In the middle of the tropical moist forests of Costa Rica, in the heart of the Talamancan Mountain chain, are found dispersed and isolated indigenous Bribri villages. Barrio Escalante in Mojoncito, is one of those.

In December 2013 we had the privilege to spend a few days there, visiting and learning from the Preparation for Social Action (PSA) projects that are run by the Bribris in that area with the support of our local partner ACEM.

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The journey

Talamanca is situated in a remote location, 8-10 hours away from Costa Rica’s capital San Jose (A). The Mountain chain is slightly inhabited, isolated and of difficult access, since the Bribis themselves control who is allowed into the indigenous reservations.

To get there we drove via Limon (B), along the caribbean coast, to Bribri (C), which borders Panama on the South-East side of the country. In Bribri we took a local bus to Suretka (D), where we embarked in a motorized canoe that took us all the way up the Telire river to Mojoncito (E). Once there, a local pickup truck drove us to Barrio Escalante, where we spend four memorable days.

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Talamanca

The Talamanca territory is eminently rural, housing the largest indigenous population of the country. Due to their disperse and isolated conditions, the Bribris were the only Costa Rican indigenous group that could not be conquered. During our short stay in Barrio Escalante we were awestruck by their hospitality, sense of community wellbeing, solidarity and love for knowledge.

One of the realities in Talamanca is that education is particularly vulnerable: 20% of the population has no schooling, 64% have some elementary level education, 14% attain a high school level and only 2% university or superior.

Since 2009, Unity Foundation has supported its local partner ACEM and their work implementing the PSA program with the indigenous Bribri youth.

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The program

Preparation for Social Action (PSA) is an education program for development targeted to high school aged participants in rural areas.  It allows the younger generations to develop intellectual and moral capabilities needed to become “Promoters of Community Well-Being”.

The curriculum consists of a series of textbooks which cover areas of science, technology, language, mathematics, community development, as well as practical service activities. PSA counteracts with current problems of high school desertion, allows studying and working at the same time and is academically of prime quality.

In Costa Rica, the programme is validated by the local authorities of the Bribri people and some PSA tutors conduct the program in the local language “Bribri”, which helps reinforce their identity.

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Roberto and Magaly

During our stay we meet Roberto Escalante, who joined the program in 2009. Like most youth in the area, Roberto helps his father, don Misael, with the work in their organic cocoa farm. However, don Misael and his wife Lorena are fully supportive of their children pursuing their education.

From the beginning they encouraged Roberto to take time off from his work in the fields and participate in the program. In PSA, theory and practice are integrated constantly and it offers a variety of advantages in response to educational challenges.

For Roberto, the agricultural component has been the most interesting part of the program, as he sees direct ways in which he can apply what he learns.

His sister, Magaly, became a PSA graduate in 2013. In her case, participation in PSA strengthen her capacity to help his father with the accounting of their business.

Upon completion of the program, participants also develop a strong sense of purpose to contribute to the transformation of society. Roberto explained to us, how attending the program has rekindle his motivation to study and learn, as well as encourage him to engage in various service projects within his own community.

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Harnessing the sun

Another reality we witnessed in Talamanca is the scarcity of electricity. To complement, strengthen and apply aspects of the PSA program, the participants and tutors in the area are also implementing projects related to the use of solar energy.

As a result, more than 30 communities and neighborhoods and at least 864 users have solar home systems and lanterns installed.

This project, which counts with the support of Light Up The World (LUTW) and the UNDP (Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme) has improved illumination for studying and for social spaces, benefiting some 4,600 people, reducing pollution and minimizing risk of homes fires.

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By the end of our journey, we felt an immense sense of gratitude to have had the opportunity be guests amongst the Bribri community and to learn about their way of living. We experienced their strong sense of community when we were invited to different families for lunch or dinner; we witnessed their strong cultural identity and we admire the realization of youth and parents that “knowledge is as wings to men’s lives”.

—Unity Foundation currently supports Preparation for Social Action (PSA) projects in Colombia, Costa Rica, Kenya and Uganda, where at least 1567 youth have and continue to benefit from the program.