I WANT A JOB IN TOURISM

Costa Rica Cost of Living Update: A Quart of Motor Oil— $15.18

As I look over the children’s’ assignments that are taped to the wall, one stands out. A ship drawn on the ocean with a bright orange sun shining in the corner. “I want to get a job in tourism,” it reads, signed by a boy named Justin. At such a young age, Justin already knows there are more opportunities available to him if he can learn computer skills and conversational English. He will raise himself out of poverty by going to his weekly classes at Opening Minds (Abriendo Mentes). Justin’s future will look different than his parents.

 Drew Ragland had an idea three years ago. He noticed that many people in Potrero, Costa Rica were not getting the better paying jobs at nearby hotels and resorts. Since the local work force here was lacking in computer and English skills, hotels were hiring people from outside the area to fill the positions. Knowing that he had the ability to teach English, Drew set up a simple whiteboard in a small open air restaurant. He started writing English words on the board and people came to learn. Soon, he was teaching not only the adults but the children as well.

“There was a need,” Drew tells me. “I saw that need and knew I had a way of filling it.” And so, Opening Minds—a non-profit charity—was born.

His co-founder, Meradith Leebrick, explains how the program grew. It did not take long for the community to rally behind the charity providing ideas and information that helped Drew and Meradith understand the needs of this growing area. Today Opening Minds now has four main programs: Youth Education, Adult Education, Women Empowerment, and Technology.

Meradith and I walk to where classes are held in an old police post. She’s incredibly optimistic and has a way of making these complicated issues sound very simple. She doesn’t discuss statistics or plans to build an oversized building with all the latest technological gadgets. She just keeps going back to the phrase “when we see a need we fill it.”

People have done less with more in the United States. A consulting firm would be hired, and eight hundred thousand dollars later, their thoroughly researched conclusion would be, Yes…this area is poor. People would shake hands, checks would be cashed, and the community would scratch their heads still confused about what to do next.

When we walk into the small classroom, the center table is surrounded by children being tutored one on one by volunteers.  Meradith introduces me to Lindsey Losasso, the project coordinator. She and her husband, Vinny, moved to Costa Rica to work with the charity. Lindsey explains to me how the curriculum enforces language skills and has written lesson plans for the volunteers to follow.

At the end of the class, the children line up to receive a star sticker but first they have to answer a question in English. I am struck at how excited they are to show off what they learned that day. They are all smiles when they receive their star and proudly stick it to their attendance sheet.

I ask Meradith what type of items she could use, and perhaps people can put them in their suitcase when they come here on vacation. She asks for white board markers, an expensive and difficult item to find here. She also smiles wide and says, “We always need more paper. That too is very expensive in Costa Rica.” She begins to talk about paper with the enthusiasm of someone who just won a car on the Price Is Right. Paper to her is another lesson, another English word written ten times, another diorama describing the rooms of a house in English. Each sheet to Meradith represents a better future for her students.

As we walk back to Opening Minds’ office, everyone stops to talk to Meradith. Little children run up to her, telling her in perfect English they are going to their class. One little girl in a blue dress opens up her notebook to show Meradith that she wrote her English words ten times. As we continue walking, I notice that cars pause to wave at Meradith and she even reaches down to pet the stray dogs that run past. She is changing this community not only with her classes but the kindness and generosity she shows to the people (and animals) around her.

I write about living in Costa Rica and finding that a simpler life is a happier one. What Opening Minds is doing in such a short time is a remarkable testament to what can happen when someone decides to fill a need. We can often complicate issues and in the end, shrug our shoulders and do nothing. A few years ago, Drew decided to put up a few English words on a whiteboard and now a little boy dreams of a job in tourism. With the assistance of Opening Minds, I’m all but certain he’ll have the skills to make his dream come true.

Do you have some paper or whiteboard markers you would like to donate? Check out their website, http://abriendomentes.org/, and find out how you can fill a need in this community.

By | 2018-04-15T18:19:31-04:00 July 17th, 2012|Categories: Tourism|Tags: , , |29 Comments

About the Author:

Nadine is the author of the best-selling series, Happier Than A Billionaire. Join her as she navigates living as an expat in the sometimes confusing, always beautiful, country of Costa Rica.

29 Comments

  1. […] I did a story on Opening Minds. It’s a really neat thing these college kids did. It’s a little center where they teach the […]

  2. Jeanine January 27, 2013 at 10:49 am - Reply

    Nadine, this is right up my alley. I’ve been a reading teacher/tutor for years and I have so many teaching supplies that I won’t be needing anymore since I’m coming there. I will bring you all my dry erase markers when I come and colored paper. I don’t know how much I can stuff in my suitcase, but I’ll do my best. I’ve been wondering what I’m going to do with all my supplies. I’m ready to serve.

    Jeanine

    • admin February 1, 2013 at 8:21 pm - Reply

      Jeanine, you are a wonderful woman. This charity is so incredible and the people involved are magnificent. They are doing something that is going to change this entire area. Just because someone looked up and said “I can fill this need.”

  3. omprakash yadav January 24, 2013 at 3:29 am - Reply

    I want a job pls i can do anythink …. Really trust me

    • admin February 1, 2013 at 8:19 pm - Reply

      I would suggest coming down and talking to the local businesses. You never know what’s available until you ask.

  4. […] I did a story on Opening Minds. It’s a really neat thing these college kids did. It’s a little center where they teach the […]

  5. T. Cook November 16, 2012 at 10:29 pm - Reply

    When you say a quart of oil is $15.18 do you mean American dollars or Costa Rican Dollars?

    • admin November 17, 2012 at 5:49 am - Reply

      This was in American dollars. All my prices are in American dollars. I think it’s just easier to understand. I would put down the colones prices, but can’t figure out how to make that weird symbol in front of the numbers.

  6. Anonymous August 24, 2012 at 8:56 pm - Reply

    I just discovered this blog(?) website(?)…(obviously I am not so computer savvy)- and I am loving the whole thing! I am buying your book ASAP! I LOVE Costa Rica- I lived there for a season in 1998, and I’m seriously considering relocating with my 9 year old daughter. I feel like a kid in a candy store (of fantasy at the moment )… I could be a photographer and volunteer and teach and run a diving school and… and… etc. Thank you for reminding me to dream outside the box again.

    • admin August 26, 2012 at 8:20 pm - Reply

      Hi! I think I may have corresponded with you through email. I’m glad I could remind you to dream again. Once you hear those howler monkeys, it’s hard to forget them!

  7. John Seabrook August 8, 2012 at 1:44 pm - Reply

    American’s should boycott Costa Rica Tourism! I love the natural Costa Rica but it is time to make a change.

    Costa Rica is marketed an a environmentalist’s paradise but the government actions contradict this marketing campaign. After receiving a large bribe from Japan they have created false charges going back to over 10 years ago against one of the founding members of Green Peace. If you truly care about the environment and Costa Rica avoid going there this New Years and spring. If Costa Rica loose tourist during their prime season the government will be forced run the country like they promote it.

    http://www.news.com.au/world/interpol-issues-arrest-notice-for-sea-sheperd-fugitive-paul-watson/story-fndir2ev-1226446317830

    • admin August 21, 2012 at 8:45 am - Reply

      Thanks for commenting John. Unfortunately, boycotting Costa Rica will only mean that the poor guy who sells ice cones on the beach will suffer, as well as all the other Ticos trying to make a living here. I agree that these charges should be dropped, but since moving to Costa Rica and traveling around Central America I’ve learned that it’s always the poor people that suffer…the wealthy always seem to get by.

      I believe the best way to address this issue is to shame the Asian countries who eat this soup. If they don’t order it…there is no industry.

      • Evan August 22, 2012 at 9:44 pm - Reply

        I think there needs to be a balance. I’m personally very concerned about the negative impact of pollution in Costa Rica. You have lower class locals that throw trash in their neighbors yard. You have bus and cars that are blowing tons of CO2 and other toxic chemicals in the air. You have hotels that put raw sewage into the ocean where their guests swim. I think almost all of the raw sewage goes into rivers that land in the sea. They don’t have any waste treatment in Costa Rica. Too expensive and this scares the poop out of me. I suppose since I live in Escazu that poop also goes into the ocean. I only wonder which one? The Pacific or the Carribean.

    • Barbara February 18, 2013 at 8:08 am - Reply

      How very sad it is that you want to hijack Nadine’s thoughtful post regarding the education of children to support your personal agenda. Thank you Nadine for bringing the needs of these children (and their families) to our attention. I hope this wonderful group is getting more support now.

      • admin February 20, 2013 at 9:00 am - Reply

        Thanks Barbara, this charity was just featured on CNN Espanol so hopefully they will be getting more donations. Such a lovely group of kids and such a worthy charity.

  8. Setdancer July 23, 2012 at 4:55 pm - Reply

    I just returned from a tour of Costa Rica. Our tour director, Melody, was a native Costa Rican who knew from childhood that she wanted to be a tour director. She was focused from a young age and now she is living her dream. Good luck Justin. You can do it.

    • admin August 8, 2012 at 8:07 am - Reply

      I was so touched by that picture. Now this child knows there is a better world for him. And know with the computer lab, they can actually see places in the world and know that there are many possibilities out there.

      I remember when I was crossing the Nicaragua border and I was giving change out to children. An American lady behind me yelled at me and said to stop or they will be bugging everyone. All I kept thinking was I hoped these children make it to America, where there is at least the dream of a brighter future that does not involve begging in bare feet on a dirt road.

  9. Steve Camerer July 22, 2012 at 2:44 pm - Reply

    What a great, great endeavor! Just watched the movie “The Harvest,” about 3 different adolecent, migrant kids here in the US who had been picking crops since age 8,9 and will be doing it to assist their families for the forseeable future—and this is generational b/c they don’t possess the requisite skills to get higher paying jobs. Abriendo Mentes has the ability to do just that for these kids–great stuff! My fiance and I have a 3-5 yr plan in place and will be moving to CR-we’ll definitely be volunteering/ bringing needed stuff here!

    • admin August 8, 2012 at 8:05 am - Reply

      Hi Steve. Opening Minds really is such a wonderful charity. They are doing so much with little resources. I am convinced they will change that small town and these people will get jobs that pay more. And the volunteers are incredible, so optimistic and cheerful. Even if they are teaching in a room that’s 100 degrees.

  10. Teresa July 20, 2012 at 4:30 pm - Reply

    This is such a great reminder for all of us who are moving to Costa Rica! We all go through months (or years!) or planning, organizing, researching, and worrying. We sell our homes, give away our belongings, and rush around like crazy people trying to get it all done before that magical date on the airline ticket.

    And then what?

    The move finally happens… Maybe you wind down on the beach for a couple weeks… Bask in the new-found silence…. Organize your new life…

    And then expect to just be happy to do nothing at all for the rest of our lives? As someone who has tried to be a ski bum for two years, I can tell you from personal experience that you will go _crazy_.

    Let’s put volunteering on our CR planning list.

    I’d be interested in hearing about other volunteer opportunities in CR, and love the Amazon wish list on the Opening Minds website.

    I wonder if the “returning to America” rate is lower in those who volunteer?

    • admin July 22, 2012 at 8:27 am - Reply

      Thanks for bringing to my attention that you can give items through Amazon. That’s a great idea and didn’t notice that button on their website at first. I urge anyone coming to the Tamarindo/Flamingo area to pack some supplies for this charity. You will be so moved when you see these beautiful children do their lessons because they want to, not because they have to.

  11. Rachael July 19, 2012 at 5:13 pm - Reply

    Thanks for your wonderful words about AM! I just got back to the States after volunteering with Abriendo Mentes for 6 months. It’s an incredible organization and your sweet words do it justice 🙂 Check out their facebook page for updates about their programs in Potrero! http://www.facebook.com/abriendomentes

    • admin July 22, 2012 at 8:16 am - Reply

      Thanks for posting their Facebook page. I’ll never look at paper the same way again! It was a great experience and looking forward to writing more about them in the future.

  12. Pat Walker July 19, 2012 at 10:42 am - Reply

    I am so proud to read this as Lindsay is our daughter. How coincidental that she read your book before making the Costa Rica decision and then meets you – and even crazier that you are from her home in Pennsylvania! We plan a visit in December and will also be bringing needed items for the school. It is easy to help without all of the bureaucracy.

    • admin July 22, 2012 at 8:14 am - Reply

      Hi Pat. Meeting Lindsay was very inspiring. We have a ridiculous amount in common and looking forward to getting to know her and her husband. I love the work they are doing there. It’s going to change everything for these children. I’m also really impressed with how it’s run, for such a small budget it is quite sophisticated. They want these children to learn and never turn anyone away. How wonderful it is for these children, that have so little, to get to go to a classroom with all these volunteers with big smiles on their faces!

  13. Carla July 19, 2012 at 8:52 am - Reply

    Oh, wow. I’m currently cleaning out my parents’ house, and they had oodles of paper (and probably dry-erase markers, too). I would much rather donate it to Opening Minds than toss it in a recycling bin. Thank you so much for posting this!

    • admin July 22, 2012 at 8:10 am - Reply

      Thanks Carla. They could definitely use them!

  14. Deborah Hearn July 17, 2012 at 7:03 pm - Reply

    Thanks for posting this Nadine. Contributions are on the way. Will try to remember the markers when I come to Tamarindo in December. I am sure I can fit quite a few in my bag!

    • admin July 22, 2012 at 8:10 am - Reply

      Great! Now I know what to tell people to bring when they visit me. It’s such a worthy charity, they are doing so much for the community with very little. This small organization could possibly change the entire town.

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