Local hotel and tourism operators are invited to the launch of this program presented by our local business association CATCAS and UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund).

The “Guest of the Heart” strategy is aimed at helping children with problems or abandoned children.

The meeting for hoteliers from Puerto Viejo, Cocles, Punta Uva and Manzanillo is Saturday Feb 13 at 11 am at the Hotel Punta Cocles.

The meeting for hoteliers from Cahuita is Sunday Feb 14 at Restaurante Relax in Cahuita.

This is a great opportunity for Caribe Sur tourism operators to help and join to be part of this program, the first time that UNICEF has partnered with a chamber of tourism in Central America.

More information on the “Guest of the Heart” program can be found on the UNICEF Costa Rica website.

For more information on the local meetings or the involvement of CATCAS, contact Rolando Soto at turismocaribesur@yahoo.com.

So many in the local community have been profoundly touched by the pictures coming out of Port-au-Prince, knowing that it could’ve just as easily been San Jose or some other part of Costa Rica.

The department of immigration puts the official Haitian population of Costa Rica at only 215 residents but the actual number is probably much higher. Many of them work as mobile vendors in San José.  Those interviewed on Teletica last night were anxiously waiting news from home as to whether their families were okay.

A number of local businesses we spoke to have already sent donations:

• Puerto Viejo Satellite $100
• Gecko Trail Adventures $200

Donations within Costa Rica can be sent to the Banco de Costa Rica or Banco Nacional accounts set up for this. International organizations which are collecting donations include Doctors without Borders who have worked extensively in Haiti for many years (Their US, Canadian and other national offices all accept online donations) and and the International Red Cross.

The website goals are to:

• Provide a place for residents and visitors alike to find out more information about the program
• Provide a place to acknowledge the supporters in the community who’s regular support keeps the program alive and saving lives
• Provide an online place for donations to be collected

The program would like to hear your stories of how the Cocles Lifeguards have affected (or saved!) your life.  Send them to info@cocles.org.

A number of individuals were involved in getting the website launched:

• Doug Dosdall of Puerto Viejo Satellite who is donating the hosting and domain name and did much of the website layout,
• Bethany Hope of Code 3 Design for the graphic design and website layout,
• Zöe Courtier of Geckoes Lodge for writing the backgrounder article that appears on the site, and
• Eddie Ryan of La Costa de Papito for providing the history and records for the program and shepherding it all these years!

Those businesses who were regular supporters of the program at a minimum donation level of 5,000 colones per month are thanked and acknowledge with a link on the site. “Lifesavers”, the businesses supporting the program at a monthly level of at least 20,000 colones per month, are especially thanked.

Businesses who wish to start a regular donation should contact Eddie Ryan to make arrangements and let info@cocles.org know so their donation can be acknowledged.

Business supporters are also encourage to add a  link to their website like “We support the Playa Cocles lifeguard program” with a link to www.Cocles.org.

Individuals who wish to make a one time donation can do so by following the Make a Donation link on the website.

Join in ATEC’s Fourth Annual Holiday School Supply Drive

You can gift the supplies to the drive (See the list of required school supplies for each student) or you can donate cash for the purchase of supplies to adopt a student on behalf of the person who already has everything. 100% of your gift goes straight to the supply drive, and in return, you get a lovely certificate honoring your generosity.

Either drop off needed materials at ATEC (see attached list of required supplies) or donate cash:

US$1+ buys some pens or a notebook, approx (we get supplies right from our sales man so we get a good deal)

$44.98 buys all of the school supplies for one kid for one year!

$77.56 buys all school supplies for 1 kid for & their school uniform & SHOES!

Any amount is Great!

Follow the progress of the drive on www.greencoast.com and www.ateccr.org

You can make a credit card donation right here:

Paypal donations are tax deductable in the USA through the non-profit 501c3 certification of this association called the Pura Vida Project! (donations on paypal we have to deduct their small fee.)

In Costa Rica:

Donations can be dropped off at ATEC and we’ll get you a factura timbrada (official receipt) or you can make deposits in one of the following bank accounts—HOWEVER Make sure you send us an email so we can make sure your deposit came through and so we can send you your certificate of thanks!

Banco Nacional:
Dollars account:
Asociación Talamanqueña de Ecotourism y Conservación 200 02 001 001534-6
Cuenta cliente: 151 001 200 200 15341
Colones Account: ENA ECOTURISTIC A PTO VIE 200-01-112-37434-2 ¢
Cuenta Cliente: 151 112 200 113 743 41

Banco San José ¢ Asoc Talamanqueña de Ecoturismo y Conserv 904548641

Please call us at 506-2750-0191 or 2750-0398 or write to atecmail@gmail.com for more info or if you want to put out the word on your website. More folks getting out the word, we’ll help more students!

Last year we were able to sponsor 110 kids in the schools of Coroma, el Parque, Katsi.

Thanks to donors so far this year and last year’s donors.

Phase 1: Tragedy prompts action

The statistics could have made grisly headlines:
“5 people drown in 8 days on spectacular but deadly Cocles beach.”

Those tragic deaths around Easter 2001 on Cocles beach galvanized a few individuals into action to help prevent further loss of life. Dean, a lifeguard from the Baywatch beach area of USA and his girlfriend Rosario, organised a group of lifeguards, funded by local donations. The initial goal was to maintain one lifeguard per day. And so the Cocles Lifeguard project was born.

Phase 2: Training & Problems!

In 2002 Eddie Ryan and Charlie Wanger became involved, taking over from the founders. This second phase involved the National Association of Costa Rica Lifeguards, training local candidates to a professional level of expertise involving extensive in-water training and 1st Aid.

Cocles Lifeguard project funded half the cost of the lifeguard training course and candidates paid the remaining half in the understanding of employment once qualified. Seven candidates were trained.

However, things did not go smoothly. Three experienced lifeguards from the Central Valley (sent to Puerto Viejo to assist new candidates) became dissatisfied with the housing conditions and meagre salary, whilst the association wanted to take over the programme. Midway through the first collection drive the association lifeguards left town with the donations and over $US 2000 of equipment!

So it was back to the drawing board…

Phase 3: 2003 to Present situation.

The current program was initiated 25th August 2003. This involves a team of 3 lifeguards working a shift system, so that there are 2 lifeguards present from 09.00hrs to 17.00hrs each day, 7 days a week.

The administration is still voluntarily undertaken by Eddie Ryan but encouraging and obtaining adequate donations to fund the project remains a constant struggle.

The Financial Picture.

Despite a list of approximately 70 business donors, Cocles Lifeguard project has a current deficit of Colones 50,000 and operates at a loss of Colones 125,000 monthly. Although a certain number of businesses donate willingly and regularly, some cannot be relied upon to consistently contribute. From the 70 businesses currently listed only 31 have consistently contributed during 2009. Obviously this reflects important lost revenue with far reaching consequences.

The minimum monthly bill for running Cocles Lifeguard service now stands at approximately Colones 660,000. If the lifeguards can expect a small salary increase and in accordance with labour law would be paid Aguinaldo, Socio Seguro and Riesgos de Trabajo, the monthly bill would increase to approximately Colones 750,000.

The expenses can be broken down as follows:
• Salaries of Lifeguards: Currently paid Colones 11,000 per day. Lifeguards are responsible for their own Riesgos de Trabajo, Aguinaldo and Socio Seguro.
• Donations Collector: Paid 7% of donations collected.
• 1st Aid kit & Equipment: Incidental expenses for replacing 1st Aid supplies and equipment such as flags, fins and flotation boards.

So what does that mean for our Lifeguard Service?

Due to the financial deficit, the lifeguard service was forced to cut back to 1 lifeguard per day instead of the required pair. The remaining 2 lifeguards of the team were laid off due to the inability to pay them. By laying them off for two months the project anticipated using the saved salaries to reinstate the full team for the busy month of December.

On 1st December 2009 the service was able to operate normally again with 2 lifeguards on duty.

A real problem here is that if these two qualified lifeguards cannot be permanently re-employed it is probable that they will find other work and become unavailable. Without a team of 3 lifeguards, the service is severely compromised.

An important point to remember is that it takes 2 lifeguards to offer a rescue service. A single lifeguard can only offer preventive services, due to the significant danger of rescuing a swimmer in trouble.

In conclusion, that means that our Lifeguard service is severely compromised and the lifeguards lack job security despite their commitment and the significant level of responsibility demanded of them.

A Noble Project.

Cocles beach is not only well known for exciting surfing (and strong rip tides) but also well documented in numerous travel guides/websites. Consequently it is visited by a large volume of people, locals and visitors alike. Wherever visitors are staying they are likely to spend some time on Cocles beach, if only because everyone from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo travels past it at one point or another and it is so immediately accessible. For an area such as this where survival depends on healthy tourism numbers, the need for a lifeguard service is obvious.

In conversation with Eddie, it was clear how committed he is to maintaining this invaluable service and his belief that it could be expanded to increase the safety at beaches from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo. Justly proud of this service, he stated that this is the only community in Costa Rica that has kept a lifeguard programme running for so many years. Though there have times when Eddie felt like giving up on the problematic administration of the service, just last December Costa de Papito’s bartender got into serious difficulties at Cocles beach. He was rescued by the lifeguards and lived to swim another day.

Lifeguards have rescued more than 1,500 swimmers at Cocles beach since the service began. That is a lot of lives that have been saved. Estimates of how many deaths have been prevented run into the thousands.

Save our Lifeguards so they can Save you!

If this lifeguard service can not only be saved from extinction but expanded, the whole area stands to benefit – and not only by diminishing the number of deaths on the beaches.

But a salutary thought is that if this lifeguard service were to disappear through lack of funding, how would we feel the next time someone drowns? Without a lifeguard service there will certainly be too many ‘next times’.

———-0———-
Many thanks to Eddie Ryan for all the information contained in this article and for giving so generously of his time and insights into Cocles Lifeguard project.

Article by Zoë Courtier. Zoë along with her husband Tom Keller are the proprietors of Geckoes Rainforest River Lodge. Two luxurious holiday houses with private plunge pools in a magnificent rainforest and river setting minutes from Playa Cocles. More information at www.geckoeslodge.com

Thirty-one runners from as far away as Canada, France and Australia arrived in Costa Rica this week to participate in the second running of the cross-country Transtica.

The race begins on Saturday in the central Pacific town of Manuel Antonio and crosses 250 kilometers of terrain to arrive in Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side on Nov. 26. Runners travel either 20 or 40 km (equivalent to a half or a full marathon) each day, depending on the group they’ve chosen to compete with.

What makes the competition unique is not necessarily the distances or the difficulty of the race, but the fact that runners stop in select locations to participate in social projects.

More/Source: Tico Times: Coast-to-coast humanitarian run launches on Saturday

Jim MacDougall and the funky 6-piece Los Rayos del Sol Band are presenting a Benefit Dance and Concert for
El Puente—The Bridge on Saturday May 9th from 7 – 10pm.

The Bridge provides education, food, and micro loan assistance for the indigenous of Puerto Viejo. You can reach The Bridge at  2750 0524

The night will feature high energy dance music: rhythm & blues, zydeco, and funk.  Entrance fee: 3000 Colones or $6—plus CASH BAR at the Goddess Garden in Cahuita, tel. 2755 0055.

While the communities of Puerto Viejo, Cahuita, Cocles and Punta Uva are mostly getting back to normal after the flooding, the upland communities where tourists rarely go remain severely affected. This includes the town of Sixaola on the Panama border so the land crossing to Panama (a frequent route for travelers is Puerto Viejo to Bocas, Panama) remains closed for now.

The emergency commission (CNE) is estimating some 42 billion colones (77 million US$) in damages to highways, streets, agricultural crops, damaged wells and aqueducts, clinics and schools.   The impact beyond this to individual homeowners and in lost business will increase this amount greatly.

CNE also estimates some 46,000 persons affected by the flooding including 5.497 who remain in shelters, unable to return to their homes.  They are also reporting that although the water has receded in most places there remain 35 communities whose access to the outside world is cut off by the flooding.

Help is still sought as well. The Cruz Roja is mounting a national campaign and locally the relief effort is being coordinated by ATEC which has setup pickup points locally where donations of food, water, clothing, money, medicine, tools, toys, holiday gifts, and cash.  Puerto Viejo Satellite and the Talamanca News are helping out by processing credit card donations for people so that people can help from whereever they are. We will cover all credit card fees so 100% of your donation will go to the relief effort.

More:

• La Nacion: CNE estima las pérdidas por lluvias en ¢42.000 millones
• Teletica (video): Lluvias generan millonarias pérdidas en Limón

This family cannot return to their house in Celia, Talamanca so they wait for help. Photo by Martin Caraval, courtesy of La Nacion.

The community of Yorkin in Alta-Talamanca lost its bridge, its lodge, its water and septic systems and needs help rebuilding. Many other communities are also suffering.

ReciCaribe’s truck will bring up donated items this week and again as long as we keep getting donations—they lost their crops they will need help for a long time.

Look for a donations box at the following supermarkets (soon to be more) or bring donations to the following places listed below.

• Pulperia La Violeta, Playa Negra
• Super Buen Precio, Puerto Viejo
• Super Pirrilpli, Cocles
• Duende Gourment, Playa Chiquita

or to:

• ATEC in Puerto Viejo 2750 0191
• Aguas Claras in Playa Chiquita 2750 0131
• The Mariposario in Cahuita, contact Leda 2755 0108 or 8844 8032
• ANAI in Hone Creek 2756 8021
• ANAI in San Jose, contact Diego 2224 3570 or diego@anaicr.org

100% of cash donations will be given to flood victims will be completely transparent and will be posted on here on the Talamanca News and on Greencoast.com.

Credit card donations can be made at www.puertoviejosatellite.com/donate.php. Puerto Viejo Satellite will cover the credit card fees so that 100% of your donation will be forwarded to help out.

You can also make a donation through Banco Nacional so no fees are paid. Please see account details on Greencoast.com.

Please consider at this time of giving thanks, that we have our health and safety, and that we are thankful that we are able to be generous to our neighbors.

Please contact ATEC with ideas, questions, help, or concerns:+506 2750 0398 or atecmail@gmail.com

In the coming week they will finalize the permits with the municipality which is helping them with the even. They want to thank everyone for their patience and the support shown to the association.

They also are pleased to announce that The EDACS Association, which sponsors and benefits from the event, has completed the following projects in the last month alone:

They have many other workshops in the planning for the coming weeks.

They also have renewed strength and commitment of continuing with their mission, despite the difficulty the association encountered with the cancelling of the original festival dates.

In the coming week, they will produce a new official poster promoting the event and they’d like local business owners to know that this poster will include the logos and mention those who have generously supported them.

However, they are asking hotels and other business that up to now have not made donations to consider becoming supporters of this unique and special event. Donations of $100 will receive a logo on the poster and $40 will receive a mention. Details of how to donate can be found on their website’s donation page.

More details on Arte Viva and EDACS can be found at www.arteviva-puertoviejo.com and the detailed event schedule will be posted there when it is available.