OUR STORY
CREATIVIty, ART & Social RESPONsibility
Asociación CREAR, founded in 2005, is a non-profit organization serving the rural beach communities in and around Playa Sámara, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Children in these areas often only attend school for 3 to 4 hours each day and are frequently left without adequate supervision throughout the day, as many parents must work full time to maintain an adequate income to support their families. Our programs utilize this free time by providing ample opportunities for personal, social, academic, and career growth.
As an organization, we are dedicated to providing a venue in which children and young people can explore their educational interests through creative art-education initiatives, while simultaneously building on lifelong skills that we hope will expand their employment opportunities in the future. We aim to create and reinforce an environmental and social consciousness in our students through community projects and educational lessons so that they may bring with them this awareness back to their communities.
By creating a more socially conscientious generation today, we hope that these lessons may persist to continue to educate future generations.
La Asociación CREAR provides our students with new learning opportunities that not only enhance their own educational and personal growth, but that of the community’s future.
Mission
CREAR’s mission is to provide free, high-quality, supplementary educational opportunities for the youth of Playa Samara and El Torito while serving as a space for mutual cultural enrichment between its students and volunteers.
vision
Our vision is a community of empowered, self-motivated, responsible, and employable individuals.
values
Our fundamental, underlying belief is that access to a quality education is a basic human
right that can change lives and transform
a country. Our multicultural team contributes
to the promotion of community development by exposing our local youth to opportunities for public service and civic engagement.
Our initiatives are born from collaboration
with our communities to provide educational and economic empowerment. Our work
is honest, transparent and ethical, committed to excellence. Our organization remains in constant reflection on how to best serve the needs of our people in order to create a stronger community.
GOALS
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Combat educational inequality and social limitations through the expansion of our free art, language, and feminine empowerment courses
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Grow the Amigos de El Torito scholarship program to help finance university studies for local young women in conjunction with providing university entrance test preparation, college and career counseling
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Improve the employability of Sámara and El Torito locals through the implementation of a three track program focused on learning English, building soft skills through social interaction, and stimulating creativity and innovation
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Enhance our existing gap-year and summer internship program for university aged students aiming to earn internship credit while experiencing authentic Costa Rican culture and refining their professional skills
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Secure permanent ownership of our own CREAR learning center
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Hire a volunteer coordinator and build housing to expand our volunteer program
Through implementation of our programs, the dedication of the CREAR team and the generous help of our supporters both locally and abroad, we are actively working together to reach these milestones.
WHERE WE WORK
Asociación CREAR exists in the province of Guanacaste, where 39% of people live in poverty.
Students attending public schools in the area attend class for an average of 3-4 hours each day.
Most of these schools function with...
Little to no extra-curricular activities
Limited access to computers
Understaffed
teams
Source: INEC
Playa Sámara
Playa Sámara is a rural beach community on the coast of the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica. While Guanacaste is commonly referred to as the “scenic jewel” of Costa Rica for its extraordinary beaches, small-town feel and friendly locals, it is also the poorest province in the country. 39% of the local people live in poverty amidst vast amounts of touristic wealth and a staggering cost of living.
The latest household survey conducted by the Instituto Nacional de Estatística y Censos de Costa Rica (INEC) found the unemployment rate in the Chorotega region, where Samara is located, to be 17 %, and 14.2% in the rest of Costa Rica.
Furthermore, only 21.4% of those in Sámara have attended secondary school education and higher, while 46% of those in Costa Rica have acquired at least a high school diploma. In combination, the unemployment rate and lack of education create a community in need of the supplementary educational endeavors provided by CREAR.
OUR TEAM
CREAR thrives on the utilization of a small, high-impact staff and a plethora of dependable volunteers to achieve its goal of promoting educational excellence in the youth of the Samara and El Torito communities. In addition to expanding our staff, in 2016 alone CREAR was fortunate enough to receive 20 interns from 5 different countries and over 130 short-term volunteers who dedicated their time and unique talents to the advancement of our organization as a whole.
OUR partners
