Rotary Suri school projects bring international reinforcement

 
If teenage girls from a barrio of suburban San Jose, Costa Rica, earn a high school diploma, they are likely to have a better life. And if their mothers learn cooking skills, their lives, too, will be changed. Those have been the goals of two successful projects— both with Rotary Foundation funding—that have resulted from the combined effort of the Portland Pearl and Belen Rotary Clubs.
 

The teaching kitchen came first. Four years ago, a $54,000 project equipped a culinary room at the Suri School, just outside of Costa Rica’s capital. The vocational training for women offers an opportunity to learn a skill that could lead to work in the restaurants or hotels of San Jose or as paid domestic help. “The culinary kitchen gives them an opportunity for better jobs,” said Maria Eugenia Mondragon (“Maru”), Past President of the Belen Club. Her husband, Victor Mata Chacon (also a Past President), said the quality of the installation, and the quantity of equipment, bring praise from outside food experts: “Renowned chefs have come in to teach classes here. They say they don’t have anything like this in their kitchens. They should be very proud of it.” On the wall near the entrance door is a plaque commemorating Rotarians’ contribution.

Club members in the two countries, linked first at a project fair that Central America Rotarians host to seek support, forged a friendship that led to a second effort: a computer lab for the 130 female students (ages 13-­‐18) with a total Rotary investment of $18,500. Nineteen workstations and two printers were planned.

These women and teenage girls come to Suri School from a community where unemployment, poverty, crime, drugs, teen-­‐age pregnancy and single parenting could dictate their lives. But today, mothers will find jobs…and some girls will go to university thanks to this Rotary project.