December 23, 2015
© 2015 Barry A. Stevens
RECENT NEWS
Christmas Party 2015!
Those Volunteers Are At It Again!
Here Comes Grameen!
A Volunteer Comes Through With A Contact
2016 Is Just Around The Corner!!
Bridge Kids Old And New Lining Up, Starting With The Christmas Party
A Peek At The Near Future –
Global Volunteer Training Center Could Be the Coming Thing!
El Puente Benefit At Stashu’s
A good time was had by all!
Some Views Of El Puente
Subscribers, Donors, and Volunteers talk about their views of El Puente
An Organization Jumps In To Help
Help with the Food Program, and helps Bridge Kids Ride To School
Some Solutions Have Arrived!
Important Things Need To Do Be Done – Before the School Rush Starts
Finishing Up With Some Beauty!
CHRISTMAS PARTY 2015!
The Saturday before Christmas, and all through the house
We sure have a lot of fun around here – the Christmas Party is the busiest, and some have said the most fun of anything going on at El Puente! Saturday, December 19 was the party day, and it started with a rush of activity.
The Volunteers, of course, are right in the middle of things. Say “Hello!” to Amy King and Marcia Williston!
Amy is a new Volunteer from the US, and Marcia is a long-timer
returning to help with things here at El Puente!
These Super Ladies jumped right in! Before too long, they made a batch of baskets and filled them with party favors for each table.
You’ve seen Marcia before – she returned to the Caribbean recently from her home in Minneapolis – and as usual, we enjoyed having here. Amy is a first-timer who joined us from San Francisco. She became a Volunteer before she ever left home – more about that below.
Nanci had already arranged for a local woman, Mina, to cook up the special meals to be served at this great event. And early on the day of the party, we hear a familiar voice from the yard, as Iswari Smith drove into the yard and said something like …
…“Come and get it! The Food’s here!
Seven Volunteers got to work, and before we knew it…
…everything was set up and ready!
So where ARE all these Volunteers? After the work was done, they could be seen hanging out in Volunteer Corner, which is roughly distributed between a corner on the Platform, and inside the Front Porch,
In the left photo, here’s Amy King – Yvonne, a young Here’s Lisa again, David Magichands, Brigitte Casper
Bribri woman worker – Marta Braza, from Spain, (those German girls really moved around) and Dave
Lisa Wetzel, from Germany, and Bridgette Casper, Knight, another long-timer at El Puente.
also from Germany.
And then, just when the Volunteers were beginning to relax, the crowd showed up!
Around 100 people came to the Christmas Party, and filled the tables in the yard and
on the platform. At the lower right, you can see Derek Quiros, in the School Program,
collecting information needed to keep the School Program moving along.
Dinner is Served!
Complete with Christen Lynn providing Christmas music and Santa Nanci handing out the gifts
Of course, we did have the “traditional” water balloon fight!
Nanci watches in the background as Yvonne is about ready to unleash a water blast
at someone. Marta, the Volunteer wearing the Santa Hat, is getting ready to make a
dash for the last remaining balloon in the wheelbarrow.
And then, when there’s no more balloons left…
There is only water!
This was a really great party!
HERE COMES GRAMEEN!
A Volunteer Jumps In
In a recent newsletter we mentioned that we found that Grameen Bank already had offices in Costa Rica, and that we wanted to pursue getting an office in this area. Grameen Bank is the largest microcredit lender in the world, and they would be an ideal addition – not just for El Puente people, but for the entire area.
In jumped a Volunteer – Amy King – from the San Francisco area. Before she ever contacted us, she tracked down the manager of the Grameen program in Costa Rica. Then, she set up a SKYPE conference call including her, the Grameen manager in Limón, and me down here at El Puente. During the call, a meeting was set up – in the El Puente “Conference Room” – our front porch!. Then Amy let me know that she’d be down a couple of days before the first meeting!
Here are the Grameen folks - Ruth Obando, Vanessa Coto, and Jeimy Carrillo (in the blue
blouses), along with Nanci, and Amy (white blouse)
I think it’s fair to say that Amy just “jumped right in!”
The meeting with Timoteo Jackson, the tribal leader, at his home in Volio inside the indigenous reserve, happened on December 14th.
Here, Amy introduces herself to Timoteo and his wife Pastore, with the folks from
Grameen and Timo’s family looking on.
Rosa, Timo’s oldest daughter, (red blouse), led the discussion, learning
how the Grameen approach could fit with the family and the tribe.
Maria, the Bribri woman who’s a long-time El Puente worker, listens intently.
Additional meetings are planned for the first week in January. Timoteo has agreed to gather about ten women who would be interested in obtaining microloans. The Grameen people will be explaining more about microcredit, and learning more about how this approach might fit with the culture.
From our viewpoint, microcredit is a critical step along the road to
“Helping People Help Themselves To Self-Sufficiency”
VOLUNTEERS PUT CHRISTMAS ON IT’S WAY!
Volunteers Are At It Again
Volunteers enable us to do what we do around here. Meet Lisa Wetzel and Paula Ibarra, both visiting here from Germany. They worked happily on getting things ready for that big Christmas Party
Hello, Lisa and Paula!
On a Community Kitchen day, these great ladies sorted out the decorations and got the tree ready for another great Christmas at El Puente.
Another Volunteer – Iswari, from Casa Amma – took Nanci to Limon with her car. They came back with 120 stuffed toys for the Christmas Grab Bag.
Thank You Iswari! This is gonna be fun1
2016 IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!
Setting Up For the School Program Already
Nanci is already setting up the School Program for next year. We’ve also had a visitor from a government agency – IMAS, Instituto Mixto Ayuda Social – providing various kinds of help to people living in poverty. They visited here with the VP of Costa Rica, and the result of that meeting was that the agency would be providing help for poor people who qualify for aid.
Nanci has called the contact information for the area manager, Barry sent an email. The responses were simple – “Let us know who needs help – send us their name and cedula number”. Follow-on contacts with them have been frustrating – we’ve gotten no responses.
We’ll keep following up and, of course, we’ll let you know what happens.
A PEEK AT THE NEAR FUTURE
Global Volunteer Training May Be the Coming Thing
We have had several conversations with college professors who are retired or nearly so in the USA. The topic – the significant increase in colleges and universities that require international travel and volunteering before they will hand out a degree. Most recently Nanci and I had a Sunday breakfast meeting with a prof from Yale University – the same topic.
The properties around us may be for sale, and they would make a great home for such a facility, along with cabinas for the Volunteers. If such a project were implemented, El Puente would be one of what could be several working classes where volunteering is being practiced.
As for getting things moving along, the website www.foundationcenter.org, with 10,000 sou5rces of funding online, appears to have foundations interested in supporting international travel and volunteering.
Discussions will, as usual continue. And also as usual, we’ll keep you posted.
EL PUENTE BENEFIT AT STASHU’S
Thank You To Stashu – To Everyone Who Came –
To Those Businesses Who Donated Prizes, And Those Who Played In the Raffle!
Twenty-nine area businesses donated prizes ranging from “one drink”, or a “Free guided Tour”, to “$50 toward dinner for two”. We even raffled off a “special mystery prize” – “One free night in the Puerto Viejo jail!” No one claimed that one.
Nanci, Barry, and Christen Lynn – a neighbor and friend – formed an impromptu singing group – the “NBC Trio”, and we sang a lot of old favorites from the 60’s that people were singing right along with. We didn’t record our versions that night, but if you’re curious about the kind of music, there’s a playlist on YouTube titled “Event for El Puente At Stashu’s”.
Jim Mac Dougall, a pro on the keyboard, tried his best to keep us on key and up to tempo. He called up other singers from the audience who jumped right in and made even more music.
Volunteer Chelsea Mitchell, from Australia, jumped in just about everywhere – helping hang art work, organizing things in general.
This was her last volunteering with us before she headed out on her travels.
Nanci has been painting up a storm these days. She brought some of her art work for a silent auction!
Volunteers Isabella Sullivan and Bev Young handled the raffle ticket sales
The raffle was conducted during breaks in the music. By the time we were finished with the music, and the raffle, it was about 9:30 – much later than anybody thought, but it was all quite worth it.
SOME VIEWS OF EL PUENTE
Subscribers Have Their Say
Say “Hello! to Janet Montoya, a long time Volunteer from Salt Lake City, Utah.
Janet is also a long-term user of GoodSearch. This Internet search capability donates a penny to El Puente each time a search is performed. Thank you Janet!
Steve and Lark Randall, from Flagstaff, Arizona, have been long-term Monthly Pledgers. When asked why she made a Monthly Pledge, her answer was quite simple.
Thank you both for your dedication to service!
We met Kim and Dennis “Hatch” Sinacola when they were living here as long-term residents.
Justin Yeager jumped right in as a volunteer here. He got a lot of things done here, and his work is very much appreciated. He only recently returned to his home in the USA. Justin wrote:
…
Thank you, Justin. It has been great to have you here!
AN ORGANIZATION JUMPS IN TO HELP
“His Kids Costa Rica” Steps Up To The Grocery Counter – and More!
The His Kids Foundation, from Beaufort, South Carolina. Recently came to visit. They wondered if they could meet Timoteo Jackson, the tribal leader of the Bribri. Being “the bridge”, we of course set up the meeting.
Ken, and Dennis – meet Timoteo!
Rev. Ken Gagne, from His Kids, wheels Dennis Congrove strumming the banjo. and Michael Mackwich
a bicycle into the home of Timoteo both from His Kids, enjoy adding a musical flavor to
Jackson. The His kids crew brought 5 what turned out to be a great day.
bicycles as gifts to Bridge Kids walking to
School inside the reserve.
THANK YOU!
To see more about His Kids Costa Rica, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Hiskidscostarica/?fref=photo
LAST MINUTE NEWS FLASH!
Barry and Nanci were part of a group that went Christmas Caroling at the Hogar de Ancianos in Bambu – an old folks home – on Monday, December 19th. We’ll include photos and a more detailed description in the next issue, but just wanted to let you know more about how busy it’s been around here!
AND EVEN MORE EXCITEMENT TO COME – THE SCHOOL PROGRAM 2016!
The School Program for 2016 is on the way! If you have it in your heart to sponsor one or more children in school, now is a great time to do it! You can make a donation by going to
http://www.elpuente-thebridge.org/page30.html and letting us know how many children you’d like to sponsor this year!
Onward to 2016!
SOME SOLUTIONS HAVE ARRIVED!
Important Things Still Need To Do Be Done – Hopefully Before the School Rush Starts
We’ve been truly blessed with donations received recently!
The washing machine is busy working each day, making sure we have clean towels and dishtowels for the Community Kitchen. It also helps our workers who can be at the Community Kitchen working instead of being home washing their clothes by hand on days when the sun is shining. Thanks again to Betty Harris!
As you saw above, “His Kids Costa Rica” showed up with a donation of 5 bicycles in response to our call for bicycles that can be donated to Timoteo Jackson and the folks over in Volio – the kids needed an easier way to get to school. They also asked if they could help with the bill at Old Harbor Supermarket. We of course said “Yes, PLEASE!” And while they were working on that they also provided enough donated cash so we could pay down the ongoing balance that the veggie truck is wonderfully carrying.
That does take off quite a bit of pressure!
Coming Soon:
Your donations have been wonderfully supportive in the past. Monthly Donors, those who donated to the School Program, and individual Donors for the El Puente Programs in general, continue to be a Godsend for our programs, allowing us to provide vital support to those that we serve. To all of you, we say Thank You!
Yes, your support, as well as the donations mentioned above, is very important and very much appreciated. You’ll shortly see a detailed report on critical things that are still needed – dishes, chairs, tables, basic repairs around the platform and the house – even replacing that roof over the Community Kitchen platform.
While the upcoming report will provide more detailed information, a summary is important here. These things are vital to our operation, and they’re wearing out. It’s vital that we replace or repair them as soon as possible. Several thousand dollars donated at this time will get a lot of needed things done!