April - May: When the parents came to pay their monthly fee at the community meeting, everyone agreed that we needed a school in the neighborhood. A committee has been formed and a school will be built to open in March, 1993 if we can raise money and the help we need. We've received some donations from friends to help defray transportation costs. The land for the school has been donated and the building site has been identified. The Supervisor of Education in Pto. Jiménez has indicated that he can provide the committee with construction plans, materials lists and cost estimates for the construction. Every month our school board meeting with all of the parents grows in numbers. Interest is growing. We had a meeting in St. Paul with the organization known a Global Volunteers. They send interested individuals to local third world projects to assist communities. Their 'hands on' approach encourages communities through faster progress, perhaps new ways to do things, and a general coming together. Everyone has a win-win feeling when finished.

June: The rainy season has not stopped the transportation of the children to Puerto Jiménez though a 4-wheel drive is essential. Some of the parents doubted we would keep up the transportation once it became difficult. We now have three 4-wheel drive Toyota "taxi" pick-up trucks on which we can rely. I had to drive one day with Memo to the Tamales River and carry the children across the river on our shoulders.
56 people came to show Global Volunteers director we had a community and all wanted the school. The community must work side by side with the group.

July: We have interested The Global Volunteers in our project. Their representative, Ray Beise, has been to the site and has approved the project and the organization will seek US and Canadian volunteers. This means that teams of volunteers will help with the construction in November, 1992 and February, 1993. They do not, however, provide financial help. Some more donations have helped pay for the transportation.

Sept.: We had to pay $1,500. from our own resources to have the public road repaired in order for the school transport to get up the mountain. The municipal trucks are all broken and we are ignored. However, we have to keep our promise to the neighbors. (Ouch!)

Oct.: Construction began on the "spring box", a water collecting system designed to trap water from a nearby natural spring. Labor was supplied by the local community and 10 Global Volunteers from the USA and Canada. At the end of 10 days the spring box was collecting a good quantity of water and water was running in a polyducto tube to the school site. The footings were constructed for the toilet building and teacher's house. In addition to building the school the local people began to see they were a group and were working together for the first time as a unit. The bonding of the neighbors was energizing for them and they looked forward to the next Global Volunteer groups who were coming in December, 1992 and March, 1993. (Took all gifts we received for transportation and bought building supplies for starting construction!) Someday we'll get paid back for the transportation but right now it's more important to build the school.
We talked with the lead team of the US National Guard about community building projects, hoping they built schools as one of their projects. As part of their 2 week yearly training the US Corps of Engineers National Guards helps construct community development needs in Central America. They told us the Costa Rican government said nobody lives south of Pto. Jiménez! Precisely why not anything has ever happened here. They have plans for a small group will be in the Osa in early March to complete a school for the Carbonera as the project falls within their parameters.

Nov. - Dec. Contributions donated late in 1992 supplied enough money to pay for the posts and preformed concrete walls of the teacher's house, dining hall/kitchen and the toilet building. The preformed, concrete school is the type of building the government recommends in the harsh living conditions of the rain forest. Additional costs included the transportation and unloading of all the materials. We also had enough money to pay for necessary cement, steel re-bars and sand. The Global Volunteers returned and were able to construct more footings and setting of posts to hold the walls. Many volunteers provided support for the children and families through cross cultural learning. Christmas offered new cultural treats for the families. Contributions for building materials continue to come little by little. The community is not as enthused about working together with the volunteers as they are about learning from them and having parties.

1993 Jan. - Feb.: The community is not getting the necessary things lined up to be ready for the next volunteer group in March. Interest seems to drop considerably when the volunteers are not around to encourage the people and give the needed direction. There are no contributions coming. What to do? Will we have to transport to town again? Will the National Guard be able to build?

March: The children were a part of the construction process through leaning language and math skills - a different kind of building process when the third Global Vol. group came March 1. This group of volunteers contributed more to teaching and social skills. More footings and posts were erected by the community members and some of the volunteers. The spring box has dried but we'll run a tube from the river. The US Guards came to build at the same time as the volunteers, AND brought a water truck! So many together helping an area little known to the world before 1992.
The children came to the Carbonera School on March 1, 1993. 19 students came the first day and classes were held in the neighbor's rancho near the school site and were taught by Global Volunteers. By March 8th there were 26 children. On March 11th, the classroom building was finished and the benches were moved into the permanent structure just completed by the U.S. National Guard from Kansas. A great day of celebration. The Global Volunteers and the Guards were thanked profusely by the local people. (Although, those who contributed their time and talent felt more rewarded as the givers.) Truly a win-win situation. Our teacher, Gilberto, came to begin teaching when the new school building opened. We are blessed with a teacher who understands our needs, has enthusiasm and energy. The children respect and like him.

April: Although school has been in session for 5 weeks only the teacher has a book. Money donated only to be used for supplies will purchase a few books for many to share. The school furniture and equipment is almost nonexistent. Carbonera School desperately needs contributions of money.
The funds will be used to:

• Hire a contractor and assistant to oversee finishing the 3 remaining structures.
  
• Finish buying materials to finish the 3 buildings.
  
• Equip the school with books, supplies and equipment.
  

June & July: Culver-Stockton College in Missouri, USA will be sending an education major to the Carbonera School to help the teacher. This student teacher will be a volunteer who no doubt will leave the area with a different perspective on education. The donation of a college student is another way of contributing. The student from the college will come in September, ready to help in the last push before the final exams in November. (In May we had a marvelous volunteer from the States who helped Gilberto. Elizabeth was with the children for a month and it was a sad day when she said goodbye.)

July: The school board met and decided to spend the money that was raised in May to hire a contractor with experience and integrity. We have paid $280 to a man who only talked about fixing the toilet building. He worked only a few days and then asked for money in advance to finish the structure. He disappeared, money in hand. The school board has pursued him to collect the funds but has learned a valuable lesson regarding prepayment.
We are very sad to learn of the leaving of Macho and Alice, the family who have been the driving force behind the community and the importance of completing the school. The property they have been "guarding/working" has been sold to a Gringo. Wonder if the community will be made up of workers for absent land owners. We made a temporary dining hall / kitchen, that is after the toilet building is finished. The vote to finish the permanent dining hall was agreed upon after much discussion by the board, balancing the pros and cons of building the teacher's house first. Finished the fence and again the same workers continue to come to cut grass, getting ready for the Global Volunteers. We were given a truck load of sand just in time for the new construction. More materials were ordered and paid by our dwindling funds. We are ready for the volunteers in spite of the fact the teachers are on strike throughout the country, there is no school nor children in attendance. Gilberto has been helpful in getting the community organized and ready for the volunteers. We are thankful for this teacher and the support of the supervisor who came last week with a pep talk for the parents. This support from Ticos outside the community is priceless to this fragmented community who really are still in the learning stage about working together, pulling together for a common cause. "Harambe!" we learned in Kenya.
A concern, and confusion, I have is the difficulty enrolling our Gringo neighbors in the value of education for the local children and the community...seems the local parents who are day laborers are not being let off to attend afternoon school meetings. (Can't meet at night because of darkness.) I mistakenly think most educated people appreciate how they got to be where they are...

Aug.: The fourth Global Volunteers have arrived and are an enthusiastic group. There was a formal welcome on the patio at the school where everyone introduced themselves and the children did some bombas, or skits, for the group. Eduardo, the new carpenter was introduced. It is apparent that a head construction person, especially one who has already built the same type of school at Miramar (a neighboring community), will bring some stability to the ongoing building project. Hopefully the neighbors will use free time to come and assist. Patience.

Sept. - Dec.: The toilet building was completed (except for doors, but who's looking!) and the lunchroom is well on its way to being completed. During the rainy months only Eduardo, and occasionally his son, were building. The school fund has enough money to hire Eduardo and his presence keeps the spirit alive that the school is getting built. Unfortunately, most of the neighbors are observers, not participants. The children are good in their attendance at the school, some families more than others. As the time of the exams neared in early November some of the children from the mountains dropped out of school all together. Their presence will be missed. They had failed to come on a regular basis so were not prepared to sit for the year-end exams. It has been such a bad rainy season and they have said it has been too difficult for them to come to school. We hope to keep alive the vision of education and the key it can play in their future. Their parents don't quite see it that way. Their lives in the future will be fraught with more difficulties without education than merely a rain coated path; perhaps some face saving was going on when parents realized poor attendance plays into performance.

Dec.: A very strong Global Volunteer group moved in and got the teacher's house almost totally constructed before their leave taking. Several of the neighbors participated in the construction but there were numerous days the volunteers were working alone. The school building was really the only building that ever "elicited support" for completion. This will be the last group of Global Volunteers due to the lack of community support. So many of the neighbors want the school but are only willing to watch it happen. The reality of the school is a model for them to see that working hard - not quitting in spite of many set backs - brings positive results.