"A dream which is becoming a reality"
Even though the town is small, no more than 1000 inhabitants, the will of its people, through associations like the Community Service Association, the Women’s Association, and the Association of Guides, have come to the realization that a series of community projects would be extremely beneficial for this area. Community projects like building a clinic, a community center, a recycling plant and a school that would benefit the entire region.
The goal of all this hard work is to expand the horizons of the children of the Tortuguero region. On a recent visit to the University of Costa Rica, the students of this region were talking about their futures and what their goals and aspirations were. Some wanted to be boat captains, waiters, fishermen and farmers, jobs that are most common in the region.
Upon arrival to UCR the children were received with open arms by the people of the Vicerrectoría de Acción Social. They got to tour the facilities, the gardens and the student dorms, as well as talk to the UCR students. On the return trip it was amazing to hear the difference in future careers that the children were discussing. Now they were talking about being doctors, engineers, journalists, agronomists, etc. Another world of opportunities had been opened to the children of this isolated community near the Atlantic ocean.
The town of Tortuguero has limited space, it is bordered by the National Park on the south, the CCC land to the north, the Caribbean on the east and the canals to the west. It is located on a strip of land about 200 mts wide by 700 mts long. Its territorial boundaries don’t exceed 15 hectares. Despite these limitations, the town commission personnel were able to solve the problem of how to obtain the land necessary for a school, thanks to the help of the staff of Hotel Laguna de Tortuguero (Laguna Lodge).
The Laguna Lodge decided to donate 3900 square mts of land to the project. Likewise the faculty of the Architecture Department at UCR accepted the project of building a school as a graduation course for its students. The plans were donated by the recently graduated architects Manrique Umaña and Erik Solís, who also supervised the construction. Also supporting the project was the Rotary Club, the Peace Corps, the Presbyterian Church, the Costa Rican Stock Market and the Municipality of Pococí.
In its first year the school had 49 students spread among 5 grade levels of secondary; from those 47, seven students will graduate this year. The Minister of Public Education, in charge of personnel, assigned five teachers specializing in different areas to the school. Jorge Jiménez in Mathematics, Lorena Wilson in English, Roberto Gómez in Spanish, Herna Doblado in Science and Edwin Arrones, who is the Director, in Social Studies.
This project, this dream that is becoming a reality, has a computer room, an office, two bathrooms, and all the possibilities of the future. They are beginning to build five more classrooms and a room for multiple purposes. Along with improving the town and region they are, bit by bit, improving their own as well as the town’s future.
