Living in Costa Rica for the last four years, I’ve witnessed social and economic shortcomings that I was never exposed to in the United States.

Thankfully, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many foreign residents in Costa Rica who are motivated to make a positive difference in their communities. For this reason the country is a better place.

But with everything in this world, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about helping, and I’ve noticed over the years that many benevolent foreigners struggle to understand the true necessities of their community’s residents.

As executive director of the Costa Rican Environmental and Educational Network — ARCAE, I have the responsibility of identifying what the community needs and designing programs that address these issues.

Earlier this month our non-profit hosted an educational workshop for the children of Punta Banco, a small coastal community located along Costa Rica’s Southern Pacific coast. The event was part of the organization’s ongoing marine research and rural education initiatives in the area.

The event was originally designed to be a marine species educational workshop for the town’s 26 elementary school children. Plans changed, however, when ARCAE members asked Punta Banco community leaders what they thought the town’s children should be exposed to.

As it turned out, parents and other school board members felt the event should focus on trash and the importance of proper garbage disposal.

Community members told ARCAE that a major town concern was all the trash left behind by tourists–mainly Costa Rican tourists who camp along the area’s beaches and leave them littered with garbage at the end of their vacations.

Residents said the problem is so bad that local children actually follow this poor example and dispose of their own trash in the same way.

ARCAE learned that Punta Banco’s Development Association had purchased a number of large trash bins and would be placing them around the town at various camping areas. Community members also felt it would be a good idea for the children to make signs to be hung up around town saying how all trash should be put in the new trash cans.

And that’s how a marine fauna workshop evolved into a waste disposal workshop. By talking with Punta Banco residents, the organization’s members realized that their preconceived idea was not what the community’s children needed at that time.

Had ARCAE gone ahead with its marine animal workshop, its efforts would have fallen short of the organizations expectations and had little impact in the community.

By asking what the town’s residents needed, the organization avoided staging a workshop with little relevance to the children’s actual environmental education needs.

Unfortunately, foreigners in Costa Rica often act on their good intentions without truly understanding the community’s desires. It’s important to avoid being the third person in 2 years to paint the school just because it looks faded and flakey when, had the appropriate question been asked, it would have been revealed that the roof is full of holes and needs replacing.

Here are a few tips to help you avoid misdirected good intentions when it comes to lending a helping hand in your Costa Rican community:

1. Identify local community groups. Most towns — no matter how small — have a development association, a church group, a school board and school supporter group, an organized sports group, and a community health group. Other groups include local NGOs, government entities, etc.
2. From these groups, identify the community leaders or those with the most influence and involvement in local affairs.
3. Ask these community leaders what the local organizations are planning or involved with and what their needs are. If need be, ask to attend a planning meeting.



4. Identify where you might fit into the communities plans/needs.
5. Ask for community buy-in. In the case of ARCAE, its sign painting activity only worked because the president of Punta Banco’s development association agreed to procure the wood and hang the signs after they dried. Since the town’s development association had already purchased trash cans, the activity fit into a larger initiative.
6. Think small. Keep any project simple and be patient. Costa Rican’s probably do things differently from what you’re used to. Go with the flow and add your small grain of sand to the improvement of the community. Remember, it’s more important to get along with community leaders rather than accomplish a lot at first.

Many foreign residents in Costa Rica are looking to make a positive impact in their communities. Putting together a project that’s based on the true needs of local residents’ will create greater impact and will ultimately make your town a better place to live in.

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If you would like more information regarding community development projects, please email Andy Bystrom at the ARCAE association or call him on 8978-5550.

The original article was published on the ARCAE website here.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.