Quepos monthy achievement report July 2017

Objectives

Under 18s carrying out improvements to the public spaces in El Cocal

Building our focus on learning and curriculums in our Childcare programme

Summary

The month of July has been a productive month for us in GVI Quepos. We received the
majority of our groups for the under 18s programme and the work they carried out has been
really valuable, with noticeable improvements and changes carried out around the community
of El Cocal where we work. The GVI base has been a busy place with generally higher numbers
of volunteers and all with a fantastic attitude and commitment to our projects, making the
month of July a very positive one for us.

Report

After consultation with community leaders about what work would best benefit El Cocal it was
decided that the main focus of our under18s groups would be constructing pavements out of
sandbags along the dirt road which runs through the centre of the village. This work was
planned in addition to some other peripheral projects to brighten up the community, such as
making improvements to the park, planting flowers and painting signs encouraging people to
care for their public spaces. The work was begun by our first team Bancroft school who got off
to an excellent start, and then was continued by the groups that we have had since, with work
still in progression at time of writing.

Pavements are something that the community of El Cocal has been in need of for quite some
time. Due to the proximity of the community to the sea, every time the tide gets high or it
rains heavily their sand roads become easily flooded. This makes it very hard for pedestrians to
walk down the roads without getting wet, and often roads become impassable for them. By
putting in pavements constructed out of sandbags, local people are able to walk without fear
of themselves or their children running into difficulty on the roads when they become
saturated. We are extremely grateful for this significant development that the under18s have
contributed to, and can see that the community members are already reaping the benefits of
this improvement even though the work is still in completion.

The under18s groups also carried out some improvement works to the park where the children
play every day. With the help of local workers the park underwent an expansion and a roof
was added to the raised areas so that children are able to play without getting wet. In rainy
season in Costa Rica this is definitely a valuable added feature. The park is now almost double
its original size, with a new coat of paint and some extra play areas installed, and the children
are delighted with their new space. The under18s also created some beautiful signs to stick
around the community, reminding local residents to recycle their litter and look after their
public spaces. These signs were erected with the help of Moises one of the community
members and have really brightened up the appearance of the area.

Separately from under18s work the GVI Quepos base has been a busy place, with both of our
normal programmes of childcare and teaching English running smoothly. In childcare we are in
consultation with a local education expert who is helping us improve our curriculums and
making sure we have a clear objective and learning outcome for each class that we deliver. In
this way we are making sure that both the children and the volunteers feel they are getting the
most out of their time. Teaching English continues to be popular with adults in the community,
with new students recruited and many volunteers meaning that three separate levels of class
can be delivered simultaneously so that learning is maximized.

Conclusion

All in all July has been a very industrious month with hard work delivered from volunteers,
community members and GVI staff members. We are proud of the work that has been
completed and would like to thank all of our under18s volunteers and staff members for
planning and facilitating these great successes.

Hannah Watson

Education Officer GVI Quepos

Giving the park a fresh lick of paint

Cool new signs erected around the community
The finished result of the renovations
Filling the sandbags
Testing out the new pavement