amidst the exotic wildlife and lush rainforests of costa rica are areas of urban development in need of support. most of the population is under 25 years old, unemployed, and often live in poor, meager conditions.
Children come running out from under the four lane highway bridge that they call home to hug Giselle when she arrives... When working in the vast poor community of La Carpio you'll find Giselle helping doctors provide aid to children in her community clinic. Tomorrow, she'll stop by the soup kitchen to visit with the homeless, donating both her time and energy to ensure that all are fed. This might be quite enough for one person, yet the elderly also know Giselle. Even the toughest street kids in Costa Rica's capital, San Jose, will smile and shake your hand when they hear "Amigo de Giselle!" "If she's your friend, I'm your friend too!"
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Giselle is actually Gail Nystrom, an ex-Peace Corps worker who went home to Colorado when her volunteer time was up, yet returned to Costa Rica less than a year later to follow her heart. Gail is both founder and director of the Fundacion Humanitaria, an organization committed to making a real difference with real people. That's the first, second, and third priority of Gail's mission and her foundation currently supports more than fifty projects.
During the Lifeworks Costa Rica program, students have the opportunity to work alongside Gail in many of the different humanitarian projects with which she is involved. The core of our activity typically includes a construction project, such as a playground, community center, library building or home, and we also spend a lot of time interacting with local children at schools in and around La Carpio.
We focus on our service projects most mornings and in the afternoons, we fill our time with other activities such as whitewater rafting, horseback riding, hiking, zip lining through the forest canopy and visits to local cultural sites like markets, coffee and banana plantations. Students who select to lend their hands and hearts to this program need to be ready to help build, paint, draw, play, teach, offer comfort, and stay flexible to change.
Between projects, you'll learn a little Spanish language as we travel from the Central Valley to the Pacific Ocean, to the active volcano of Poas, and to the Tortuguero Park community to help with a beach clean up on the Western shores of the Caribbean Sea. Tortuguero is home to one of the largest sea turtle nesting sites in the world and almost everyone who visits is lucky enough to observe them laying their eggs at night.
No doubt you'll also see monkeys, toucans, crocodiles, iguanas, and sloths in ancient rainforests that go way beyond your wildest dreams. And, in the end, you will return with a sense of pride for having helped some of the real people to whom Giselle has devoted her life. It's all in the process of making the lives of others better one day at a time, one person at a time.
