Plastic Bottle Planter Project: Part 2

On Friday, dirty hands and smiling faces were abound in the Salon Comunal, as the AM students packed their planters with soil and seeds for the second part of our plastic bottle project. Here is how we did the project:

1. Gather the painted bottles, Popsicle sticks, markers, seeds, and soil.

2. Instruct the kids to choose a type of seed, and write the name of the plant on their Popsicle stick. (Be sure to monitor this step closely, as we have a few “Omboosi Guiam” species in our garden now).

3. Have the kids fill the bottles just over halfway with soil, and poke three holes up to the knuckle on their pointer finger.

4. Place a couple seeds in each hole.

5. Cover the seeds with some dirt, and place the Popsicle stick in!

The T-Shirt Project!

Yesterday, my amazing sister and her wonderful boyfriend led a T-Shirt decorating project in the Salon Comunal with all the AM students! Last week, while they were still in Boston, Chrissy and Matt got shirts screen printed with the AM logo and bought a TON of paints to do the project. Not only did this project get us the shirts that we have been dying for, but it also provided the kids with an extra piece of clothing. Some of the AM students wear the same clothes to class day after day, so it was nice to be able to give them something fun and useful. Needless to say, it was a huge success; the kids loved their shirts and the whole thing went off without a hitch.

BIG THANKS to: Chrissy Carelli & Matt Wentworth, Sue Carelli & Gerard Guillemette, Bonnie Venuti, Maureen Ramos, Deb Winters, Boston Sweats, and all the AM Volunteers who helped out!

Ugh, mud puddles in the classroom!

Last night marked the official beginning of the Costa Rican rainy season with hour upon hour of insanely heavy downpours. Unfortunately, it also marked the beginning of the problems associated with heavy rains in a poorly drained environment.

When we arrived at the Kids Club today for our T-Shirt Project, the place was literally filled with mud. As I unlocked the door and pushed it open, I was greeted with sheets of dirt caked on to the once pearly white ceramic floor. The mud puddles extended from the front door, to the classroom, to the bathroom, to the storage room in a thick sludge of wet, grassy, disaster. It was heartbreaking.

I started trying to clean the area with a broom, but too no avail. This mess is going to need more than a broom to clean up. The one stroke of luck is that the mess didn’t reach the electrical outlets and ruin our computers, or start a fire.

I suppose there is always a glimmer of hope in every disaster. Oh, developing countries, how you provide such a plethora of trials and tribulations.

Decorating Door Hangers!

Written by Sara Llansa

My name is Sara Llansa and I arrived last week on a Tuesday. During the week I helped out with the kids' classes in the afternoon and I also began organizing the curriculum for the adult classes. Friday came along and Meradith explained to me that each Friday AM does an art project with the kids. Verenice, the young girl in my Costa Rican homestay family, told me how much the kids enjoyed the art projects on Friday so I was excited to be involved.

Joel, excited to be in Art Class!

Meradith and I were at the office that Friday and she started to look at the materials that we had available for the art project and she found some foam sheets in different colors. As soon as I saw the foam sheets I thought of this foam door hanger that I have at my house in Texas that my friend made for me. I told Meradith that maybe we could make door hangers with the kids that day and she liked the idea so we started thinking of which materials we could use to decorate them, and how we would explain it to the kids.

Cynthya ... always so creative.

We found some letters that the kids could stick on the foam sheets in order to write their names and we found a few other fun materials that they could use. As soon as we got to the Kids' Club we saw all the kids waiting for us. We were hoping to separate the kids into two rounds so that the room wouldn't get too crazy, but we weren't able to do this so all the kids did the project at once.

Sucelli, Oscar and Genisus, some of our regulars.

The kids got more creative and more creative as the afternoon went along. They started out by simply putting their names, but then they used all sorts of decorations. Some of the kids even made door hangers for their mothers. Other kids made more than one!

Cesar with his awesome door hanger!

By the end of the afternoon the kids still had energy so we put some music on (thanks Charlotte) and we had a mini-dance party. Most of the kids were happy to show off their dance moves. The dance party was a nice end to the Friday art project. Cleaning up went by quickly because we had the help of some of the girls in the AM classes. Verenice made a door hanger for herself and one for her brother, Dilan and they're hanging in the house right now. I'm looking forward to the next art project!

Plastic Bottle Planter Project: Part 1

Written by Alexandra Carelli / Photography by Jonathan Katzenberg

As you may already know from my earlier posts, Costa Rica has a significant waste management problem, and one of the most prolific culprits is the plastic bottle. To help combat this issue, and to teach the kids about creative recycling, we decided to do a Trash Art project this past Friday with plastic bottles. Since we are in the process of starting a community garden, we thought it would be cool to use the plastic bottles we found in the garden area to create planters, and have the kids paint them as a fun, creative art class! Here is how we did the first part of the project (collecting, cleaning, painting):

1. Collect as many plastic bottles as you can: any shape, any size, and color. It is best if the bottles still have tops!

2. Cut the bottles in half. Both the top and bottom can be used for the project, so save both parts.

3. Wash the bottles; if they aren’t cleaned properly they will start to attract ants (and all of the developing country dwellers know what a nightmare that can be).

4. Organize the kids. I am assuming you already have a space to use, and some paint, so just arrange a time to do the project. Be sure to cover EVEYTHING that you don’t want painted, we were on our hands and knees scrubbing the floor after this project.

5. Paint! The kids has an absolute blast doing this project. I made one “example” beforehand, and thus we ended up with a lot of striped bottles, but alas, they looked great!

6. Slice a small hole on either side of the bottle and thread with string so you can hang the planter. Or you can sit them on the ground, its up to you.

7. Be sure to cut holes in the bottom for drainage as well!

The kids and volunteers had an absolutely amazing time with this project, and at the end we had tons of beautiful planter bottles ready for, well, planting. Stay tuned, next week we plant the seeds!

Down with Domestic Abuse!

Written by Alexandra Carelli

Today, I was made aware of another layer of problems in Playa Potrero, one that often flies under the radar of the local gringos because it is one that can not be seen or heard in the streets: Domestic Abuse. We were meeting with a prominent community leader, Elizabeth, a woman who has made it her own crusade to act as a surrogate teacher and parent to many of Potrero’s offspring. We were discussing the backgrounds of the AM students, when the conversation abruptly shifted.

Elizabeth spoke passionately about the families that live in a small squatter community outside Potrero, with entire families living in one room and many children never attending school. She said that when she sees some of the kids that are bound to this godforsaken area, they will speak candidly about how their father drunkenly beat their mother the night before. She told stories of men battering their wives black and blue while they are 8 months pregnant, with their 5 other children looking on. She relayed moments of horror, when Indian women would be beaten publicly by their husbands, as mothers and wives looked on, cheering. She spoke of women that aren’t allowed to leave the house, and that have told her straight-faced, “I am stupid, I am worthless”, with scars and bruises across their cheeks.

I wouldn’t say I was shocked. I wouldn’t say I was even alarmed. As the days and weeks go on here, it seems that I learn about a new unfortunate issue each day that passes. It is a never-ending story of sadness, of self-sabotage and relentless hopelessness. Even beautiful Costa Rica is not without the horrific markings that define the developing world.

Alas, Elizabeth was telling her tales of woe to the right group of women. As Charlotte, Meradith, and I listened, the wheels were turning in our heads. Then and there we decided that Abriendo Mentes would have to expand. That we will begin a program to help these faceless women, give a face to themselves. We will start small, with a simple class, to bring them together in an effort to build solidarity, community, trust, and most importantly, self-esteem. We will collaborate with community members to bring this issue to light, and stop the cycle of violence that has been allowed to continue unbroken for far too many generations. In a place with no options, with no where for these women to go, with no one for them to tell, we will provide an outlet. We will begin to open the minds of not just Potrero’s children, but of the women as well. We will empower women to empower themselves, in whatever way we can.