As a non-profit NGO based in Costa Rica, we rely on donations and volunteers to carry out our mission. We have developed and replicated many times over a proven model of sustainable development which has helped lift tens of thousands out of poverty, while providing thousands of local and international visiting volunteers cardinal life lessons. The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation has been providing essential goods and community services to help solve some of Costa Rica’s most difficult challenges for over 25 years.
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Amigos of Costa Rica charges a 3% fee on donations. If you would like to cover the fees associated with your donation, please include an additional 3%.
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The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation has been providing essential goods and community services to help solve some of Costa Rica’s most difficult challenges for over 25 years. As a non-profit NGO based in Costa Rica, we rely on donations and volunteers to carry out our mission. We have developed a proven and successful model of sustainable development which has helped lift tens of thousands out of poverty, while providing thousands of local and international visiting volunteers cardinal life lessons.
Mission:
The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation (CRHF) is a non-profit organization committed to developing creative and economical solutions to a wide range of social challenges in Costa Rica. The CRHF provides opportunities to exchange friendship, goods, services, and financial resources for critical needs among different cultures, socio-economic classes, and language groups.
Vision:
Our vision is to create a better quality of life for all those we work with, supporting at-risk and special needs populations so they may have more choices for their future, and fostering greater sensitivity in populations providing services.
Core Values:
Innovation: We develop creative and unique solutions to real social problems.
Integrity: We adhere to unyielding standards of transparency, honesty, and accountability.
Cooperation: We team with individuals, groups, and organizations from all over the world to realize our vision.
Cost Efficiency: We provide cost-effective and economical solutions by minimizing administrative costs and maximizing the productivity of our volunteers.
Our Poverty Eradication Model of Development (PEMDEV) is based on an upward spiral structure. The PEMDEV was created based on 40+ years working with at-risk, marginalized, low-income and vulnerable communities throughout Costa Rica by Gail Nystrom, Founder and Director of the CRHF. We begin with the most basic including food and shelter. Then we work on providing decent clothes and shoes. Health is the next step, followed closely by education, job training and employment opportunities. Finally, Right Action which is expressed through compassion, empathy, community development, micro-enterprises, theatre, arts, chorus and others.
We have successfully implemented the PEMDEV model in several communities over the decades, and most recently in three locations in La Carpio. La Carpio is a community of 25,000 mainly refugees and their offspring over 3 generations. This was mainly a result of the Nicaraguan civil war in the 1980's, but also due to recent conflicts in the region.
We have also applied our PEMDEV model in several indigenous, rural and coastal communities. Some of the projects developed in these communities by the CRHF include building vital infrastructure such as clinics, aqueducts, schools, community centers, cultural centers and libraries.
We have carried out several projects in these communities including building over 5,000 bunk beds, painting more than 3,000 houses in several locations, improvised health campaigns in remote locations, early childhood development and education, food bank and food distribution programs, yearly Christmas parties for low income communities, among others.
As a result of our proven success at the education centers in La Carpio, we decided to branch out to other areas of the country. The name of all our centers will now be “Centro de Bienestar Familiar” or Family Well Being Center (FWBC). We have found that, through providing quality education and care programs for young children, we can strengthen the bond between the child and the mother, thus improving family interactions. As the mother and child grow in harmony, the father is often more encouraged to participate in the family circle and thus, we create a more balanced situation in the home. Well being becomes a part of all members of the family.
The Family Well-Being Centers (FWBC) is the physical space where we carry out our PEMDEV. These are buildings volunteers constructed over the years providing a space for the numerous activities of the CRHF. We also have built several libraries and cultural centers in rural and indigenous communities which serve as temporary FWBC during visits from CRHF collaborators and volunteers.
FWBC Activities
In these buildings we provide direct support to the communities where they are located with special focus on the following categories:
Locations
We currently have four FWBC in function. Three are located in La Carpio, San Jose known as "La Libertad", "Centro Modelo" and "Monterssori"; a fourth is located in Uvita, Puntarenas. We also have buildings that serve as temporary FWBC across the country in the most marginalized communities in Costa Rica.
Results
The CRHF provides services and goods to thousands of direct beneficiaries yearly through its PEMDEV. The ripple effect to indirect beneficiaries is truly immeasurable.
FWBC
The direct beneficiaries for the FWBC, which mainly includes the youth, mothers, elderly and families receiving services, is over 20,000 people every year.
We have seen the community of La Carpio and beneficiaries of the CRHF develop from extreme poverty, to a lower-middle income population, with improved essential government services and greater autonomy.
Some examples include youth who benefit from the CRHF having the highest grades in school. Homeless refugees starting and sustaining small business and then contributing back to the community via employment opportunities, among other key indicators.
In indigenous territories we have found that when the CRHF first begins collaborations, some populations don't even speak Spanish, much less have access to basic services such as health or education. After years of collaboration, there are now university graduates and local representatives in government positions among other important contributors to society. The directors and other key positions in the local public education system are run by local indigenous.
Many of the projects we implemented in communities are still being carried out by the locals, thus meeting our ultimate goal of making projects sustainable and an integral part of the communities, without the need of the CRHF intervention. Among these are the libraries, clinics and schools built and the health education, sanitation and general education campaigns carried out.
We are currently asking for support of our FWBC yearly fundraiser. Please view our yearly fundraiser for more information on what it costs to finance the FWBC. An average of $8 a month sponsors a beneficiary. An average of $800 a month sponsors 100 beneficiaries in a FWBC. An average of $9,000 sponsors a FWBC for an entire year. Every amount counts.
Thank you for sharing our dream!
