Information
Where does Abriendo Mentes work:
Click map to enlarge
Abriendo Mentes
Playa Potrero, Costa Rica
Abriendo Mentes is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community development initiative.
We offer four innovative programs to the youth and adults of Playa Potrero, Costa Rica: Youth Development, Adult Education, Women's Empowerment, and a Technology Center; in an effort to enhance education and "open minds".
The ultimate goal of Abriendo Mentes is to equip each community member with the knowledge and resources needed to achieve a better standard of living and promote economic stability.
Get Involved - click to contact this organization »
Current Projects
Abriendo Mentes (AM) operates four programs in the community of Potrero.
The Abriendo Mentes Youth Development Program focuses on two core areas:
English as a Second Language Classes:
- Group ESL classes are held in the community classroom, and run by the Classroom Director with the aid of volunteers.
- AM teaches classes 200 days a year, with an average of 1.5 hours per day, resulting in 300 hours per year. This totals to more than the amount of time the kids spend in the public school.
- AM curriculum utilizes and builds on the public school curriculum.
Educational Development Activities
AM offers a variety of activities that focus on developing creativity and critical thinking, and emphasize physical activity, environmental and global awareness.
The Educational Development Activities are:
- Creative Art Classes
- International Pen-pal Program
- Experiential Learning Excursions
- Sustainable Garden Project
- Beach Clean-ups
- Health and Exercise Classes
Impact of English Classes
Our exciting and creative teaching approach generates excitement about education and encourages continuation of schooling into High School and beyond. With a focus on English, we are able to supplement the curriculum being taught in the public school with applicable language skills needed in real life, which results in higher marks in school and important job skills for the future. It also fills the after-school hours that would otherwise be spent idle without any structured educational activities.
Impact of Extra-Curricular Activities
Engaging in extra-curricular activities gives the children an opportunity to discover their strengths, build their self-esteem, and create a world-view that encompasses life outside of Playa Potrero.
The AM Adult Education Program focuses on one area:
English Classes
- Group English classes are divided into three competency levels: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced
- Classes are held in the evenings,four times a week, in groups of 5-15. The class is led by the Adult Education Director with the aid of volunteers.
- Curriculum is based on vocabulary and concepts that are applicable to daily life and occupations.
Impact of English Classes
Proficiency in the English language allows the student to obtain a higher paying job in the tourism sector. Learning English and obtaining jobs in the tourism sector has a significant impact on the quality of life and will eventually result in a drop in the Potrero unemployment rate. Additionally, participating in classes generates an excitement and interest in learning that is passed down to the younger generation.
The AM Women's Empowerment Program
The goal of the Women's Empowerment Program is to empower women to tackle difficult issues in their lives and provide them with valuable tools to address them, as well as offer a social outlet for women to create a community amongst themselves.
Thirteen women are involved with the program and meet once a week under the organization of the Director of Women's Programming. The women choose activities to do such as:
- Health Screenings
- Nutrition Classes
- Art Classes
- Yoga Classes
- Group Discussions
- Seminars
- Group outings
Impact of Women's Empowerment Group
Engaging in the women’s group empowers women to take charge of their lives and overcome issues of oppression within their relationships and in Potrero. Our program aims to provide self-esteem building and consciousness-raising activities to empower women to create real change in their own lives and in their community.
AM's Technology Center
Launching in April 2012, the Technology Center will exist to advance the reach of the programs and be able to individualize education opportunities for adults and youth. The Technology Center will highlight a computer language lab to our current program offerings. This computer lab and learning center will feature five technology language stations, each with a computer, English language development software and Internet access. The language lab will be open to all Abriendo Mentes students, free of charge.
Impact of the Technology Center
With computers and language software, students are given a new avenue to express their language skills and have more control and direction in their own education. The advantages are apparent. Students advance their reading comprehension by allowing increased interaction with texts, expand their vocabulary by including more visual cues, and improve pronunciation by verbal interaction and participation with the language software.
We believe that with the addition of a Technology Center to our current offerings, we will further be able to pursue our goal of providing the necessary tools to stop the cycle of poverty in Potrero.
Partner Needs
Just a small amount goes a long way for those who start with very little.
Abriendo Mentes has set out a few current goals and needs that we will focus on for the 2011 year.
* Every child that is a part of the Abriendo Mentes project will be given a materials packet to use in classes. This packet will include notebooks, folders, pencils, pens, markers, erasers and more.
* Our classes will incorporate monthly field trips to locations in Guanacaste in order to emphasize lessons on the environment, culture, and social responsibility.
* We will work to create a computer/language lab with enough resources to teach basic computing classes and expand language learning capacity for the entire community.
* We will help the Playa Potrero public school with repairs and building needs to create a separate office for the Director and close in an open wall. (Fulfilled)
* We will fund one scholarship to the private bilingual school, La Paz Community school.
Financial Needs
Abriendo Mentes is in need of funding for our daily operating costs, educational materials for the children and resources to meet our yearly goals.
Your contribution will...
$25 - Sponsor one student's class materials for the entire year
$100 - Purchase ink for 1000 student worksheets
$150 - Provide a desk for a language lab
$200 - Pay a teacher's salary for one month
$250 - Sponsor an experiential learning field trip for 50 children
$500 - Fund a projector and screen to allow classes to expand
$1000 - Buy two computers to aid in the creation of a language lab
$5000 - Fund a scholarship for one child to a private bilingual school
In Kind Needs
Abriendo Mentes accepts and greatly appreciates resource donations, please email info@abriendomentes.org for our wish list.
Mission Statement
The mission of Abriendo Mentes is to empower rural Costa Rican communities to further their own economic development by providing educational, social, and technological programs to families and youth in need.
Our Community
We gathered the following community demographics from the 2011 Playa Potrero Census:
– The average salary in Playa Potrero is $305 per month
– The average monthly living expenses are $565 per household
– The unemployment rate is 37%
The program is run in the rural village of Playa Potrero, where the only educational resource for children is a small, dilapidated, four room public school that offers classes a mere three hours per day, 85 days per year. The lack of enthusiasm and funding for public education leads to apathy in the students, fosters a negative view of school and learning, and discourages children from pursuing a higher education.
AM is the only program in this area offering continuing education classes and extra-curricular opportunities to community members. For many students, the AM classes are their only creative and educational outlet, and their primary opportunity for personal growth. In an area that has almost nothing, the AM program gives people something to work for, to strive for, and to feel proud of.
We don’t only give people the tools to carve out better lives financially and linguistically, we give them the chance to change their entire perspective, and the opportunity to seek a better life for themselves and their children. Not only does AM teach job skills, we also teach self-esteem, hope, and inspiration.