Rotary Interact Trip To Nosara, Costa Rica 2014

For the past ten years the Elkhart Rotary Club has sponsored the Interact Group for their annual activities and most of all, the Senior Service Project Trip to Nosara, Costa Rica. This year there were not any eligible high school seniors that could make the trip so it was decided to instead take regular Rotary members to do the much needed work. The participants this year were Tony Warning, Martha Peterson, Doug and Sharon Risser, Connie Caiceros, and Kim Clarke.

All service trips in the past have been involved with working/volunteering at the David S. Kitson Memorial Library in Nosara, Costa Rica. The library is only one of two lending libraries in the entire country of Costa Rica.  In addition to being a library to the local Tico population it is also a computer learning center, English language learning center, senior center, as well as many other uses.

Our work at the Library this year was mainly involved with compiling an inventory of all the literature in the building. This is always a huge task as the local people that use the library do not understand the concept of “lending”. Many of the books are not returned and have to be replaced. In years past the Interact Group has been involved with various projects including construction, moving, painting, book repairing, and even helping with English lessons for the local population.

The biggest contribution that we continue to do is our annual monetary donation to the Library. This year the Interact Club donated $3500 to the annual operating budget of the Library. The money comes from revenue generated by the Rotary Placemat advertising campaign. The  $3500 Interact/Rotary donation amount is 1/10 of the entire annual operating budget for the Library. They appreciate the Elkhart Rotary Club very much! Our Elkhart Rotary name is even on the Founders Plaque located on the wall of the Library.

For the 2014-15 calendar year we expect that the Interact Group will have 10-12 Seniors that will make the trip to Nosara. Angie Welter and Vince Von Der Vellen will be club sponsors and will also accompany the Interact Group to Nosara. The Interact group should have a total of 25-30 students as members for this next school year.

Over the past years several Elkhart Rotary Members have journeyed to Nosara to check out the Library. Please think about that when planning your next vacation. It is a great place to visit. Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information on the library.

Kind Regards,

Tony Warning/Interact Sponsor