Creating Opportunities. Changing Futures.

ekaraya7

Nov 4

7 min read

Updated: 7 days ago

Since 2023, ACCAI has been working alongside the Brasilito community in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, to create opportunities through education, skills development, and community support.

We believe every child, young person, and adult deserves the opportunity to learn, discover their potential, and build a brighter future.

Through our free educational programs, creative experiences, and community initiatives, we turn this belief into action every week.

Here is a look at what we have been learning, creating, and achieving together. 💙

Inside Our Programs

Creating Opportunities Through Learning

ACCAI offers a variety of 100% free educational and community programs for children from early childhood through high school, as well as young people and adults.

Today, more than 80 students participate in our programs, supported by 18 tutors who help make our work possible. Every week, ACCAI provides 31 hours of tutoring, offering students consistent academic guidance and support.

Each program responds to different learning needs and interests, helping participants strengthen academic skills, discover their abilities, develop confidence, and explore new opportunities.

Our programs include:

Little Bees: Early learning experiences that encourage young children to explore, discover, and develop through engaging activities.
Academic Tutoring: English and mathematics support for elementary school students, and English, mathematics, and French for high school students.
Computer & Digital Skills: Practical technology education that helps students develop essential digital skills for school, further education, and everyday life.
English Classes: Language learning opportunities for young people and adults.
Reading Club: Activities that encourage reading, comprehension, imagination, and a love of books.
Art & Creative Workshops: Opportunities for self-expression, creativity, and discovering new interests, skills and ways of exploring the world.
Sports & Mentorship: Activities that promote teamwork, personal development, confidence, and positive relationships.
Food & Nutrition Support: ACCAI provides snacks for all elementary and high school students, as well as lunch for our high school students. This support helps ensure that students have food during their time at ACCAI and can fully participate in their learning activities.

All our programs are free of charge. Beyond academic learning, we aim to help participants build confidence, discover their abilities, develop new skills, and explore possibilities for their future.

Beyond the Classroom

Learning Through Experiences, Creativity, and Community

Learning happens everywhere. Through workshops, educational outings, creative projects, and shared experiences, our students discover new interests, develop skills, and build confidence beyond the classroom.

Exploring the World Through Virtual Reality

On August 22, nearly 50 ACCAI students and tutors participated in an immersive STEAM experience using virtual reality. They explored Costa Rica's remarkable biodiversity and traveled virtually to Africa, discovering its savannas and fascinating wildlife.

Sponsored by Hands Across Borders, this experience brought science and technology to life through interactive learning. Beyond discovering new environments, students had the opportunity to explore the world in ways they might not otherwise experience, sparking curiosity, expanding their horizons, and showing them how technology can open doors to new knowledge and possibilities.

Discovering Art at Estudio Rambar

To celebrate Children's Day, 16 children from ACCAI's tutoring program visited Estudio Rambar in Las Catalinas on September 9 for an inspiring artistic experience.

During the visit, they explored different artworks, techniques, and textures, discovered how materials from their surroundings can be transformed into art, and had the opportunity to interact with artists and learn about their creative process.

Experiences like this introduce children to new forms of expression, encourage creativity and curiosity, and help them discover possibilities beyond their everyday environment.

We are grateful to Estudio Rambar for welcoming our students, and to Pura Vida Bitcoin, Center of Joy, Álvaro, Mauricio Mena, and Susan Jahn for making this educational outing possible through their support, transportation, and coordination.

Bringing Color to Brasilito

Fifteen high school students from ACCAI's tutoring program took part in a community art project, painting the benches in the public area across from Brasilito Beach.

Through this initiative, students had the opportunity to express their creativity, contribute their ideas, and work together to improve a shared public space. Their efforts brought new color to the area while giving them a meaningful way to participate in their community.

Projects like this encourage creativity, teamwork, and a sense of responsibility and belonging, showing young people that they can play an active role in making a positive difference in the places where they live.

We thank Álvaro, Pura Vida Bitcoin, and the Brasilito ADI for supporting this initiative and helping create opportunities for young people to contribute to their community.

Growing Together Through English Improvisation & Movement

On October 17, Rob Chambers returned to lead a second English improvisation workshop for ACCAI's high school students, building on the experience of their previous session.

Through interactive improvisation exercises and group activities, students continued developing communication, concentration, memory, coordination, creativity, and teamwork while practicing English in a relaxed and engaging environment.

These activities encouraged students to think on their feet, listen to one another, express their ideas, and gain confidence using English in spontaneous, real-life interactions.

We thank Rob Chambers for returning to share his professional experience, enthusiasm, and knowledge with our students.

Community Care & Support

Our commitment to the community goes beyond education. We believe in identifying needs, supporting families, and finding practical ways to make a difference in people's lives.

ACCAI Contigo

Practical Support When It Matters Most

ACCAI Contigo began with a donation of medical and mobility equipment. Rather than allocating it to just one recipient, ACCAI decided to make the equipment available as a free lending service for community members who need it.

The program currently includes an electric hospital bed, wheelchair, walker, crutches, portable toilet chair, and toilet safety grab bar, depending on availability. Equipment can be borrowed for as long as it is needed, at no cost to the family.

Since its beginning, ACCAI Contigo has supported two community members during challenging periods of their lives, helping them and their families navigate situations involving limited mobility and recovery.

This initiative reflects the power of community solidarity: a single donation can become an ongoing resource, helping different families when they need it most.

One donation. Multiple opportunities to help. Lasting community impact. 💙

Standing Together to Support a Family

When one of ACCAI's students and his two elderly grandparents faced a difficult financial situation, members of the ACCAI community came together to offer support.

Through the combined efforts of our volunteers and team, we were able to help cover one month's rent and the family's electricity and water bills, as well as provide essential food supplies.

We also found another way to support the family. Following a garage sale organized to raise funds for ACCAI, we donated the remaining items to them so they could set them up at home and sell them, creating an opportunity to earn some additional income.

Together, these efforts helped ease some of the family's immediate financial concerns while also providing them with a way to continue supporting themselves.

At ACCAI, we recognize that creating a stronger community sometimes means looking beyond our educational programs and responding to the needs of the families around us. This experience reminded us how much can be accomplished when people come together with compassion and a willingness to help.

We are grateful to our volunteers and everyone who contributed to supporting this family. Every act of solidarity makes a difference. 💙

Access to Education

Helping Students Get to School

For high school students in the Brasilito area, getting to school involves an additional expense that can place a significant burden on families with very limited financial resources. Unlike primary schools, which are available within the local community, the two nearby public high schools are located in Villarreal and Cartagena, requiring students to travel by bus to attend classes.

Although families make every effort to ensure their children can continue their education, these transportation costs represent an additional strain on already limited household budgets.

Recognizing this need, ACCAI identified an opportunity to support families through transportation assistance.

This year, Alba Collins and her family turned this concern into action by launching Access to Education, an initiative created to raise funds to help cover students' transportation expenses.

Thanks to their initiative and the generosity of those who contributed, ACCAI was able to provide four transportation scholarships to high school students.

These scholarships help ease the financial pressure on families, allowing them to allocate their limited resources to other essential needs while supporting their children's continued education.

We are grateful to Alba Collins and her family for taking the initiative, and to everyone who contributed to making these scholarships possible.

Because access to education also means supporting the families who make it possible. 💙

Help More Students Get to School in 2027

We hope to continue and expand Access to Education in 2027, providing transportation scholarships to more high school students in our community.

Your contribution can help ease the transportation expenses faced by local families and allow us to reach more students.

Contact us to help us keep this initiative going.

Support Access to Education Here

Our Community Makes It Possible

ACCAI's work would not be possible without the generosity, commitment, and involvement of so many individuals, businesses, and organizations.

Throughout the year, we have received support in many different ways: financial contributions, fundraising efforts, food donations, educational materials, transportation, workshops, professional skills, and countless hours of volunteering. Every contribution, in its own way, helps us sustain our programs and create more opportunities for our students.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has been part of this journey:

Community Supporters & Partners

Mauricio Mena,Tracey Cobb, Álvaro, Marianela, Desiree Sirois, Denise Montealegre, Bruce Moseley, Roberto Gallardo, Jacqueline Beaumont, Tracy Strauss, Diane Niemczyk, Rosalind & Lile Lindquist, Ian Thompson, Therese Gear, Ohana Bassett, Katty and Julio Rosenstock, Guy Leclerc, Craig Saunders, Robert Macris, Shera Simpson, Susan Jahn, Angela Mikula, Chris Tandafir, Rod Marshall, Colleen Haskin, Jake Collins, Amanda Collins, Rob Chambers, Kristyn Moravetz, Barri Mirando, Jeremy and Heather Morrow, Jill, Jennifer Cerdas, Pura Vida Bitcoin, Center of Joy, Pickleball Club Brasilito, Teatro Expresivo, The Palms, Beauty & The Baboons, José Vega, and Enoch Thweatt.

We are also grateful to all volunteers and students from CRIA and their families who have generously shared their time, knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm with ACCAI.

Our Coordination Team & Tutors

Our heartfelt thanks go to Marcela López, David Cáceres, Ian Acosta, Liz Welsh, Chris Welsh, Kristyn Moravetz, Chris Tandafir, Susan Jahn, Dana Sidi , Caroline Bourgois, Alexandra Hill, Myra Andell, Yuliet Rodriguez, James Titkemeyer, Angela Mikula, Lori Rill, Tamara Vittorio and Rod Marshall for their dedication and commitment to our students and programs.

Your support makes a difference in the lives of our students and their families. 💙

Every Opportunity Begins with a Community

Every workshop, every lesson, every new experience, and every act of solidarity helps create new possibilities.

Behind every opportunity is a group of people who believe in the power of education and community action.

Would you like to be part of ACCAI's journey? You can contribute your time, share your skills, donate resources, or support our programs financially.

Together, we can continue creating opportunities and building brighter futures in Brasilito. 💙

Thank you for being part of our journey.

Support our Work

Your donation helps ACCAI keep its educational programs free and accessible, provide essential resources, and create more opportunities for children, teenagers, and families in our community. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a difference.

Donate here