United Nations Development Program – Wellesley in Latin America (Costa Rica) December 5, 2008
Posted by cwslibrary in Costa Rica, Juniors, Latin America, NGO, Summer 2009, Wellesley Internships in Latin America, advocacy, community service, development, nonprofit, sophomores.comments closed
Information about the organization:
UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. There are UNDP offices in 166 countries, working on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.
World leaders have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including the overarching goal of cutting poverty in half by 2015. UNDP’s network links and coordinates global and national efforts to reach these Goals. Our focus is helping countries build and share solutions to the challenges of:
UNDP helps developing countries attract and use aid effectively. In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women.
The annual Human Development Report, commissioned by UNDP, focuses the global debate on key development issues, providing new measurement tools, innovative analysis and often controversial policy proposals. The global Report’s analytical framework and inclusive approach carry over into regional, national and local Human Development Reports, also supported by UNDP.
In each country office, the UNDP Resident Representative normally also serves as the Resident Coordinator of development activities for the United Nations system as a whole. Through such coordination, UNDP seeks to ensure the most effective use of UN and international aid resources.
Internship Description:
Based on experience and qualifications, the intern will be assigned to work in one of our core areas:
Student will research information for the team as needed, and will create her own research project for the team to present at the end of the internship.
Ideal Internship Qualification:
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Logistical: Current Sophomores and Juniors Good writer Working knowledge of Spanish. |
Personality: Flexible Motivated Open minded Detail oriented Organized Self starter
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The Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS) – Wellesley in Latin America Program (Costa Rica) November 14, 2008
Posted by cwslibrary in Costa Rica, Juniors, Summer 2009, Wellesley Internships in Latin America, biology, environment, research, science, sophomores.comments closed
The Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS) is a consortium of dozens of leading universities in both the US and Latin America devoted to scientific and environmental research, based in Costa Rica. OTS runs 3 world-class biological stations: La Selva, Palo Verde and Las Cruces.
La Selva was originally established in 1954 by Dr. Leslie Holdridge, as a farm dedicated to experimentation on mixed plantations for the improvement of natural resources management. It was purchased in 1968 by the Organization for Tropical Studies and declared a private biological reserve and station. Since then, it has become one of the most important sites in the world for research on tropical rain forest. Over 240 scientific papers are published yearly from research conducted at the site. La Selva is located at the confluence of two major rivers in the Caribbean lowlands of northern Costa Rica; La Selva comprises 1,600 hectares (3,900 acres) of tropical wet forests and disturbed lands. It averages 4 meters (over 13 feet!) of rainfall that is concentrated in rainy season. Located within the tropical and premontane wet forest, the Station has about 73% of its area under primary tropical rain forest.
Internship Possibilities:
One or two interns will conduct fieldwork with Dr. Robin Chazdon and her team of field assistants and graduate students. All projects focus on aspects of secondary forest regeneration in long-term monitoring plots in La Selva and surrounding areas. One project is led by doctoral student Amanda Wendt, who is conducting research on foraging behavior, roosting sites, and seed dispersal by frugivorous tent-making bats in secondary and mature forest areas. Students will assist with locating bat roosts and mapping and monitoring bat-dispersed seedlings and fruiting trees. A second project is led by doctoral student Vanessa Boukili, who is studying functional traits of leaves and wood of trees, saplings, and seedlings in secondary and mature forest study sites in La Selva and surrounding areas. Interns will help with sampling leaf and wood tissue and processing samples in the lab. Dr. Chazdon is usually at La Selva during the first week of the internship to help coordinate the projects and provide orientation and will return in August for 1-2 weeks. In addition to these projects, interns can also help with the annual census of trees in our study plots, including mapping of recent recruits and measuring tree diameters. If students are interested, there may be additional opportunities to participate in a reforestation project on a farm in the region and to assist with inventories of plants in a range of study areas.
Ideal Internship Qualification:
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Logistical: Current Sophomores and Juniors Biological science majors with completed coursework in tropical ecology are encouraged to apply; natural science majors Physically fit and able to endure heat, humidity and rough living conditions Ability to ride a bicycle for considerable distance At least rudimentary knowledge of Spanish language is required.
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Personality: Detail oriented Motivated Flexible Trouble-shooter Independent
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La Escuelita de Esperanza: Wellesley in Costa Rica December 4, 2007
Posted by cwslibrary in Costa Rica, Juniors, Spanish, Summer 2008, Wellesley in Costa Rica, art, education, language skillls, sophomores.comments closed
La Escuelita de Esperanza
Wellesley in Costa Rica
Teaching Assistant
Organization Description:
La Escuelita de Esperanza is a year-round after-school arts and literacy program serving Proyecto Cristal, a community of impoverished Nicaraguan immigrants located on the western side of San José, Costa Rica. It was started in June of 2005 by Elizabeth Bakalyar on the second floor of a church in the community. Elizabeth stayed for the next 14 months before returning to the States for graduate school and handing the program to 2006-07 director Morgan Leap, and the program has grown to be an important fixture in the community. The children of Proyecto Cristal do go to school, but only for half the day, and the Escuelita has become a safe space for the children to play, read, get help on their homework, and do art projects. The current director of the Escuelita is Shereece Holmon, who has brought a wealth of experience in after-school education as well as in ESL teaching to the program.
Proyecto Cristal is a former squatters’ settlement that was evicted and then sold back to the inhabitants who could pay for the property. The people are primarily recent Nicaraguan immigrants who have come to Costa Rica in search of jobs and a better life, and they tend to work as housekeepers, construction workers and coffee pickers for about US$10 per day. While this would be considered a fantastic wage in most of Central America, the cost of living in Costa Rica is fairly high, so there is little room for saving or mistakes. In general, the parents of the children in Proyecto Cristal are literate (the Sandinistas had a widespread literacy program in Nicaragua in the 1980’s), but many have at most a third-grade education, while some never went to school at all. This makes it incredibly difficult for parents to help their children with homework and thus succeed in school.
The Escuelita provides two class sessions per day so that the children can come to the program when they are not in school. The Escuelita serves over 100 children per week (approximately 30 per class session), and ages range from 2-15. At the Escuelita, the children have access to the only library in their area.
Because of space and other considerations, the Escuelita had to move out of the church and now operates out of a classroom-sized, one-room house in the community. The Escuelita is working to secure funding so that we can build a more appropriate building, but this class space has proven to be adequate for the time being. The Escuelita is a much-needed program in this community, especially since most children in Proyecto Cristal do not have a safe place to play and learn once they’re out of school.
The Community
Proyecto Cristal is a relatively safe community, but prospective interns should be aware that it is a poor community located in a large city. Petty theft, especially pickpocketing, is the most frequent crime committed in Costa Rica, and so a heightened awareness of self and belongings is necessary.
The community, however, is wonderfully supportive, accepting and loving. Any intern who works at the Escuelita will feel that she is truly working toward a better world.
Internship Description:
An intern at the Escuelita is immersed in the community of Proyecto Cristal, which is impoverished but incredibly welcoming and loving. The people in the community speak only Spanish, and so it will be important for the intern to be relatively confident in her Spanish skills.The tasks of an intern include
Working with children on a large-group, small-group, and individual basis
Tutoring children individually and in small groups on their homework
Helping to teach ESL classes
Playing learning games with children
Reading to children in both English and Spanish and helping them to read
Facilitating art projects with children
Because the Escuelita is small, an intern working at the Escuelita needs to be comfortable taking initiative and confident with working alone with small groups of children while the director is working with other groups. The intern will be given a significant amount of freedom while working with children, but will also be guided by the director as she teaches and facilitates projects.
Ideal Internship Qualification:
| Logistical: Strong Written and Oral Spanish skills Experience with Children Experience in Tutoring or Teaching Background in Art, Music, and/or ESL Instruction helpful |
Personality: Passion for Working in a Low-Income Area Open Minded Flexible Patient Confident Compassionate |
Defensoría de la Mujer: Wellesley in Costa Rica Program December 1, 2007
Posted by cwslibrary in Costa Rica, Juniors, Spanish, Summer 2008, Wellesley in Costa Rica, advanced, advocacy, government, health, human rights, language skillls, law, public policy, research, sophomores, women.1 comment so far
Lunch with the Staff at the Defensoria
Defensoría de la Mujer
Wellesley in Costa Rica Program (WICR)
The Defensoría de la Mujer is a division of the more general Defensoría de los Habitantes, an organization with links to the Costa Rican state. Both the Defensoría de los Habitantes and the Defensoría de la Mujer seek to uphold human rights as well as the specific rights of the Costa Rican Constitution. However, the Defensoría de la Mujer has a more specific relationship with the Costa Rican state that consists of bringing to light violations of women’s rights committed by the state or its workers. The office hears complaints from women who disclose violations of their rights and trains them through workshops on topics ranging from sexual harassment to domestic violence. The women at the Defensoría de la Mujer work to support El Hogar de la Esperanza, a home where women with AIDS live, and meet with and support the issues faced by indigenous and African-Costa Rican women. In addition, the head of the Defensoría de los Habitantes meets each year with the Legislative Assembly to present the organization’s annual report, which includes all findings from each of its divisions.
Internship Possibilities:
An intern here will work in the field of women’s rights. Advanced Spanish language skills and a deep interest in the general field of women’s rights are required for this internship. An ideal candidate also will possess the skills, methodology, and background necessary to conduct concrete research projects of short duration in this field.
Ideal Internship Qualification:
| Logistical: Current Sophomores and Juniors Advanced Spanish language skills Deep interest in women’s rights, legal issues, policy issues Posses skills, methodology and background necessary to conduct concrete research projects of short duration in this field Students with interest in public policy, law, advocacy, human rights, womens’ rights, public health and government are encouraged to apply. |
Personality: Open minded Detail oriented Motivated Independent worker |
Paniamor: Wellesley in Costa Rica Program December 1, 2007
Posted by cwslibrary in Costa Rica, Juniors, Spanish, Summer 2008, Wellesley in Costa Rica, advocacy, communication, language skillls, nonprofit, sophomores.1 comment so far
Intern with Paniamor Staff
Paniamor
Wellesley in Costa Rica Program (WICR)
Considered one of the most important child advocacy foundations in Costa Rica, Paniamor aims to achieve social recognition of children and adolescents as people with preferential rights; facilitate the participation of different social actors as protagonists in the prevention of violence against children and youth; and catalyze a transformation of the conditions that limit the right to development of people under the age of 18. By providing information and training services, by engaging in policy advocacy, and by offering preventive attention to socially disadvantaged adolescents, Paniamor promotes social mobilization towards the achievement of its institutional purpose.
Paniamor executes its programs with the support of a team of professionals in psychology, psychiatry, communications, law, education, philosophy, management and social work, and the commitment of its administrative staff and volunteers.
Internship Possibilities:
Wellesley interns will join and integrate fully into one of the project areas as specified by the Director. Once part of the project team, depending on the intern’s skills and interests, she will be assigned a substantive piece of work to support and advance the current project. Project areas vary from trafficking of minors to developing programming on citizenship and values.
Ideal Internship Qualification:
| Logistical: Current Sophomores and Juniors Spanish language skills Strong oral and written communication skills. People interested in Children’s Rights and a future career in Non Profit Organizations encouraged to apply. |
Personality: Flexible Detail-oriented Organized Collaborative |
The Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS): Wellesley in Costa Rica Program December 1, 2007
Posted by cwslibrary in Costa Rica, Juniors, Summer 2008, Wellesley in Costa Rica, biology, environment, research, science, sophomores.2 comments
Wellesley in Costa Rica Program (WICR)
The Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS) is a consortium of dozens of leading universities in both the US and Latin America devoted to scientific and environmental research, based in Costa Rica. OTS runs 3 world-class biological stations: La Selva, Palo Verde and Las Cruces.
La Selva was originally established in 1954 by Dr. Leslie Holdridge, as a farm dedicated to experimentation on mixed plantations for the improvement of natural resources management. It was purchased in 1968 by the Organization for Tropical Studies and declared a private biological reserve and station. Since then, it has become one of the most important sites in the world for research on tropical rain forest. Over 240 scientific papers are published yearly from research conducted at the site. La Selva is located at the confluence of two major rivers in the Caribbean lowlands of northern Costa Rica; La Selva comprises 1,600 hectares (3,900 acres) of tropical wet forests and disturbed lands. It averages 4 meters (over 13 feet!) of rainfall that is concentrated in rainy season. Located within the tropical and premontane wet forest, the Station has about 73% of its area under primary tropical rain forest.
An intern (or potentially two) will work with Dr. Robin Chazdon and her team on two research projects. Both projects focus on aspects of secondary forest regeneration at long-term research plots in La Selva and surrounding areas. One project is led by doctoral student Amanda Wendt, who will be conducting preliminary research on foraging behavior, roosting sites, and seed dispersal by frugivorous bats in secondary forest plots. Students will assist with netting bats, locating roosts and making observations on foraging behavior. A project related to Amanda’s study would be to map seedlings of selected bat-dispersed tree species around roost locations within the plots. There may be potentially other projects, depending on the need at the time of arrival at OTS. Dr. Chazdon is usually at La Selva during the first week of the internship to help coordinate the projects and provide orientation and will return in August for 1-2 weeks.
Ideal Internship Qualification:
| Logistical: Current Sophomores and Juniors Biological science majors with completed coursework in tropical ecology are encouraged to apply; natural science majors Phisically fit and able to endure heat, humidity and rough living conditions Spanish language optional |
Personality: Detail oriented Motivated Flexible |
