friends worldwide. “We present the Lord with this Bible, word of life that encourages us and lightens our path each day. “We present the Lord with the bread and wine, a symbol of all the gifts we receive from God’s generosity." Doña Joaquina and Don Crisanto After Mass, we enjoyed a community meal prepared by the mothers and served in the town hall decorated for this occasion. The children and teens had prepared special acts, “Mi Linda Costa Rica” folk dances, mimes and theater. Doña Joaquina demonstrated how coffee is grown in this area and how it is harvested by hand, dried and roasted. Later, we broke into five groups and visited five sponsored families. Three new children and one aging were sponsored today. My group visited the family of Doña Joaquina and Don Crisanto. We were invited to try some of their excellent home-grown and home-brewed coffee. Doña Joaquina and Don Crisanto had 11 children. Several died very young and two have grown to adulthood severely challenged by cerebral palsy. After a lifetime of hard work, Doña Joaquina and Don Crisanto still do not own the home where they are living and still pay rent. They have three children at home: Bryan, 13, an abandoned boy whom they took in and raised; Juanita, with CP, who needs constant care; and Dianey, who also smilingly takes on life with CP. Immigration and land distribution challenge Los Chiles
Los Chiles serves 309 children, 19 aging and 34 scholars. Six new children from this area were sponsored today. Los Chiles is a rural community located in the northern part of Costa Rica, close to the Nicaraguan border, 250 miles from San Jose. The region has been neglected by the government. Many families have no access to basic services like medical attention, drinking water and electricity. The church has played a leading role by providing support to the families in need, especially to the immigrants coming from Nicaragua. There are great extensions of land owned by wealthy nationals or foreigners devoted to cattle ranching and orange orchards. This has generated more poverty because the orange harvest lasts only four months. There are many single mothers. It is hard for them to send their children to school because of the cost of uniforms, school supplies and transportation. In this area, the loss of values leads to constant problems of domestic violence, sexual abuse prostitution and drug abuse. Among the indigenous Maleku This relatively small indigenous group used to live in “palenques,” or groups of community houses. One of the distinctive features of the Maleku culture is that they bury their dead inside their houses. Of the 25 indigenous territories in Costa Rica, the Maleku is one of only four that remain with their customs and traditions. The area of Guatusos is devoted to agriculture, mainly beans, corn, tubers and cattle ranching. Most of these activities are in the hands of wealthy and powerful landowners. Many times the local people who may own a small parcel cannot sell their products or they are exploited at harvest time by intermediaries. Many times they don’t even make enough to cover production. Many wake up each morning unemployed. They must go out each day and look for day labor. In this position, it is very difficult to negotiate a fair wage with a patron (employer). The native community of the Maleku has chosen eco-tourism as part of a solution. They share their culture with dignity and hospitality. A new home for a needy family On the tropical floodplain we were able to visit several Maleku families. Young Doña Alba is trying to raise seven little children (ages 16 months to 14 years), several chickens, a charming dog named Flipper and six turtles caught and raised for food—and doing it alone after the husband took off with another. One of the little girls has full-blown chicken pox which really must be something in this heat. CFCA is helping Doña Alba negotiate a government bonus which will put them in a new cinder block home deliberately built one meter above the flood plain. The walls and roof are finished. We celebrated a nice gathering of this Maleku community in one of the palenques. Elias, one of the youth, explained the significance of their many handicrafts. A group of children and youth acted out the ceremonial transfer of tribe leadership. All of us spoke and sang of equality, harmony and love of our earthly home. A nice meal was shared by all, then on to the highway again for a four-hour trip to Jicaral, crossing the Bridge of Friendship over the Rio Tempisque, known for its huge crocodiles, through a beautiful sunset and families of howler monkeys in the trees along the road. In Jicaral Sponsored children and scholars look sharp in their school uniforms in spite of the heat. Parents and elderly sported CFCA t-shirts for a big gathering in a tin-roofed community hall which really heated up with the mid-day sun and our community dancing. We heard emotional testimonies from parents and beneficiaries. We were able to go down to the shore and visit the family of a sponsored boy (Ishmael) with Down syndrome. Both the father and the sponsored boy are called Ishmael. This family makes a simple living fishing, usually in 10-hour shifts at night. In the morning, they market their catch. I imagine that this is the kind of family that Jesus would have sought out. Two of the sponsored children from Jicaral and their moms are making the trip back to San Jose with us, so as to be able to spend today and tomorrow with their sponsors. Hugs and a birthday cake for breakfast
What a nice way to start this March 29, 2007. It’s quite a happening when sponsored kids and youth, sponsors, staff and volunteers come together for a picnic in a picturesque park with a swimming pool, and play mixer games under the mango trees. We have had a great final day and wrap up. We spent the morning in the very poor area of Desamparados and the afternoon with the sponsored elderly. They sang and danced and demonstrated their great zest for life and their many handicrafts. At least a dozen new children and aging were sponsored this week by the wonderful folks on this mission awareness trip. It was an energizing help to have Henry Flores, project coordinator for Santa Ana, El Salvador, with us for this week. Thanks to children and staff of CFCA Costa Rica for the photos used in this report. To Guatemala for Holy Week Thank you for traveling with us in solidarity and prayer. We are remembering you in a special way during these sacred days. Cristina and I are looking forward to visiting some subprojects in Guatemala before the April 14 mission awareness trip. God’s blessings and Happy Easter to you.
Bob Hentzen |
|
 |
|
Sponsor a child with CFCA |
Privacy
Policy | © CFCA |