Rita volunteered with us in 2007 at our La Flor project location. Here is a blog entry she wrote about her experience:

I was lost… I went to Costa Rica completely lost. Prior to my trip I was working in the finance industry in NYC making decent money. While my bank account was getting prettier I was becoming empty on the inside.

I decided to spend my time in La Flor teaching English to kids and adults.

While I was teaching there I had the pleasure of meeting many talented and intelligent students. One student in particular was very eager to learn. When I asked him if he will continue to learn English in high school he told me that he will not be attending.
He claimed he didn’t like school and will be working next year instead. This was difficult for me to believe because his eagerness to learn was telling me quite the opposite. Although I found nothing wrong with him working I wanted to be sure that it’s truly what he wanted to do. I made a visit to his family & found out that it was due to their financial situation. Although education in Costa Rica is free, bus fare, uniforms, books, supplies, etc… are not. There was no way I was leaving Costa Rica without doing something for this exceptional kid and his family.

The family didn’t know what to do or how to thank me when I told them I would sponsor their kid. They didn’t realize that their generosity with me, allowing me to enter their homes, their hearts, and their lives was so much more than anything I could possibly do for them. It only cost me the price of a pair of fancy shoes (couple hundred dollars) for him to attend school for an entire year. I hope to continue sponsoring him throughout high school. What’s also great is that I can do the sponsorship through Tropical Adventures. This way I have TA to keep in touch with me and give me updates as to how he’s doing. I’ve since sponsored another student that I’m very excited about.

What’s frustrating to me however is that I can’t help all of them. I was so happy when Isaac asked me to write & let people know they’re able to do the same thing through the program and more kids will get sponsorship.

As for me…I’m still lost but no longer feeling empty inside. Maybe this life isn’t about what I can get out of it, but what I can give to it. If you ever feel helpless and think you can’t change the entire world, please realize that you can change the world of a person and make life just a little better for them and yourself.

Rita, New York

Contact Rita with questions about Tropical Adventures or her experience in La Flor.