A wide range of Amigos affiliates conduct special fundraising efforts ahead of the start of each new school year in February to pay for students’ books and other supplies. These materials are not provided by the public education system, and the cost can be prohibitive for families with limited resources.
Affiliates supporting education across Costa Rica
Creciendo Juntos: Libros para Todos
Elsa Bonilla of Creciendo Juntos—an organization that has supported schools in 19 communities surrounding Peninsula Papagayo, Guanacaste, for more than 22 years—explains that her organization’s back-to-school campaign supports students through the initiative Libros para Todos (Books for All), launched in 2011.
“From the very beginning, Creciendo Juntos believed in this project because of its strong alignment with our commitment to education as a driver of opportunity and social mobility. Through this initiative, we provide textbooks for core subjects to an average of 1,300 public elementary school students each year, from first to sixth grade,” Elsa says. The campaign requires $25 per student, with a total fundraising goal of $37,500 this year.
“Through this initiative, we provide textbooks for core subjects to an average of 1,300 public elementary school students each year, from first to sixth grade.”
— Elsa Bonilla, Creciendo Juntos
Libros para Todos has provided books to children and schools where students once shared a few photocopies or copied from the blackboard, Elsa says: “We are now seeing entire generations of students who have grown up using textbooks consistently from first through sixth grade, strengthening reading comprehension, study habits, and academic confidence over time.
Reaching students in indigenous territories
Another affiliate, Costa Rica Indígena, focuses its back-to-school drive on kids in the country’s indigenous territories.
“In many of these territories, children must walk for several hours each day through the mountains, crossing rivers and navigating difficult paths to reach school,” explains Mónica Villalobos, director of the organization. “These conditions, combined with a lack of basic resources—notebooks, pencils, backpacks—lead to high dropout rates. The campaign seeks to reduce this gap by providing complete school supply kits, allowing students to begin the school year in better conditions and with greater motivation to remain in the education system.”
“In many of these territories, children must walk for several hours each day through the mountains, crossing rivers and navigating difficult paths to reach school.”
— Mónica Villalobos, Costa Rica Indígena
She says that the campaign seeks not only to put resources into students’ hands—this year, the goal is to benefit more than 1,500 students from 35 schools in 14 indigenous territories—but also to raise awareness about the challenges they face all year long.
→ Donate to Costa Rica Indígena
More affiliates leading back-to-school efforts
Other Amigos of Costa Rica affiliates with active back-to-school fundraising campaigns include:
Fundación Dreamcatchers Costa Rican Children
The organization’s Back to School Surf Contest supports its campaign to provide 150 back-to-school kits for children in Nosara, Guanacaste. Each kit costs $100. → Donate Here
Fundación Rahab
This affiliate focuses its campaign on facilitating school entry for at-risk teens by providing them with necessary back-to-school supplies including notebooks, pencils, and art supplies. → Donate Here
Fundación CADENA
Within the Cabécar indigenous territory, many children lack desks and basic school supplies. CADENA’s campaign seeks to raise $7,500 to purchase 40 desks and 100 school supply kits for students in San Vicente and surrounding communities. → Donate Here
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How Amigos helps
Amigos of Costa Rica will help these nonprofits reach their fundraising goals by contributing any donations made to the Amigos Education Fund to these efforts.
