DAY 4: Giving Back to the Community

It’s a rainy night here after our fiesta. Today was one of my most impactful days of the trip with students visiting an nearby orphanage and having the chance to play with the kids and also clean up/beautify their space. 

After everyone had breakfast at their homestay, we traveled to the closest supermarket to pick up materials requested by the orphanage. A large chunk of the money raised from the car wash and the bake sales were used to purchase things like diapers, shampoo, conditioner, baby products and other hygiene goods. 

We spent the entire morning at the orphanage, which takes care of approximately 20 children ranging from a few months old to 12 years old. While some of our students played with the kids, the other half helped to clean the playground and repaint the equipment. 

With full hearts, we returned to Sitio ready for lunch and a break from the hot sun. In the afternoon, we all met at the town elementary school where we were introduced to the school principal and gifted them all of the backpacks that each child brought with them. 

After some light thunderstorms, we met back at the community center to kickoff our final night here at the homestay. The whole community came together for a fiesta with multiple performances from the local children and our homestay moms. For the grand finale, two professional soccer freestylers performed and even had some Ridgefield volunteers doing tricks! (These two professionals - Dayron and Jeffrey - have a gofundme page to raise funds for upcoming competitions. If you’re interested in donating, visit this link: https://gofund.me/98e8c8c9) Following lots of cheering, clapping and dancing, everyone ate dinner and enjoyed another hour on the dance floor. Everyone agreed that this was one of the most energetic Ridgefield groups we’ve ever seen! 

Tomorrow, we head to the Pacuare River to embark on a two day rafting journey in and out of the Pacuare Outdoor Center (POC). It is important to note here that there is no electricity nor strong service at POC… although the local guides always seem to find a way to get cell service in case of emergencies. However, the blog will be on pause until Sunday evening when we arrive back in San José and regain stronger cell service. 

In between rafting in and out of POC, students will enjoy a hike to a local waterfall, more ziplining and the infamous Tarzan Swing while being completely immersed in nature. POC is extremely unique in that way — it was built for its visitors to reconnect with Earth’s beauty and all it has to offer. Pictures and recap to come on Sunday evening! 

Adios! Check back in on Sunday!