AOPYO is founded on the belief that all communities deserve equal access to educational opportunities. Our focus is providing programming for marginalized communities, aiming to inspire excellence. This project will bring funding Jaco, Costa Rica, to increase opportunities to higher education and diversify skillsets for a community of 10,000 people. Many of whom lack access to post-secondary education options due to high rates of teen pregnancy, violence, and other threats to youth.
Youth across the world are incredibly susceptible to harmful realities, and adolescents in Costa Rica are no exception. Many Costa Ricans lack access to secondary and tertiary education opportunities due to high rates of teen pregnancy (27% increase in 2016), violence (all-new high of 12.2% per 100,000 individuals in 2018), and other threats to youth. Essentially, teens are unable to grow into well-rounded adults as a result of major negative, socially-backed influences.
Through our work in connecting with a local grassroots organization doing work in Jaco, Costa Rica we strive to raise money to create safe spaces for enriched learning and exploration of self and culture. Through these sponsorships, we hope to create alternative pathways for learning, help decrease violence in the area and give access to higher education opportunities. We will be able to equip Jaco youth with some more tools to be able to navigate risk factors of life.
We will be working to actively provide new avenues for youth in Jaco, Costa Rica to reach their full potential in academic and industrial settings. Additionally, we will be creating optimal circumstances for leadership and growth in the community, which will hopefully perpetuate for many generations to come. By providing mentorship, learning opportunities, and co-curricular programming, our goal is to provide aid now, so that young Costa Ricans can learn to create positive change in their lives.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
