Despite the fact that students and teachers of the La Esperanza de Nosara Elementary School are still extremely disappointed by the theft of 14 new computers, donations from community residents are starting to arrive.
Following the publication of the story, “Thieves Don’t Even Show Mercy to Children; La Esperanza School was Ransacked,” the board of directors of Alma Verde, at the center of the Blue Spirit retreat in Playa Garza, donated a total of $3,000 to cover losses.
According to Annette Knopp, co-founder of Blue Spirit, “The Alma Verde community has been collecting each year monies from its various home-owners, so that we, as [a] community, can give back our good fortune, to the wider Nosara community, local initiatives, and specifically be of immediate help in case of emergencies.”
For the board of directors, the theft at the La Esperanza school was an emergency case.
“We discussed amongst other things the issue of the Esperanza School theft. Needless to say: we were shocked.”
Thierry Von der Weid, who is also a member of the board of directors, met with five representatives of the school on December 5 to find out how the money could be donated.
It was decided to donate $900 to cover the school’s pending expenses for social security and trash collection, $600 in cash for graduation packages for the students and $800 on a new alarm system and a safe that the school’s director, Alicia Matarrita, hopes will be installed after vacations.
“If it’s going to be given, it should be given next year, because first we have to make the room safer than it was,” said Matarrita.
In addition, $800 will be used to cover the cost of repairing the computer laboratory’s wall, which was damaged by the thieves while entering the room to steal the computers.
Another recent donation was made the Chris Sukornyk, a 38 year-old Canadian who has been visiting Nosara for ten years. Sukornyk is the executive manager of the online advertising company Chango.com, and decided to donate four Mac laptop computers. The donation was made on Monday, December 8.
Regarding the investigation into the robbery, Matarrita reported that since the Nandayure office of the Judicial Investigation Body (OIJ – Organismo de Investigacion Judicial) visited on November 28, the day of the robbery, they have not returned to speak with anyone, nor has there been any news.
The Omar Dengo Foundation, the organization that donated the stolen computers, has not decided whether they will provide new computers or if the La Esperanza school lost its opportunity for students to learn how to use computers.
According to the OIJ report, on Friday, November 28, a substantial theft was reported at 6 a.m. at the La Esperanza Elementary School. Thieves broke through the rear wall of the computer laboratory and stole 14 computers, three speakers, a projector, 14 mini cameras for computers and an additional photographic camera.
The thieves also broke the mesh that was protecting the building’s window and stole a Toshiba laptop, another HP and ¢80,000 ($150) from a drawer.
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