The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation
The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation (CRHF) is a non-profit organization committed to developing creative and economical solutions to a wide range of social problems in Costa Rica. The CRHF provides opportunities to exchange friendship, goods, services, and financial resources for critical needs among different cultures, socio-economic classes, and language groups.
Our vision is to create a better quality of life for all those we work with, supporting at-risk and special needs populations so they may have more choices for their future. At the same time, the CRHF seeks to foster greater sensitivity and awareness in populations providing services.
Please view our links for more information about how the Humanitarian Foundation has touched the lives of others.
Please see www.crhf.org for the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation's official website.
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DONATIONS
Donations go DIRECTLY to people in need. For example, donations could go toward needed school supplies, building supplies to give a family a new home, or toward supplies for microbusiness start-ups.
If you would like to donate, we have a sister organization in the United States so that your donation is tax deductible.
To make a donation, please make the check out to the International Humanitarian Foundation and specify on the check that it is for the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation. Thank you very much for your donation. Please send donations to:
David Morse
IHF Executive Director
P.O. Box 145
Hanover, NH 03755
Please also contact Gail Nystrom directly by email with the subject DONATIONS. This will help us with our coordination of donations, allow you to specify a specific project or community to support, and allow us and the communities here to thank you personally.
e-mail: gnystrom@racsa.co.cr
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ABOUT US
Based in the rural community of Santa Ana, Costa Rica, the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation (CRHF) works to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable populations in Costa Rica. The CRHF now manages more than fifty projects throughout the country, focusing on education, community development, primary and preventive health care, and extensive support services for women, at-risk youth and indigenous groups. All needs that the CHRF addresses are defined by the local populations, thus ensuring a high level of commitment to each of our programs.
The work of the CRHF is carried out by a diverse group of volunteers from all over the world. Through the friendship and support of our volunteer network, the people in the communities that we serve learn to believe in themselves as they search for solutions to their daily problems. CRHF volunteers are involved in projects ranging from counseling abused women and children in the greater San Jose area to helping indigenous groups protect their cultural heritage in remote mountain villages. Volunteers and volunteer groups from Canada, Europe, and the United States are placed in homestay families and provided with cultural orientation, work support, training and background, and logistical support for their individual needs as they complete projects of their own design.
Executive Director Gail Nystrom founded the CRHF in 1997 (Cédula Jurídica Número 3-006-204046) and has guided the organization since its establishment. Although the CRHF continues to evolve and adapt, our original Core Values remain unchanged:
Innovation: We develop creative and unique solutions to real social problems.
Input: We work directly with local communities to define and address critical needs.
Integrity: We adhere to unyielding standards of transparency, honesty, and accountability.
Cooperation: We team with individuals, groups, and organizations from all over the world to realize our vision.
Cost Efficiency: We provide cost-effective and economical solutions by minimizing administrative costs and maximizing the productivity of our volunteers.
You can see photo albums of our work created by volunteers at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/photoscrhf
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GAIL'S BIOGRAPHY
Gail Nystrom is a native of the United States and has lived and worked in Costa Rica for the past twenty-five years. Born and raised in Virginia and New Jersey, Gail received a Masters Degree in Special Education from the University of Denver. In 1978, Gail came to Costa Rica as a member of the Peace Corps and worked to set up special education classrooms around the country. Remaining in Costa Rica after her Peace Corps assignment, Gail has dedicated herself to supporting at-risk populations as they search for ways to improve the quality of their lives. Gail lives in Santa Ana, Costa Rica, with her three children Felipe, Francisco, and Sara.
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PROGRAMS
The CRHF is currently engaged in over fifty humanitarian projects throughout Costa Rica. To learn more about our projects and the communities we serve, please click on the links below.
Eco-Camp
Education
Elderly
Health Care
Housing
Indigenous
Women
Youth
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Eco-Camp:
Since beginning the first Eco-Camp program in 1995, the Foundation has designed the camp experience to encourage alternative approaches to education and to foster a greater appreciation of the natural world. Children, families, and local school groups learn to work together and develop a powerful bond—with each other and with the natural world—through this series of educational and therapeutic activities. The Eco-Camp program also provides special healing programs for child prostitutes, abused women, and disenfranchised youth.
By understanding and appreciating the lives of Indigenous people and those who make a living by utilizing natural resources, students develop a profound understanding of how all elements and people are interconnected. Students start to see the communities they live in with more sensitivity, compassion, and understanding. This helps to build a stronger sense of working as a community to build a better society.
To find out about how your child can be a part of the next Eco-Camp, email the CRHF at gnystrom@racsa.co.cr or call Gail Nystrom at (506) 390-4192.
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Education:
Since formally abolishing its military in 1948, Costa Rica has made its public education system a top national priority. It is no coincidence then that Costa Rica boasts the highest literacy rate in Latin America (95.2% of the population aged 10 and over, according to the 2000 census) and requires school attendance for its students through the ninth grade. Despite its strong commitment to public education, problems in Costa Rica’s school systems, especially in rural and low-income areas, abound. Public schools are often overcrowded, underfunded, and their locations often require significant and expensive commutes for school children. In addition, although primary and secondary education are free, many low-income families cannot afford to purchase the uniforms, books, and bus fares that are required for school attendance.
The CRHF’s School Insertion program helps to offset the costs of a public education for many families. By providing uniforms, books, and school supplies, the CRHF ensures that dozens of students can attend school each year.
The School 2 Escuela program seeks to improve public education on a much larger scale by working with the schools themselves. Rural public schools in Costa Rica cannot afford to make infrastructure improvements or offer essential educational programs to their students. By pairing local Costa Rican schools with visiting school groups, the School 2 Escuela program fosters a powerful cultural exchange. In addition to donating clothing, educational materials, and financial resources, visiting students teach English, computing, science, and other special classes. They also work with community members to make needed physical improvements, building classrooms, cafeterias, and bathrooms.
The CRHF’s Pre-School Development program helps to establish, staff, fund, and supply pre-school centers in low-income and rural areas. By gaining access to education at an earlier age and developing a love of learning, these children will be much better prepared and motivated for the years of education that lie ahead of them.
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Elderly:
Traditionally, elderly people in Costa Rica have been cared for by members of their extended families, as families have always played a vital role in Costa Rican society. Because of social, economic, and demographic changes that have taken place over the last twenty years, however, an increasing number of elderly citizens are left alone and without adequate care from members of their family. These elderly citizens are often depressed and understimulated, and spend their days feeling abandoned and unappreciated. The CRHF’s Anciano Program works in conjunction with professionals in the field to provide activities that will entertain, challenge, and protect these elderly men and women. We work in a respectful, non-demeaning way as we develop art, music, poetry, and recreational and physical activities with these important members of our society.
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Health Care:
Many people living in low-income neighborhoods in Costa Rica do not have access to the country’s state-run health care system. This includes refugees (usually from neighboring Nicaragua) and people with low incomes from the informal economy that do not have the financial capacity to pay the monthly social security fee.
To address this need, the CRHF works with local community and neighborhood leaders to open community health care centers and clinics. Local doctors and medical professionals are approached to offer volunteer service hours, and the CRHF also recruits international volunteers to staff these clinics, and to support local health care clinics run by the Costa Rican social security system.
The clinics the CRHF has helped to establish have been a great benefit to the communities that they serve by leading to an overall improvement in the health of its members. Common problems such as lice infestations, STDs, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and parasites are addressed and greatly reduced. Children are also substantially healthier during the critical gestation period as well as from birth to young adulthood. This has led to reduced absenteeism from school and faster and less interrupted learning.
The La Carpio Children’s Clinic is one of our most recent health care projects. La Carpio is a very low-income community, outside of San Jose, with a refugee population of 34,000. The CRHF has worked for many years in this vulnerable, primarily Nicaraguan community, providing support to the over 2,000 children who attend the ten-room school. The CRHF is now working on a special project that will provide a safe place for school children to get medical and psychological assistance. There are many troubling issues of health and safety in this community, most of which stem from unsafe home environments and extreme poverty. These issues include physical and psychological abuse, malnutrition, drug addiction, and alcoholism. With the construction of the children’s clinic, children of La Carpio will finally have a safe place to find support for many of the problems that they face.
Additionally, the CRHF coordinates groups of health care professionals and volunteers to come to Costa Rica and to provide preventive health care workshops in rural and low-income areas where adequate health clinics are not yet available.
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Housing:
There are thousands of families throughout Costa Rica who are struggling to raise their children in impoverished squatter and bridge communities. These families have resolved their housing problem in creative and innovative ways. They have found small parcels of unused land and created humble houses with inexpensive materials. The problem is that these houses are usually well below the building code standards in terms of health and safety, and the their ownership of the land is questionable.
The CRHF works actively in these squatter communities, helping them to acquire land, build safer housing, and develop community-based programs and centers. By providing low-cost housing for families with very little income, their health, welfare and general standard of living are improved. This creates a stable base from which family members are able to search for better jobs and become more confident in their ability to become independent contributors to the community.
The most recent CRHF housing project is appropriately called El Milagro (“The Miracle,” in Spanish). The El Milagro project is a dream shared by eighty women living outside of San Jose, who have formed a legal association to purchase a plot of land where they will work with the CRHF to build modest homes, start small business ventures, and to create their own community. The women plan to create a community education and cultural center, a working farm, nature walks, and a retreat center for volunteers and other groups to come and hear their stories and to share with them. Ultimately, the El Milagro project will serve as a model of prevention of the social ills that plague homeless families. These women and this community will be a powerful statement to other at-risk groups that also share the dream of having their own community where they can raise their children in a safe, healthy, and loving atmosphere.
Along the same lines, the CRHF works in the La Promesa (“The Promise”) community with a group of families that succeeded in purchasing a piece of land and creating their own community. After years of struggles and setbacks, these families were able to build simple homes and, with CRHF support, have each created lovely gardens, a community center, a soccer team for both women and children, and special recreation and education classes. Additionally, the CRHF helped to establish a daycare center for the young children and computer classes at the local school for 160 people, including women and children who had never before touched a computer. The CRHF is now in the beginning stages of launching a more extensive educational program for members of the community. The goal is to provide health and safety workshops, literacy training for women and homework assistance to schoolchildren. The CRHF is also working with community leaders to develop small business enterprises for families in the La Promesa community, like a snack bar at the local school that is run by a woman that never before had a stable income to support her children.
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Indigenous:
Indigenous groups throughout Costa Rica are anxious to gain access to better housing, education, nutrition, and health care. By helping them to acquire educational and health resources, build houses and schools, and to develop new markets for indigenous products, the CRHF is working actively to make this dream a reality. Our main objective is to support these indigenous groups as they improve the physical quality of their lives while ensuring that the uniqueness of their heritage and culture is protected. Through CRHF support, these indigenous populations have built schools, visitor centers, and are producing unique crafts that are sold in Costa Rica and internationally.
To date, the CRHF has worked with Cabecar, Huetar, and Bribri indigenous communities. Although these populations have survived for centuries without outside intervention, many of their community leaders have come to realize that their people could have a better quality of life if they could access the services offered by government agencies. Being able to solve chronic health problems such as asthma, parasites, malnutrition and relatively high rates of infant mortality as well as being able to reduce the illiteracy rate, enhance educational opportunities and engage in community development are a high priority. At the same time, the groups that the CRHF works with wish to preserve their traditional culture, their unique relationship with nature, their language, their gender equality, and their oral history, which could be overwhelmed once they increase contact with the outside world.
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Women:
Many Costa Rican women are emotionally and economically trapped in abusive and dangerous relationships. Beginning with workshops designed to build self-esteem, the CRHF seeks to combat this recurring problem by assisting at-risk women at the individual and group level. The CRHF provides a wide variety of services to women in Costa Rica, ranging from bus fare for job searches to the financing of small business ventures. The ultimate goal is to support battered women as they progress toward economic independence and a healthier family life.
At the heart of the CRHF’s work with at-risk women is the La Mascara (The Mask) program. The program derives its name from the mask that many women in Costa Rica must put on in order to face the world and to hide their true feelings of loneliness, isolation, depression and rage. Because of the extensive history of unfaithful husbands and desertion of wives and children, there is a need to help single parent mothers, and families where husbands often present serious problems in terms of family violence and emotional abuse.
This is not only a problem for the women, but especially for the children: girls learn from the less than successful role model of their mothers and boys learn that they can get away with violence and other unacceptable behaviors in the home. Men suffer from this pattern as well since they live in a world of false power that is often reflected in guilt after each occasion of violence. That is why the CRHF identifies this problem as one of the most serious that we deal with, in terms of both its immediate and long-term impact.
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Youth:
In the peace-loving country of Costa Rica, children are considered a national treasure and most live in comfortable and loving environments. However, there are also pockets of poverty where children live in situations of neglect, deprivation, and outright abuse. This is where the CRHF intervenes. Support for at-risk youth is a core focus area of the CRHF, and the goal of our Street Kids Project.
Children living on the streets of San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica, are trapped in a vicious cycle of drug-abuse, crime, and violence. They have run away from horrific family lives, characterized by poor parenting, drug abuse, and a pattern of violence and neglect by those who are supposed to protect them, to find some comfort in the presence of others kids in the same situation. The CRHF helps “street kids” escape from this cycle by providing them with housing, food, clothing, therapy, education, mentoring, work internships, and money management training. The objective is to provide these youth with the support, treatment, and skills they need to become constructive and independent members of society. By keeping them off the streets, the Street Kids Project also seeks to reduce the rate of street crime, drug abuse and prostitution.
During the years the CRHF has worked with San Jose’s street children, the Foundation has come to know and support a group of ten young men who are now in prison for crimes they committed while living on the street. As part of our Prison Outreach Program, volunteers make weekly visits to these youth providing them with a steady source of emotional support and stable friendship. CRHF volunteers are able to advise them about current problems that they face, their process of change, and their hopes for the future. The CRHF also supports them in their search for income generating skills that will be marketable when they leave the prison. In addition, the CRHF provides these youth with drug counseling, therapy, clothing, toiletries, and a weekly homecooked meal. The CRHF is currently working on a book that will tell the life stories of these youth so that they can have their voices heard.
In addition to our work with homeless children in San Jose, the CRHF also support a number of initiatives for children and youth living in low-income communities. The La Carpio Daycare Center, established for extremely poor children whose mothers work to support them on a basic minimum wage, is just one example of a CRHF project that supports these at-risk children. The daycare center is run by a low-income woman who is only now learning to read and write herself, and staffed by CRHF volunteers who help to educate, entertain, and watch over this group of local children. The project is designed to provide a safe, healthy environment for children so that their mothers can go to work worry free.
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THE CRHF VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
Volunteers are the heart and soul of the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation. Because of their effort, input, and shared resources, we are able to work toward our mission of creating a better quality of life for individuals in need.
If you are able to join us, be it for a day, a week, a month or a year, you will find yourself challenged, frustrated, stimulated, and immensely satisfied. CRHF programs are what you make of them, literally. Foundation volunteers are involved in service projects of their own design and can count on the CRHF to provide the cultural training and logistical support to help make their projects a success.
When first contacting us, individual volunteers are asked to download and complete this brief information form. This is to make sure that your expectations are a good match for the kind of experience you can have with the CRHF. Then, you will be contacted regarding the CRHF projects that will be going on during your time with the Foundation. Keep in mind, the CRHF a dynamic, grassroots organization, so things can and do change as situations arise and new projects come to our attention.
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CRHF FEES AND FINANCIAL POLICY
CRHF individual volunteers are required to make the following financial contributions:
A CRHF Program Fee of $500/month. This fee is designed in part to offset the costs involved in making your volunteer experience a safe and enjoyable one, and also serves as a direct donation to Costa Rican populations in need. The CRHF is able to develop and sustain its humanitarian service projects in part because of the financial support from the volunteers who come here. When you pay a program fee, you are making a donation to help a lot of people. The CRHF uses funds from volunteers to finance their specific project(s), and also to supplement other projects as the need arises. In other words, instead of paying a fee that is used on office and administrative costs, you are paying a fee so that low-income populations can get direct benefits. If you plan to volunteer for more than two months, the CRHF offers a reduced program fee after the first two months have been completed.
A Homestay Fee of $300/month that is paid directly to the homestay families. For volunteers staying less than a month, the fee is $20/day.
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WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU ARRIVE
When you arrive at the San Jose International Airport, you will be greeted by a CRHF volunteer and taken directly to your homestay family. Your first days with the CRHF will be spent “learning the ropes,” getting to know the vocabulary of all the different sites the Foundation works in, the names of different people and groups with whom we cooperate, and essential local information like the bus routes to and from your home. Other volunteers will be instrumental in helping you get your bearings. You will learn about the history of the organization so that you can have a good sense of where your presence fits into the whole picture and the types of projects that have been done by volunteers who have come before. We also know that having a historical perspective on each project helps us all to see the progress we are making.
Once you have visited several different volunteer sites, you will make your own daily schedule and talk it over with us. The CRHF will give logistical and professional suggestions and will provide you with materials you may need to meet your objective. Your host family will be apprised of your decision about where to work and the way your days will be spent and they will also be available to help whenever needed.
Once you start on your work schedule, your contact with the CRHF will be devised to keep you thinking consciously about what you are doing and why. One of the roles of the Foundation is to help you process your experience in the most meaningful way so that you will return to your home country with a deeper understanding of why you here and what you accomplished. CRHF volunteers are always ready to problem solve, brainstorm and give anecdotal information that you will find helpful as you discover your own way of working on many different issues.
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HOMESTAY FAMILIES
One of the richest parts of the CRHF volunteer experience is the Costa Rican homestay experience. Chosen for their commitment to and understanding of CRHF’s goals and vision, homestay families provide a stable and supportive environment for volunteers to come home to after spending long and intense days in the field. Volunteers can expect a private room, comfortable living conditions, laundry service, and good, healthy food at their homestay. These families are also a tremendous source of local and cultural knowledge, and are invaluable resources as volunteers learn to adjust to a home and way of life. In addition, CRHF volunteers are a source of education, cultural awareness and enjoyment for the families, and allow for a powerful cultural interchange to take place. Many families also use the homestay fee they receive to pay for education for their children, improve the quality of their diets, and make necessary home improvements.
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WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM THE CRHF
Pre- arrival information
We will answer all of your questions and try to give you a clear idea of what to expect during your time here.
Airport pick-up and drop-off.
The CRHF arranges transportation to and from the airport for all volunteers.
Homestay screening and placement
Volunteers are placed with a family that has been oriented, screened and prepared for your arrival. You will get a private room, comfortable living conditions, laundry service and good healthy food from your host family. The families are also dedicated to meeting the goals and objectives of the CRHF and will always be available to give you advice or just offer a listening ear. The presence of volunteers in the families is a source of education, stimulation, cultural exchange and financial support that is very important to the overall mission of the Foundation.
Orientation and site selection
During your first days you will visit a variety of projects and communities in which you have expressed interest and talent. This process can take anywhere from a day to several days and is designed to make it possible for you to choose the project(s) that will be best for you.
Work Preparation and Support
The CRHF will provide you with the background information, materials, and logistical support you will need for each project. Members of the CRHF will provide you with a sense of perspective on your situation that is based on more than 20 years of doing development work in Costa Rica.
Daily communication regarding project goals, expectations, successes and challenges
We are available to talk every day on the phone or in person so that you can plan for the next day’s activities with enthusiasm and joy. You also play an important role in policy decisions made by the organization, as your feedback from the field is essential to us.
Weekend travel suggestions and discounts
Many volunteers come to Costa Rica to explore the country during some part of their time here. The CRHF is supported by many tour operators and hotels throughout the country, and some discounts and special arrangements can be made.
Letters of recommendation upon request
At any time after your work with us, Gail Nystrom, the Executive Director of the CRHF, will write a letter describing your project(s), the impacts you had on the populations we serve, and the role you played in making the organization stronger.
Final debriefing session
This is designed to help you process your experience and to give feedback for future volunteers and projects. Your comments are important as a tool for the CRHF to continue develop and improve our organization.
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WHAT THE CRHF EXPECTS FROM VOLUNTEERS
Volunteering with the CRHF offers a unique opportunity to grow, learn, and appreciate the world in new and challenging ways. As you interact with the people, projects and programs that are an integral part of the CRHF volunteer experience, you will be working as a team to offer your skills, knowledge, and kindness to reach a common goal.
Volunteering with the CRHF is a tremendously rewarding experience, but it is also not for everyone. To realize our vision of improving the quality of life for the populations that we serve, the CRHF requires a high level of commitment, dedication and personal responsibility from every volunteer. CRHF volunteers must possess a positive, cheerful attitude and be confident in their ability to help others make positive changes in their lives. They must be sincere in their desire to serve and sensitive to the life situations of others, especially to the fact that there are thousands of Costa Ricans who cannot afford to put food on their tables. Finally, CRHF volunteers must be able to use their skills and talents in creative and flexible ways because of the unique set of challenges and circumstances that exist in a developing country like Costa Rica.
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VOLUNTEER GROUPS
In addition to our extensive support services for individual volunteers, the CRHF also provides unique volunteer experiences for visiting groups from the Canada, Europe, and the United States. As with our individual volunteers, volunteer groups undertake humanitarian projects of their own choosing, ranging from teaching classes in rural Costa Rican schools as part of our School 2 Escuela program to larger scale projects like the construction of medical clinics and houses. The CRHF will also make travel arrangements for volunteer groups to visit spectacular tourist destinations throughout the country like Tortuguero, Arenal, and Puerto Viejo. From the moment you arrive in San Jose and are picked up by a CRHF driver at the airport, the CRHF will arrange and manage all phases of your volunteer experience before dropping you off at the airport on the final day for your trip home. Please click on the links below to find out more about the CRHF volunteer group program.
Volunteer Group Prices
Homestay Families
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VOLUNTEER GROUP PRICES
Because no two CRHF volunteer group experiences are alike, we do not charge a set fee for volunteer groups. Prices are determined after first discussing what humanitarian project your group would like to undertake and which tourist destinations you would like to visit. Typically, volunteer group prices range from $28-$100/day/volunteer and are calculated as follows:
Group Price = [Project Expenses] + [Tourism Expenses] + [Homestay Expenses] + [CRHF Donation]
Project Expenses are all costs directly associated with your project, and include transportation to and from the work site, project materials, and fees paid to additional laborers and contractors that are needed for some construction projects. In addition, a Volunteer Group Coordinator’s fee of $100/day is included as a project expense.
Tourism Expenses depend on the trip(s) your group decides to take while in Costa Rica, and includes transportation to and from your destination, meals, and lodging as well as any special tours you make while at the site.
Homestay Expenses are calculated on a per night basis at a cost of $20/volunteer/night. An additional group fee of $250 is paid to the Homestay Coordinator.
CRHF Donation is contribution that visiting groups make to the Foundation to help support other ongoing CRHF projects. The minimum donation is 20% of the volunteer group price, although visiting groups that are able to raise more funds are encouraged to make larger contributions. All volunteer group donations are applied directly to support the at-risk populations we serve and a full explanation of where donations are applied will be supplied to group participants.
We ask that groups bring with them an extra duffle bag with donations for projects and for sale to help purchase specific materials for project. Thus, for example, a group may raise an additional sum while here by selling at low cost used clothing, shoes, linens, games or toys. The funds are applied to the purchase of such important items as school supplies for a school, furnishing for a clinic, materials for a literacy program. These items are donated by the visiting group to the institution where they have been working.
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HOMESTAY FAMILIES
One of the richest parts of the CRHF volunteer experience is the Costa Rican homestay. Chosen for their commitment to and understanding of CRHF’s goals and vision, homestay families provide a stable and supportive environment for volunteers to come home to after spending long and intense days in the field. Volunteers can expect a private room, comfortable living conditions, laundry service, and good, healthy food at their homestay. These families are also a tremendous source of local and cultural knowledge, and are invaluable resources as volunteers learn to adjust to a different way of life. In addition, CRHF volunteers are a source of education, cultural awareness and enjoyment for the families, and allow for a powerful cultural interchange to take place. For group volunteers, the homestay fee is $20/volunteer/night. Many families use this homestay fee to pay for education for their children, improve the quality of their diets, and make necessary home improvements.
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HOW YOU CAN HELP
Your support is critical to the continuing success of the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation. During our years of service throughout Costa Rica, we have made tremendous strides in each of the unique communities that we support. All of our work is made possible thanks to the kind donations of goods, services, and financial resources by our volunteers, friends, and sponsors.
In the United States, all monetary donations can be made through our sister organization, the International Humanitarian Foundation (IHF). The IHF is a fully registered non-governmental organization based in Hanover, NH, and all contributions made through the IHF are for tax purposes. To make a donation, please contact:
David Morse
IHF Executive Director
P.O. Box 145
Hanover, NH 03755
Please make the check out to the International Humanitarian Foundation and specify on the check that it is for the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation. Thank you very much for your donation.
For more information, please Contact Us.
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CONTACT US
For more information about the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation, please email us.
Email: gnystrom@racsa.co.cr
Additional Contact Information
Mailing Address:
La Fundación Humanitaria Costarricense
Apartado 458
Santa Ana 6150
Costa Rica
Phone: (506) 390-4192
Our vision is to create a better quality of life for all those we work with, supporting at-risk and special needs populations so they may have more choices for their future. At the same time, the CRHF seeks to foster greater sensitivity and awareness in populations providing services.
Please view our links for more information about how the Humanitarian Foundation has touched the lives of others.
Please see www.crhf.org for the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation's official website.
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DONATIONS
Donations go DIRECTLY to people in need. For example, donations could go toward needed school supplies, building supplies to give a family a new home, or toward supplies for microbusiness start-ups.
If you would like to donate, we have a sister organization in the United States so that your donation is tax deductible.
To make a donation, please make the check out to the International Humanitarian Foundation and specify on the check that it is for the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation. Thank you very much for your donation. Please send donations to:
David Morse
IHF Executive Director
P.O. Box 145
Hanover, NH 03755
Please also contact Gail Nystrom directly by email with the subject DONATIONS. This will help us with our coordination of donations, allow you to specify a specific project or community to support, and allow us and the communities here to thank you personally.
e-mail: gnystrom@racsa.co.cr
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ABOUT US
Based in the rural community of Santa Ana, Costa Rica, the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation (CRHF) works to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable populations in Costa Rica. The CRHF now manages more than fifty projects throughout the country, focusing on education, community development, primary and preventive health care, and extensive support services for women, at-risk youth and indigenous groups. All needs that the CHRF addresses are defined by the local populations, thus ensuring a high level of commitment to each of our programs.
The work of the CRHF is carried out by a diverse group of volunteers from all over the world. Through the friendship and support of our volunteer network, the people in the communities that we serve learn to believe in themselves as they search for solutions to their daily problems. CRHF volunteers are involved in projects ranging from counseling abused women and children in the greater San Jose area to helping indigenous groups protect their cultural heritage in remote mountain villages. Volunteers and volunteer groups from Canada, Europe, and the United States are placed in homestay families and provided with cultural orientation, work support, training and background, and logistical support for their individual needs as they complete projects of their own design.
Executive Director Gail Nystrom founded the CRHF in 1997 (Cédula Jurídica Número 3-006-204046) and has guided the organization since its establishment. Although the CRHF continues to evolve and adapt, our original Core Values remain unchanged:
Innovation: We develop creative and unique solutions to real social problems.
Input: We work directly with local communities to define and address critical needs.
Integrity: We adhere to unyielding standards of transparency, honesty, and accountability.
Cooperation: We team with individuals, groups, and organizations from all over the world to realize our vision.
Cost Efficiency: We provide cost-effective and economical solutions by minimizing administrative costs and maximizing the productivity of our volunteers.
You can see photo albums of our work created by volunteers at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/photoscrhf
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GAIL'S BIOGRAPHY
Gail Nystrom is a native of the United States and has lived and worked in Costa Rica for the past twenty-five years. Born and raised in Virginia and New Jersey, Gail received a Masters Degree in Special Education from the University of Denver. In 1978, Gail came to Costa Rica as a member of the Peace Corps and worked to set up special education classrooms around the country. Remaining in Costa Rica after her Peace Corps assignment, Gail has dedicated herself to supporting at-risk populations as they search for ways to improve the quality of their lives. Gail lives in Santa Ana, Costa Rica, with her three children Felipe, Francisco, and Sara.
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PROGRAMS
The CRHF is currently engaged in over fifty humanitarian projects throughout Costa Rica. To learn more about our projects and the communities we serve, please click on the links below.
Eco-Camp
Education
Elderly
Health Care
Housing
Indigenous
Women
Youth
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Eco-Camp:
Since beginning the first Eco-Camp program in 1995, the Foundation has designed the camp experience to encourage alternative approaches to education and to foster a greater appreciation of the natural world. Children, families, and local school groups learn to work together and develop a powerful bond—with each other and with the natural world—through this series of educational and therapeutic activities. The Eco-Camp program also provides special healing programs for child prostitutes, abused women, and disenfranchised youth.
By understanding and appreciating the lives of Indigenous people and those who make a living by utilizing natural resources, students develop a profound understanding of how all elements and people are interconnected. Students start to see the communities they live in with more sensitivity, compassion, and understanding. This helps to build a stronger sense of working as a community to build a better society.
To find out about how your child can be a part of the next Eco-Camp, email the CRHF at gnystrom@racsa.co.cr or call Gail Nystrom at (506) 390-4192.
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Education:
Since formally abolishing its military in 1948, Costa Rica has made its public education system a top national priority. It is no coincidence then that Costa Rica boasts the highest literacy rate in Latin America (95.2% of the population aged 10 and over, according to the 2000 census) and requires school attendance for its students through the ninth grade. Despite its strong commitment to public education, problems in Costa Rica’s school systems, especially in rural and low-income areas, abound. Public schools are often overcrowded, underfunded, and their locations often require significant and expensive commutes for school children. In addition, although primary and secondary education are free, many low-income families cannot afford to purchase the uniforms, books, and bus fares that are required for school attendance.
The CRHF’s School Insertion program helps to offset the costs of a public education for many families. By providing uniforms, books, and school supplies, the CRHF ensures that dozens of students can attend school each year.
The School 2 Escuela program seeks to improve public education on a much larger scale by working with the schools themselves. Rural public schools in Costa Rica cannot afford to make infrastructure improvements or offer essential educational programs to their students. By pairing local Costa Rican schools with visiting school groups, the School 2 Escuela program fosters a powerful cultural exchange. In addition to donating clothing, educational materials, and financial resources, visiting students teach English, computing, science, and other special classes. They also work with community members to make needed physical improvements, building classrooms, cafeterias, and bathrooms.
The CRHF’s Pre-School Development program helps to establish, staff, fund, and supply pre-school centers in low-income and rural areas. By gaining access to education at an earlier age and developing a love of learning, these children will be much better prepared and motivated for the years of education that lie ahead of them.
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Elderly:
Traditionally, elderly people in Costa Rica have been cared for by members of their extended families, as families have always played a vital role in Costa Rican society. Because of social, economic, and demographic changes that have taken place over the last twenty years, however, an increasing number of elderly citizens are left alone and without adequate care from members of their family. These elderly citizens are often depressed and understimulated, and spend their days feeling abandoned and unappreciated. The CRHF’s Anciano Program works in conjunction with professionals in the field to provide activities that will entertain, challenge, and protect these elderly men and women. We work in a respectful, non-demeaning way as we develop art, music, poetry, and recreational and physical activities with these important members of our society.
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Health Care:
Many people living in low-income neighborhoods in Costa Rica do not have access to the country’s state-run health care system. This includes refugees (usually from neighboring Nicaragua) and people with low incomes from the informal economy that do not have the financial capacity to pay the monthly social security fee.
To address this need, the CRHF works with local community and neighborhood leaders to open community health care centers and clinics. Local doctors and medical professionals are approached to offer volunteer service hours, and the CRHF also recruits international volunteers to staff these clinics, and to support local health care clinics run by the Costa Rican social security system.
The clinics the CRHF has helped to establish have been a great benefit to the communities that they serve by leading to an overall improvement in the health of its members. Common problems such as lice infestations, STDs, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and parasites are addressed and greatly reduced. Children are also substantially healthier during the critical gestation period as well as from birth to young adulthood. This has led to reduced absenteeism from school and faster and less interrupted learning.
The La Carpio Children’s Clinic is one of our most recent health care projects. La Carpio is a very low-income community, outside of San Jose, with a refugee population of 34,000. The CRHF has worked for many years in this vulnerable, primarily Nicaraguan community, providing support to the over 2,000 children who attend the ten-room school. The CRHF is now working on a special project that will provide a safe place for school children to get medical and psychological assistance. There are many troubling issues of health and safety in this community, most of which stem from unsafe home environments and extreme poverty. These issues include physical and psychological abuse, malnutrition, drug addiction, and alcoholism. With the construction of the children’s clinic, children of La Carpio will finally have a safe place to find support for many of the problems that they face.
Additionally, the CRHF coordinates groups of health care professionals and volunteers to come to Costa Rica and to provide preventive health care workshops in rural and low-income areas where adequate health clinics are not yet available.
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Housing:
There are thousands of families throughout Costa Rica who are struggling to raise their children in impoverished squatter and bridge communities. These families have resolved their housing problem in creative and innovative ways. They have found small parcels of unused land and created humble houses with inexpensive materials. The problem is that these houses are usually well below the building code standards in terms of health and safety, and the their ownership of the land is questionable.
The CRHF works actively in these squatter communities, helping them to acquire land, build safer housing, and develop community-based programs and centers. By providing low-cost housing for families with very little income, their health, welfare and general standard of living are improved. This creates a stable base from which family members are able to search for better jobs and become more confident in their ability to become independent contributors to the community.
The most recent CRHF housing project is appropriately called El Milagro (“The Miracle,” in Spanish). The El Milagro project is a dream shared by eighty women living outside of San Jose, who have formed a legal association to purchase a plot of land where they will work with the CRHF to build modest homes, start small business ventures, and to create their own community. The women plan to create a community education and cultural center, a working farm, nature walks, and a retreat center for volunteers and other groups to come and hear their stories and to share with them. Ultimately, the El Milagro project will serve as a model of prevention of the social ills that plague homeless families. These women and this community will be a powerful statement to other at-risk groups that also share the dream of having their own community where they can raise their children in a safe, healthy, and loving atmosphere.
Along the same lines, the CRHF works in the La Promesa (“The Promise”) community with a group of families that succeeded in purchasing a piece of land and creating their own community. After years of struggles and setbacks, these families were able to build simple homes and, with CRHF support, have each created lovely gardens, a community center, a soccer team for both women and children, and special recreation and education classes. Additionally, the CRHF helped to establish a daycare center for the young children and computer classes at the local school for 160 people, including women and children who had never before touched a computer. The CRHF is now in the beginning stages of launching a more extensive educational program for members of the community. The goal is to provide health and safety workshops, literacy training for women and homework assistance to schoolchildren. The CRHF is also working with community leaders to develop small business enterprises for families in the La Promesa community, like a snack bar at the local school that is run by a woman that never before had a stable income to support her children.
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Indigenous:
Indigenous groups throughout Costa Rica are anxious to gain access to better housing, education, nutrition, and health care. By helping them to acquire educational and health resources, build houses and schools, and to develop new markets for indigenous products, the CRHF is working actively to make this dream a reality. Our main objective is to support these indigenous groups as they improve the physical quality of their lives while ensuring that the uniqueness of their heritage and culture is protected. Through CRHF support, these indigenous populations have built schools, visitor centers, and are producing unique crafts that are sold in Costa Rica and internationally.
To date, the CRHF has worked with Cabecar, Huetar, and Bribri indigenous communities. Although these populations have survived for centuries without outside intervention, many of their community leaders have come to realize that their people could have a better quality of life if they could access the services offered by government agencies. Being able to solve chronic health problems such as asthma, parasites, malnutrition and relatively high rates of infant mortality as well as being able to reduce the illiteracy rate, enhance educational opportunities and engage in community development are a high priority. At the same time, the groups that the CRHF works with wish to preserve their traditional culture, their unique relationship with nature, their language, their gender equality, and their oral history, which could be overwhelmed once they increase contact with the outside world.
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Women:
Many Costa Rican women are emotionally and economically trapped in abusive and dangerous relationships. Beginning with workshops designed to build self-esteem, the CRHF seeks to combat this recurring problem by assisting at-risk women at the individual and group level. The CRHF provides a wide variety of services to women in Costa Rica, ranging from bus fare for job searches to the financing of small business ventures. The ultimate goal is to support battered women as they progress toward economic independence and a healthier family life.
At the heart of the CRHF’s work with at-risk women is the La Mascara (The Mask) program. The program derives its name from the mask that many women in Costa Rica must put on in order to face the world and to hide their true feelings of loneliness, isolation, depression and rage. Because of the extensive history of unfaithful husbands and desertion of wives and children, there is a need to help single parent mothers, and families where husbands often present serious problems in terms of family violence and emotional abuse.
This is not only a problem for the women, but especially for the children: girls learn from the less than successful role model of their mothers and boys learn that they can get away with violence and other unacceptable behaviors in the home. Men suffer from this pattern as well since they live in a world of false power that is often reflected in guilt after each occasion of violence. That is why the CRHF identifies this problem as one of the most serious that we deal with, in terms of both its immediate and long-term impact.
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Youth:
In the peace-loving country of Costa Rica, children are considered a national treasure and most live in comfortable and loving environments. However, there are also pockets of poverty where children live in situations of neglect, deprivation, and outright abuse. This is where the CRHF intervenes. Support for at-risk youth is a core focus area of the CRHF, and the goal of our Street Kids Project.
Children living on the streets of San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica, are trapped in a vicious cycle of drug-abuse, crime, and violence. They have run away from horrific family lives, characterized by poor parenting, drug abuse, and a pattern of violence and neglect by those who are supposed to protect them, to find some comfort in the presence of others kids in the same situation. The CRHF helps “street kids” escape from this cycle by providing them with housing, food, clothing, therapy, education, mentoring, work internships, and money management training. The objective is to provide these youth with the support, treatment, and skills they need to become constructive and independent members of society. By keeping them off the streets, the Street Kids Project also seeks to reduce the rate of street crime, drug abuse and prostitution.
During the years the CRHF has worked with San Jose’s street children, the Foundation has come to know and support a group of ten young men who are now in prison for crimes they committed while living on the street. As part of our Prison Outreach Program, volunteers make weekly visits to these youth providing them with a steady source of emotional support and stable friendship. CRHF volunteers are able to advise them about current problems that they face, their process of change, and their hopes for the future. The CRHF also supports them in their search for income generating skills that will be marketable when they leave the prison. In addition, the CRHF provides these youth with drug counseling, therapy, clothing, toiletries, and a weekly homecooked meal. The CRHF is currently working on a book that will tell the life stories of these youth so that they can have their voices heard.
In addition to our work with homeless children in San Jose, the CRHF also support a number of initiatives for children and youth living in low-income communities. The La Carpio Daycare Center, established for extremely poor children whose mothers work to support them on a basic minimum wage, is just one example of a CRHF project that supports these at-risk children. The daycare center is run by a low-income woman who is only now learning to read and write herself, and staffed by CRHF volunteers who help to educate, entertain, and watch over this group of local children. The project is designed to provide a safe, healthy environment for children so that their mothers can go to work worry free.
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THE CRHF VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
Volunteers are the heart and soul of the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation. Because of their effort, input, and shared resources, we are able to work toward our mission of creating a better quality of life for individuals in need.
If you are able to join us, be it for a day, a week, a month or a year, you will find yourself challenged, frustrated, stimulated, and immensely satisfied. CRHF programs are what you make of them, literally. Foundation volunteers are involved in service projects of their own design and can count on the CRHF to provide the cultural training and logistical support to help make their projects a success.
When first contacting us, individual volunteers are asked to download and complete this brief information form. This is to make sure that your expectations are a good match for the kind of experience you can have with the CRHF. Then, you will be contacted regarding the CRHF projects that will be going on during your time with the Foundation. Keep in mind, the CRHF a dynamic, grassroots organization, so things can and do change as situations arise and new projects come to our attention.
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CRHF FEES AND FINANCIAL POLICY
CRHF individual volunteers are required to make the following financial contributions:
A CRHF Program Fee of $500/month. This fee is designed in part to offset the costs involved in making your volunteer experience a safe and enjoyable one, and also serves as a direct donation to Costa Rican populations in need. The CRHF is able to develop and sustain its humanitarian service projects in part because of the financial support from the volunteers who come here. When you pay a program fee, you are making a donation to help a lot of people. The CRHF uses funds from volunteers to finance their specific project(s), and also to supplement other projects as the need arises. In other words, instead of paying a fee that is used on office and administrative costs, you are paying a fee so that low-income populations can get direct benefits. If you plan to volunteer for more than two months, the CRHF offers a reduced program fee after the first two months have been completed.
A Homestay Fee of $300/month that is paid directly to the homestay families. For volunteers staying less than a month, the fee is $20/day.
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WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU ARRIVE
When you arrive at the San Jose International Airport, you will be greeted by a CRHF volunteer and taken directly to your homestay family. Your first days with the CRHF will be spent “learning the ropes,” getting to know the vocabulary of all the different sites the Foundation works in, the names of different people and groups with whom we cooperate, and essential local information like the bus routes to and from your home. Other volunteers will be instrumental in helping you get your bearings. You will learn about the history of the organization so that you can have a good sense of where your presence fits into the whole picture and the types of projects that have been done by volunteers who have come before. We also know that having a historical perspective on each project helps us all to see the progress we are making.
Once you have visited several different volunteer sites, you will make your own daily schedule and talk it over with us. The CRHF will give logistical and professional suggestions and will provide you with materials you may need to meet your objective. Your host family will be apprised of your decision about where to work and the way your days will be spent and they will also be available to help whenever needed.
Once you start on your work schedule, your contact with the CRHF will be devised to keep you thinking consciously about what you are doing and why. One of the roles of the Foundation is to help you process your experience in the most meaningful way so that you will return to your home country with a deeper understanding of why you here and what you accomplished. CRHF volunteers are always ready to problem solve, brainstorm and give anecdotal information that you will find helpful as you discover your own way of working on many different issues.
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HOMESTAY FAMILIES
One of the richest parts of the CRHF volunteer experience is the Costa Rican homestay experience. Chosen for their commitment to and understanding of CRHF’s goals and vision, homestay families provide a stable and supportive environment for volunteers to come home to after spending long and intense days in the field. Volunteers can expect a private room, comfortable living conditions, laundry service, and good, healthy food at their homestay. These families are also a tremendous source of local and cultural knowledge, and are invaluable resources as volunteers learn to adjust to a home and way of life. In addition, CRHF volunteers are a source of education, cultural awareness and enjoyment for the families, and allow for a powerful cultural interchange to take place. Many families also use the homestay fee they receive to pay for education for their children, improve the quality of their diets, and make necessary home improvements.
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WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM THE CRHF
Pre- arrival information
We will answer all of your questions and try to give you a clear idea of what to expect during your time here.
Airport pick-up and drop-off.
The CRHF arranges transportation to and from the airport for all volunteers.
Homestay screening and placement
Volunteers are placed with a family that has been oriented, screened and prepared for your arrival. You will get a private room, comfortable living conditions, laundry service and good healthy food from your host family. The families are also dedicated to meeting the goals and objectives of the CRHF and will always be available to give you advice or just offer a listening ear. The presence of volunteers in the families is a source of education, stimulation, cultural exchange and financial support that is very important to the overall mission of the Foundation.
Orientation and site selection
During your first days you will visit a variety of projects and communities in which you have expressed interest and talent. This process can take anywhere from a day to several days and is designed to make it possible for you to choose the project(s) that will be best for you.
Work Preparation and Support
The CRHF will provide you with the background information, materials, and logistical support you will need for each project. Members of the CRHF will provide you with a sense of perspective on your situation that is based on more than 20 years of doing development work in Costa Rica.
Daily communication regarding project goals, expectations, successes and challenges
We are available to talk every day on the phone or in person so that you can plan for the next day’s activities with enthusiasm and joy. You also play an important role in policy decisions made by the organization, as your feedback from the field is essential to us.
Weekend travel suggestions and discounts
Many volunteers come to Costa Rica to explore the country during some part of their time here. The CRHF is supported by many tour operators and hotels throughout the country, and some discounts and special arrangements can be made.
Letters of recommendation upon request
At any time after your work with us, Gail Nystrom, the Executive Director of the CRHF, will write a letter describing your project(s), the impacts you had on the populations we serve, and the role you played in making the organization stronger.
Final debriefing session
This is designed to help you process your experience and to give feedback for future volunteers and projects. Your comments are important as a tool for the CRHF to continue develop and improve our organization.
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WHAT THE CRHF EXPECTS FROM VOLUNTEERS
Volunteering with the CRHF offers a unique opportunity to grow, learn, and appreciate the world in new and challenging ways. As you interact with the people, projects and programs that are an integral part of the CRHF volunteer experience, you will be working as a team to offer your skills, knowledge, and kindness to reach a common goal.
Volunteering with the CRHF is a tremendously rewarding experience, but it is also not for everyone. To realize our vision of improving the quality of life for the populations that we serve, the CRHF requires a high level of commitment, dedication and personal responsibility from every volunteer. CRHF volunteers must possess a positive, cheerful attitude and be confident in their ability to help others make positive changes in their lives. They must be sincere in their desire to serve and sensitive to the life situations of others, especially to the fact that there are thousands of Costa Ricans who cannot afford to put food on their tables. Finally, CRHF volunteers must be able to use their skills and talents in creative and flexible ways because of the unique set of challenges and circumstances that exist in a developing country like Costa Rica.
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VOLUNTEER GROUPS
In addition to our extensive support services for individual volunteers, the CRHF also provides unique volunteer experiences for visiting groups from the Canada, Europe, and the United States. As with our individual volunteers, volunteer groups undertake humanitarian projects of their own choosing, ranging from teaching classes in rural Costa Rican schools as part of our School 2 Escuela program to larger scale projects like the construction of medical clinics and houses. The CRHF will also make travel arrangements for volunteer groups to visit spectacular tourist destinations throughout the country like Tortuguero, Arenal, and Puerto Viejo. From the moment you arrive in San Jose and are picked up by a CRHF driver at the airport, the CRHF will arrange and manage all phases of your volunteer experience before dropping you off at the airport on the final day for your trip home. Please click on the links below to find out more about the CRHF volunteer group program.
Volunteer Group Prices
Homestay Families
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VOLUNTEER GROUP PRICES
Because no two CRHF volunteer group experiences are alike, we do not charge a set fee for volunteer groups. Prices are determined after first discussing what humanitarian project your group would like to undertake and which tourist destinations you would like to visit. Typically, volunteer group prices range from $28-$100/day/volunteer and are calculated as follows:
Group Price = [Project Expenses] + [Tourism Expenses] + [Homestay Expenses] + [CRHF Donation]
Project Expenses are all costs directly associated with your project, and include transportation to and from the work site, project materials, and fees paid to additional laborers and contractors that are needed for some construction projects. In addition, a Volunteer Group Coordinator’s fee of $100/day is included as a project expense.
Tourism Expenses depend on the trip(s) your group decides to take while in Costa Rica, and includes transportation to and from your destination, meals, and lodging as well as any special tours you make while at the site.
Homestay Expenses are calculated on a per night basis at a cost of $20/volunteer/night. An additional group fee of $250 is paid to the Homestay Coordinator.
CRHF Donation is contribution that visiting groups make to the Foundation to help support other ongoing CRHF projects. The minimum donation is 20% of the volunteer group price, although visiting groups that are able to raise more funds are encouraged to make larger contributions. All volunteer group donations are applied directly to support the at-risk populations we serve and a full explanation of where donations are applied will be supplied to group participants.
We ask that groups bring with them an extra duffle bag with donations for projects and for sale to help purchase specific materials for project. Thus, for example, a group may raise an additional sum while here by selling at low cost used clothing, shoes, linens, games or toys. The funds are applied to the purchase of such important items as school supplies for a school, furnishing for a clinic, materials for a literacy program. These items are donated by the visiting group to the institution where they have been working.
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HOMESTAY FAMILIES
One of the richest parts of the CRHF volunteer experience is the Costa Rican homestay. Chosen for their commitment to and understanding of CRHF’s goals and vision, homestay families provide a stable and supportive environment for volunteers to come home to after spending long and intense days in the field. Volunteers can expect a private room, comfortable living conditions, laundry service, and good, healthy food at their homestay. These families are also a tremendous source of local and cultural knowledge, and are invaluable resources as volunteers learn to adjust to a different way of life. In addition, CRHF volunteers are a source of education, cultural awareness and enjoyment for the families, and allow for a powerful cultural interchange to take place. For group volunteers, the homestay fee is $20/volunteer/night. Many families use this homestay fee to pay for education for their children, improve the quality of their diets, and make necessary home improvements.
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HOW YOU CAN HELP
Your support is critical to the continuing success of the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation. During our years of service throughout Costa Rica, we have made tremendous strides in each of the unique communities that we support. All of our work is made possible thanks to the kind donations of goods, services, and financial resources by our volunteers, friends, and sponsors.
In the United States, all monetary donations can be made through our sister organization, the International Humanitarian Foundation (IHF). The IHF is a fully registered non-governmental organization based in Hanover, NH, and all contributions made through the IHF are for tax purposes. To make a donation, please contact:
David Morse
IHF Executive Director
P.O. Box 145
Hanover, NH 03755
Please make the check out to the International Humanitarian Foundation and specify on the check that it is for the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation. Thank you very much for your donation.
For more information, please Contact Us.
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CONTACT US
For more information about the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation, please email us.
Email: gnystrom@racsa.co.cr
Additional Contact Information
Mailing Address:
La Fundación Humanitaria Costarricense
Apartado 458
Santa Ana 6150
Costa Rica
Phone: (506) 390-4192