Empower Under-Resourced Girls in Costa Rica

This coming January (2025) our organization will be celebrating seven years of working in three urban communities in the outskirts of San José, in the county of Desamparados.

Since we were founded we have frequently received messages from community leaders from several parts of Costa Rica, asking how they can receive our programming. We have received messages from Nosara, Matina, Filadelfia, Acosta, San Ramón and many other rural areas in Costa Rica. 

As many of you may know, Soy Niña was founded with the intention of expanding to rural areas. According to reports from several international organizations, and as we have seen ourselves, girls in these areas are in greater risk of vulnerability compared to girls in urban areas. 

Last year, thanks to the Municipalidad de Puntarenas, we had the chance to visit girls on Isla Chira (a very remote island in the Puntarenas province where the majority of the population lives in poverty). We facilitated one-hour self-esteem workshops with girls in fifth and sixth grade.

Just earlier this year, we were hired by The Coffee Source to execute workshops on self-esteem and early sexual education to girls and boys in coffee-growing communities in Tarrazú. 

Two weeks ago, we were able to visit to Finca La Hilda, a sustainable coffee farm that has been in existence for 50 years. After four generations, Finca La Hilda is recognized for its pioneering position in the coffee industry and its relationships with the coffee pickers. We had the opportunity to meet with nine girls ages 6-18 whose parents work picking the coffee. We spent time playing with them and separated into groups to share stories.

It was inspiring! One girl told us that her dad lives in the United States and that she has never met him. He works in a restaurant and they have only met by phone. We brought old magazines, scissors and glue to make photo collages. One of the girls had never made a collage and you could see how happy it made her to have the chance to do it. 

All of these experiences have touched our hearts and made a desire to expand to rural areas even greater.

We use these visits as inspiration to one day reach groups of girls outside of San José. We hope that in 2025 this dream will come true! 

Hi Soy Niña friends!

We are pleased to introduce you to Andrea Marín. Andrea is the inaugural facilitator for our IV Ciclo program. She began working with our older girls in March. Andrea holds a counseling degree from the University of Costa Rica and has experience working with youth, particularly young women and teenagers in correctional facilities.

This club is taking place once every two Saturdays, serving as a space for older girls from all three communities to come together. Distinguished from our other clubs, which typically have 15-20 girls, this particular club has 25 participants who engage in three-hour sessions.

Since late February, Andrea has been leading this group along with committed volunteers, focusing on themes such as personal identity, envisioning the future, and developing strategies for planning ahead. The girls are really enjoying exploring aspirations for adulthood. They have also had special sessions on personal defense and a theater visit.

Before last year, our oldest girls were in 9th grade. We launched this club for girls who were going to be in 10th grade this year. This means that we are now officially offering programming for all ages. In the coming years, we are hoping that girls that begin in our program in 1st grade can remain for a total of 12 years, ending our programming in 12th grade when they finish high school. That is why is so important that we focus on enrolling girls who are willing to commit long-term to the program.

One of the things Andrea has told us recently is that the girls are looking forward to their journey becoming adults.