Mission Acomplished!

How long does it take to complete a 3 page proposal soliciting money from the Japanese Embassy?
Almost five months.
Why so long?
If you don’t want to know, stop reading now!!

Some of you may or may not remember that my town has a partially completed salón comunal (community center). This is basically a large building in which groups can hold meetings and realize community activities. In my town’s case, it’s the only location (almost) available for many activities such as dances or bingo. The community desperately needs to organize such events for much needed funding. Community groups are often a sole source of financial support, especially in the case of the health centers, schools, churches, etc.

Back in mid-August, I received a tip from my director that the Japanese Embassy of Costa Rica accepts applications for donations, especially for infrastructure projects. Perfect for my town! I think to myself, and download a copy for inspection. It includes several parts and I assume, simple, we’ll put it together in a month and have everything ready to go before the year ends. (Keep in mind it’s August. This allows for three months of government turnarounds. It might be a bit optimistic, but I’m here to see the bright side. It’s part of my job.) Anyway, I forgot that I live in rural Costa Rica. It’s a different kind of process. Here’s a timeline:

1998: The association receives about $1000 that was originally for the aqueduct system, but no longer needed. It decided to start reconstruction of the salón comunal (a tree fell on the original several years before this date).

2000: Government donates materials for cement floor and walls. Structure begins to appear, though it is interesting to note that the cement floor covers less than half the area surrounded by the walls.

2005: Municipality of Nandayure donates materials for basic roof structure. They sit around collecting dust until…

2006: …the Municipality donates more materials for the tin roof; the community has a dance and earns enough for the labor cost. I arrive in May, when said roof still has yet to exist. After a dismal contracting problem, it finally appears in December, but the Municipality only donated enough tin for half the area of the roof. I start my project in early September.

Part (1) basic information. Easy enough. I have to hold out on the total donation solicited, but otherwise finished in about five minutes.

Part (2) project summary and details, including proof of ownership of property. A bit more difficult, but reachable. I describe the project, explaining the need of the center and the socio-economic situation of the community, who benefits and how. I inform about community input to date. I include a copy of my Community Analysis Evaluation, a diagnostic project that took about six months to finish. (Granted, this document was not entirely completed until December, so had we in fact been able to submit the application earlier, we would have sent an unfinished version of the community analysis.)

Part (3) budget or amount solicited. Up until this point, I have been able to work through informal interviews and keen observation. Now I may know how to write and how to organize, but I know little about construction and quantities of building materials. So here comes the collaboration part. I need the association to list the products we will solicit in the necessary quantities. The problem is, they don’t know either. After first requesting the information in early September, I wait until mid-October before learning what I need to ask for from the hardware store. I begin hunting for the best options.

Part (4) information from soliciting organization, including previous financial information. Here I collide with real issues. Welcome to a place where paper records are either non-existent or illegible for any or all of the following reasons: paper succumbs to attacks by insects, mold takes over, unwitting person folds paper beyond recognition (and then spilled coffee on it), paper gets lost, only copy of paper is given to “someone” never to be seen again, etc. The development association has been in the process of construction of this salón for over seven years. Yet they have not one financial statement. No budget, no expense report, no receipts, no reports, no papers whatsoever! It takes a month to get the Comité del Salón Comunal (yes, there’s actually a committee! They just hadn’t met since before I’d arrived many months earlier.) Once they do, I am able to form a hazy timeline outlining previous financial transactions.

In December, I’m nearly ready to go. I’m waiting on a hardware store for an updated budget estimate. They are holding out on me. I call, I visit, I am nice, I am necia (annoying), I am fed up. Time runs out and I leave for vacation. Giving up hopes up concluding in 2006, I return in January resolved to turn the proposal in the same month. I visit several other hardware stores and complete the budget. I tweak the whole application, print copies and present it to the president of the development association for a signature and the official stamp. I explain in detail the various parts and show him where to sign and stamp. He’s busy, so I tell him to read it overnight and I’ll come back the next day. Over the course of a week, I return several times and leave disappointed (and empty-handed). Not yet fazed, I wait at the pulpería last Wednesday, demanding attention as I am going to San José the following day to submit the project. He comes out with another copy of my community analysis (a completely different document, one which he had little to do with and less authrorization to sign). Trying not to lose my cool after having given such explicit directions several times, I calmly explain that I only need the part that says Signature and Stamp. He signs, I rejoice, everyone’s happy. One part left: take the proposal to the Japanese Embassy in San José and present it.

I miss the bus. It comes 20 minutes early and I miss it.

Luckily a neighbor is driving into the capital (in a car, what luck!) and I head in with him on the 5pm ferry. (I plan to go to the Embassy in the morning before catching the 10:30am bus to Esperanza to visit my mom.) Here´s the view from the ferry dock to compensate a lack of pictures.

Unfortunately we run into heavy traffic (you would think major highways had more than one lane, but they don’t. So if there’s accident, plan on turning around or waiting for hours). Then we get a flat tire. We turn around for a back roads route to San José but by this time it’s late and my neighbor decides that it’s a much better idea to stay at his cousin’s place. Not my top choice, but I’m not the one with a car. We leave at 6am to arrive early in the city (drive takes about an hour). Two and a half hours of traffic later, I finally arrive! Against all odds, I make it to the Embassy and submit my project. Now we’re in the waiting phase… to be continued.

Note: The application really wasn’t complicated. It was straightforward and (at least up until this point) there were no hidden strings. But my association president made a striking comment. He declared, “We couldn’t have done this. I’ve never learned how to compile anything like this.”

In OTHER news, I started a sustainable project in my own house! No, it´s not a reading hour, it´s just encouraging fascination with my camara. But at least I had them pretending that they liked to read!

Another favorite pastime... playing in the dirt! (Isn´t he adorable?)

Asamblea de Navidad

Early in December, the Comite Tutelar that we established in my town held an Asamblea de Navidad (literally, Christmas Assembly) for familites in the area. The idea was to raise awareness of the committee and generate ideas from the communities themselves for future projects. I was in San Jose on medical leave the week before we had the Asamblea, so I was really worried that we hadn't planned enough, that no one would show up, that everything would turn out to be a disaster. (I had to see doctors about this awful cough that I'd had for about a month. Then I pulled a muscle in my stomach from cough so hard and had to stay the week! Ouch... I'm sort of better now. ::Cough, cough::)

Anyway, the event was fabulous! Entire families came from about 5 towns, including mine. There were about 120 people altogether, which made for a very successful turnout. We had planned for a nice sunny day on the plaza (soccer field) with a parent discussion on kids' rights and protection, Santa's gift-giving, door prizes, a pinata, and more! And then it rained, but they didn't abandon ship! Instead, we took the meeting over to the schoolhouse and started over. To explain a bit, this Comite Tutelar is part of a UNICEF-motivated law to protect children and improve their quality of life. They can establish after-school activities and continuing education, such as anti-violence or anti-drug programs.

I am not on the Comite but I helped establish it, so I am sort of like the facilitator. I gave an what I thought was to be an introductory speech (in Spanish!) about who we were and what we wanted to do. It turned into a lot more... it was a bit disappointing that no one who is actually on the Comite wanted to say a few words, but I can definitely understand. (A lot of people are really timid when it comes to leadership. It's one of the challenges I often face working with local groups.) Anyway, after collecting all the suggestions and feedback from the parents, it was time for the party! Santa gave gifts to all the kids and then there was the pinata. Oh, how Ticos love their pinatas! Everyone enjoyed the event and I couldn't have been more pleased!

Gobble, Gobble

One more picture from the AVC (All-Volunteer Conference), when all the PC volunteers join for a conference (very self-explanatory, right?) in a city called Tres Rios, or Three Rivers. I'm in the second row, behind the girl in red. There's so many people now, I don't know everyone. Most of them live too far too visit anyway... :)


In other news, my host sister Cristina was married in November. They are pretty young, but they are carving out their new life together. In the picture, the newlyweds are celebrating their wedding with the baile de billete (those who actually read this may remember what that is!) I was lucky enough to dance with both the groom and the bride!

For Thanksgiving, known in Costa Rica (at least for those who have heard of it) as el Dia de la Accion de Gracias, my training group Tico 14 decided to have a good old traditional turkey dinner. Ben even hauled a 17-lb or so turkey all the way from San Jose! Here's Dave and Dan handling the big bird. It took us a while to figure out how to cook it without an oven! Many thanks to the Stucki's for hosting our dinner and obtaining the kitchen of a local restaurant for our personal use. The group straggled in from various parts of the country to the island of Tortuguerro on the Carribean coast. Note the word island and keep in mind that bridges are often lacking just for small rivers, so needless to say you must arrive in a boat. For me it was a journey from one side of the country to the other, literally coast to coast. Total travel time: something like 15 hours. But worth the effort. It was my second Thanksgiving in a row without my family, so it was important to be with good friends! We enjoyed the beautiful dark sand beaches, saw turtles make their way into the challenging life in the ocean, and of course, enjoyed great food! The whole crew is ready to eat in this last picture!