Costa Rica Country Fund

Description

Contributions to the Costa Rica Country Fund support sustainable, community-driven Peace Corps Partnership Program projects in Costa Rica that are led by Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV). These projects focus on children and youth, education with an emphasis on improving English language proficiency and teaching skills, and community economic development with a focus on underserved populations.

Common projects funded by the Costa Rica Country Fund include events for building transferable skills for youth and women, sports development, entrepreneurship workshops and public infrastructure development such as clinics, school playgrounds, classrooms, sports fields, libraries, and computer labs. Funds also support transferable skill building activities that develop knowledge and skills in one or more of the following areas: youth development, women's empowerment, fine arts, performing arts, music, English, information and communications technology, and life skills.

Some examples of past projects include:

JumpStart English Camps

JumpStart is a month-long intensive English and high school orientation camp for rising high school students with little or no access to English. The camp aims to bridge the learning gap between those with strong English skills and those who haven’t studied English prior to high school. The camp includes up to 20 motivated students who apply to participate, a PCV, a Costa Rican English teacher counterpart and essential involvement from other community stakeholders. The camp is an effort between local, regional, and national organizations.

Learn more about PCCR and JumpStart here:

From the Classroom to the Real World (peacecorps.gov)

Love, Friendship, and Learning in a Migrant Community (peacecorps.gov)

Junior Achievement (JA) Workshops

Junior Achievement workshops allow high school students to develop entrepreneurial skill sets. The workshops guide students through the creation of a small business plan that then goes on to be presented at regional presentations, and if selected, these enterprises are then spotlighted at a national Junior Achievement fair. Besides the relevant skills learned during the workshops, students develop important networking and social connection skills during the fairs.

JA is an international NGO that promotes entrepreneurial, financial literacy, and employability skills through courses intended for youth in grades K-12 and women’s groups. PCV co-facilitate and co-train these courses with a Costa Rican counterpart in rural communities where these opportunities are identified as a need. Besides the relevant skills learned during the workshops, students develop important networking and social connection skills during regional and national JA Fairs.

Learn more about PCCR and JA here:

Building a New Generation of Costa Rican Entrepreneurs (peacecorps.gov)