OUR STORY

In June of 2016 a promising young teacher walked off the plane in Liberia, Costa Rica, with her suitcase, a few books, and a dream. She drove an hour and a half to Nuevo Arenal, Costa Rica, a small town in the mid-northern part of the country located on Lake Arenal. She had taken a year off of her job teaching children in Las Vegas, Nevada where she specialized in working with the ethnic minorities, and those children who came from poor and Hispanic families.  Her focus was on the special needs population who were autistic, emotionally disturbed, or socially lacking in everyday skills and the ability to interact with others. She saw her role as an educator to  help these students succeed in an English-speaking country in spite of all of the other disadvantages that they had. This became her mission in life: to give every child an equal opportunity to learn and grow. 

Unfortunately, after arriving, the job that she had left her paid teaching position in the states to develop was no longer open. Undaunted, but disappointed, Bettye began to look around for opportunities. She dug deeply into her fundamental understanding of her purpose for being in Nuevo Arenal at this time in her life.  She discovered another mission and made it her own. Within 2 months, after finding a house to rent, Bettye began tutoring young children in the back of a restaurant on Saturday mornings. In a very short time the number of students who were interested grew from 5 or 6 to 30, and the parents were also wanting to learn how to speak better English.  Bettye had hit upon a social and economic reality that existed long before she stepped off the plane. For many of the native Ticos in the community, learning and speaking English was a way to create a better economic future. The ability to speak both Spanish and English was a much-needed skill in all aspects of the Costa Rican environment, and anyone who could maneuver both could be successful.  

The concept began to grow, and as the members of the community heard about the initial success of the program, they began to trust the sincerity and ability that Bettye brought to the program, and she established herself as an educational leader who had a positive and clear mission: to assist the teachers and staff in the regular school in meeting the goal of English fluency for all students. One day while walking from the bank to the teaching space she was now sharing with the senior citizens she saw a large house right on the village square that was under foreclosure. It needed work, but it was exactly the kind of house that would work for her program.  There was even a stack of English books in the corner that kids were breaking into the house just to read. 

For Bettye it was simply a matter of manifesting the dream, and once the house was in her hands the program took shape. She has been actively running the Kids Learning Community with the help of dedicated volunteers since its inception. Bettye continues to have the support of the Tico community and she has even reached out to the larger expat community to ask for assistance and volunteers. Bettye has used her skills and passion to make this dream come true and to further her mission. Due to the children's love for learning, and Bettye's passion for teaching, KLC has gained the support of the larger community and has become a mecca for learning. Her work continues, and with help from donors and other organizations that foster the same mission and philosophy, this program will continue to thrive.