We offer educational assistance, food, and microloans mainly to indigenous people in Costa Rica.
The School Program assists families with educational expenses for young children.
The Food Program provides a gathering place, healthy meals, and additional support on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
The Microloan Program provides small loans from $20–$400, with approaches that have been helping people out of poverty globally since 1987.
Used together, these programs provide powerful support for families working together toward self-sufficiency, and allow them to build the Hope necessary for them to succeed in the effort.
The Bridge is run by El Puente del Caribe, S. A., a Costa Rican corporation in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, and is a qualified non-profit under US rules.
http://www.elpuente-thebridge.org/
I have an idea or a question about Volunteering:
Hello!
I’m an American biologist; after a layoff last year I went back to grad school and began teaching ecology and environmental science in an inner-city alternative school. This summer I’ll be coming to Costa Rica for a field study course for my degree program; I am looking for opportunities to assist in research and conservation projects while I am in the country. I will be able to stay in-country for approximately one month beyond my field study (I know, this isn’t a huge amount of time!)
I am very interested in the way that peoples’ beliefs and cultural practices connect them (or fail to connect them) with the natural world. Ideally, I would like to conduct a survey of plants within a specific location in Costa Rica, identify them (with assistance of local people?) and learn about the traditional uses of the various plants in that area. This information could then be used to teach local conservation groups, as well as preserve cultural knowledge for the next generation.
It seems that my ideas overlap with some of your work! I would love to hear more about your partnership with the curandero – documenting medicinal plants and their uses. What is the current status of this project? What work remains to be done? Would a few weeks of my assistance be enough to make a difference in this project?
Sincerely,
Summer Schultz