Supporting Immigrant Education

CRUSA’s support to the International Organization for Migrations (IOM) emerged as an opportunity to provide continuity to a joint initiative by the IOM, the Ministry of Education, and the United States International Cooperation Agency. The project responded specifically to pressures exerted on the Costa Rican educational system by an influx of Nicaraguan immigrants. The purpose of the program was to bring immigrant students and the children of immigrants in line with Costa Rican curricula through “meditation for the development of intelligence,” a mechanism in which students learn from and teach each other in small groups with the support of teaching materials developed through the project.

Aside from being Costa Rica’s first effort to address cultural diversity within its education system, the project has helped many students improve their self-esteem and academic achievement. The program has benefitted more than 150,000 students, assisted by 5,250 young people who volunteered to be “mediators” and help implement the program in 330 elementary schools and 32 high schools.