Condor Kristen: What to take away

It is no surprise to you all that I enjoy traveling. However, when on the road I often feel that just as I am acclimating beautifully to a culture, it is time to move onto the next. Three weeks (which I previously would spend in a certain city/country), isn’t enough time for me, and certainly not enough time to make an impact on a community. That is why my travel in Costa Rica differs from my previous travels, and also why it is that much more meaningful and enriching to me.

I am in Costa Rica to assist with La Asociación CREAR, a non-profit that provides supplemental educational and recreational opportunities by offering innovative programs focusing on academic and artistic education, environmental consciousness, health, and socio-cultural development. In Spanish, the word CREAR means to create, and that is exactly what we do; we help focus the kids’ energy on their creative and artistic abilities.

Working with the children of CREAR has been one of the most inspiring, uplifting and gratifying experiences I have ever participated in. This is not to refute all my previous nonprofit work that consisted mostly of natural disaster cleanups and buildups or creating homes for those not fortunate enough to have one. All of that work is extremely heartwarming and rewarding as well. The difference I have seen when working with children is that you get to witness first-hand their growth and development which has occurred because of the positive impact you are having on their lives; whether a child correctly pronounces an English word they'd been struggling with or their eyes light up with joy while doing a particular project because it is in that moment that they've discovered a great passion. Working with children also enables you to have the ability to change a family cycle by providing a different kind of education that may not have ever been available.

It may seem overly righteous and naive to say, but I feel that working with children opens up the opportunity to create a better world.

So what do I hope to take away from this trip that differs from my previous travels? I hope to leave an imprint on the children’s lives that I’m working with on a daily basis. I hope to encourage them that being kind to others is much more fulfilling and important in life than teasing and bullying. But most importantly, I’d love the children to view me as a role model, to look up to me, and strive to follow their dreams, whatever they may be.