“We are and we feel like Matapalo natives,” says U.S. citizen and director of Bright Future Lindsay Losasso, who has worked with eight Costa Ricans in Matapalo, Santa Cruz for three years, improving the community’s future.
In 2016, before working in the town, Losasso did a diagnosis to determine the community’s needs and found a lack of jobs, education and inclusive access to healthy food. Matapalo also lacked recreational spaces for kids.
So that’s where she put all her energy and offered English and computer classes, environmental education programs, investment in infrastructure (they repaired the playground, changing rooms and the field at the school). They give Zumba classes and even created an organic community garden.
The panel of judges for Creators of Change chose them as the winners of the Non-Guanacastecans for Guanacaste category, which recognizes the support of foreigners or Costa Ricans who weren’t born in the province but have committed to its development.
Bright Future isn’t a lonely job. In order to build it, they sought alliances with public institutions, private companies, and community members who, according to Lasasso, already trust the organization because they have noticed a positive change in their lives.
People have accepted us as members of their family and that trust and support has helped us achieve a lot,” Losasso said.
The project has the financial support of a group of U.S. citizens who own a lot along the Matapalo beach, which is where most of their money comes from ($150,000). But the organization is seeking other sponsors and donors to help them grow and complement their efforts.
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