The Bridge Provides Education, Food, and Microloans to Indigenous People in Costa Rica

The Bridge is a 501(c)(3)non-profit in the US, providing school expenses, nutritious meals, supplemental food, microloans, and training. The Bridge serves indigenous families, helping them move toward self-sufficiency, one person and one family at a time.

(PRWEB) November 30, 2004 -- We are now a Project of Serendipity International, a U. S. non-profit organization. We operate in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. We provide educational assistance, food, and microloans for indigenous people, aimed at helping them to self-sufficiency.

Pictures and descriptions of whats happening are available on the Internet at www.thumbprintsart.com/bridge_pres. Powerpoint users can choose the .PPT version, others can download the .ZIP file, which contains numbered images you can view with your browser.

A brochure in both English and Spanish is available on the Internet. Go to www.thumbprintsart.com/bridge_bro.

See more information on our website at www.thumbprintsart.com/bridge.

What We Do
We run a soup kitchen for Bribri Indians on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. On Saturday, we hand out a bag of food to families, and show a movie for the children. They didnt much like Pocahontas, which is about the colonization of America and shows the displacement of Indians. They loved The Jungle Book, which has funny stories about familiar situations. Were presently serving 46 individuals in 16 families. Its good to hear them laugh.

Its fun watching our first school kid" Alejandro. Hes a bright 9-year-old who spoke only Bribri when he went to school for the first time last February. Now, he speaks and writes basic Spanish, can understand a little English, and does basic math. After school, he comes to The Bridge and uses a computer. At first, he had trouble with the keys, spelling his name aaaaaaaaaaaallllllleeejjaannnnddddrrrroooo. Now, hes making computer-generated pictures, and showing his younger brother and sister how to use the computer. Hes had his first time on the telephone, first time in a car, and several other firsts." Hes growing daily.

The sun rises here at 5:30 AM. During one tropical downpour just after sunrise, a young man walked into the yard and knocked at the door. With water streaming down his face and clothes soaked to the skin, he said I want to learn to read."

That's why we're here. There's a lot to do.

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