Welcome. I'm Kevin Meadows and for the year of 2008 I will be living and volunteer teaching in the Central American country of Costa Rica. I will be working with the Ministry of Education in Costa Rica through an American non-profit NGO called WorldTeach. WorldTeach places qualified teachers in communities around the world where local teachers are unavailable.
Many of you have probably heard of Costa Rica. It is a growing tourist destination with pristine beaches, cloud shrouded mountain peaks, and tropical rainforests teaming with wildlife. Tourism, along with high tech manufacturing, has fueled economic growth and produced a climate of economic and political stability above that of many other Latin American nations. Despite the positive steps, these benefits are most enjoyed by people living in a few parts of the nation leaving many people, especially in agricultural communities, hovering around or below the poverty line.
Closing this social gap and expanding opportunity for all its citizens is a goal of Costa Rican society. As part of this vision, the government has made education a top priority. They have introduced English instruction to its primary and secondary schools to help expand opportunities for its children.
This is where WorldTeach and I come in. WorldTeach is based at the Center for International Development at Harvard University. I will be serving as a volunteer teacher for the 2008 school year. In Costa Rica, WorldTeach volunteers typically go to rural areas where qualified English teachers are unavailable. These volunteers provide English instruction to children that often miss the opportunities available in more urbanized communities.
Costa Rica is in southern Central America. It is about the size of West Virginia. Despite its small size it is home to 5% of the world's bio-diversity.
In the summer of 2007 I volunteered in Namibia. Follow the link to the archive of my adventures.