The principal goals of our work in Alajuelita include the following:

1. most crucially, to establish an effective system for the delivery of acute and preventative healthcare to members of this underserved Costa Rican community;
2. transition from a system of triage healthcare to one of continuous care by implementing biannual well-child visits for the entire community, all the while monitoring key indicators of overall health;
3. achieve a marked decrease in pediatric malnutrition and in the number of underweight children in the community;
4. curb the devastating spread of common endemic disease caused by preventable microbial infections; and
5. promote and sustain programs in health education, with particular focus on pediatric and maternal health initiatives.

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 "I thought that the work FIMRC was doing in Costa Rica was great. Not only were the sick being treated, but the children were being taught how to take care of themselves which is equally as important."—Anonymous

The nature of the volunteer mission to Alajuelita will vary depending on the number of volunteers in each group, the seasonal timing of the mission, the length of the volunteer trip, respective proficiencies in Spanish, medical expertise, and the current needs of the community and the clinic upon arrival.  What FIMRC can guarantee, however, is that every volunteer mission will be culturally and socially enlightening to its volunteers.  Each volunteer will have opportunities to examine Costa Rica’s systems of medical provision in numerous ways and hopefully learn about health care disparities as outlined below. 

Within the same day, volunteers may find themselves in Alajuelita to observe medical providers working with far fewer resources than those of the large hospitals.  Such is the divergent medical care that residents of Costa Rica—native and Nicaraguan alike—receive daily.  Outside FIMRC’s newest clinic, volunteers may spend time developing health educational initiatives in Tejarcillos, a soup kitchen located in the underserved areas of Alajuelita where children play in safety and receive hot meals daily.  Also in central Alajuelita is a small orphanage in need of regular visits from volunteers for educational aid for its children. 

Progress in the clinic itself accelerates daily.  Recent needs from the clinic included repainting and furnishing with medical supplies.  Volunteers have been instrumental in our early construction projects.  Volunteers will also maintain important roles in the clinic’s future—establishing medical record systems, building health education curricula on HIV, parasites, dental health etc, charting patients’ vital signs and observing clinical interactions with medical staff.  The experience will be eye-opening; the opportunities for shaping an itinerary to your interests abound.

It is important to note that a visit to a FIMRC clinic may not revolve around clinical or medically focused experiences for the volunteers.  While giving an injection may be an inspiring experience for a volunteer interested in a career in medicine, FIMRC prefers that medical care is delivered by qualified, specially trained professionals for the benefit of our patients.  Those volunteers with medical background or expertise will likely have the opportunity to work in the clinic alongside our clinic staff.  However, undergraduate volunteers are expected to enhance the project by participating in and conducting health education seminars, construction related projects, and other activities that promote the FIMRC mission. FIMRC asks that all volunteers be flexible and willing to help FIMRC staff out where needed.

 

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
8:15 AM	depart from homestay	depart from homestay	depart from homestay	depart from homestay	depart from homestay
9 AM-12 PM	Planning health education lessons	shadowing physician in clinic	HIV flyer distribution in Jasmín	shadowing physicians in clinic	health education in Alajuelita orphanage
12 PM-1:30 PM	lunch in Alajuelita	lunch in Alajuelita	lunch in Alajuelita	lunch in Alajuelita	lunch in Alajuelita
1:30 PM-4 PM	dental hygiene project with children	discussion with young mothers on prenatal care	discussion of parasite prophylaxis in kindergarten	aid with food distribution and play in Tejarcillos	Visit to local community healer

 

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Volunteers stay with a Costa Rican family in the comfortable suburb of Santa Ana. Santa Ana is located about 20 minutes outside of San Jose, and is about 30 minutes from the clinic site. Santa Ana has a number of internet cafes where it will be possible to send emails or otherwise communicate with friends and family in the U.S. FIMRC’s homestay coordinator, Rita Zuniga, screens all families and ensures that everyone is satisfied with their placement. We ask that you indicate all housing preferences, including food preferences and pet and food allergies in the enrollment forms. All of the houses are clean, with western style toilets and showers. FIMRC helps arrange, but does not pay for the daily transport to and from the clinic.

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The vaccination requirements change from year to year, based on the health situation of the country.  Please refer to the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for updates on outbreaks and vaccination suggestions via www.cdc.gov.

Each participant needs to have health insurance that covers travel overseas.  If present coverage does not extend to outside the country of origin, participants must purchase health insurance for the time spent in Costa Rica. TravelSafe provides reasonably priced medical coverage and MedEvac services.

Please remember to bring sufficient personal medications, if needed, for the entirety of your time away from home.

US citizens can enter the country with their U.S. Passport. Volunteers who do not hold a US passport must check with the embassy for current regulations. Please see the embassy website and look up visa requirements.

 

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 We estimate the costs for a one-week trip to be the following:

• Airfare approx: $500 to $700 (variable, dependant upon travel dates & season)
• Housing/food: $150 ($25 per day, to be paid locally; includes three meals daily)
• Program donation: $699 per week ($75 for each additional day)

Spending money: $150 (minimum recommended amount for in country for transportation and other daily expenses during your trip)

 

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The Project Alajuelita Team

The following staff members have been essential in establishing the first successes of our clinic in Alajuelita.  Feel free to contact them directly with further questions you may have:

Stacy Wallick
Director of Operations, Central & South America
Member, Board of Directors
stacy.wallick@fimrc.org

Stacy was among the first FIMRC members to visit the San Felipe Clinic at its inception in early January 2006.  She is responsible for implementing all aspects of the volunteer program and managing the San Felipe clinic.

 

Cristian Elizondo, M.D.
Medical Director, San Felipe Clinic

Dr. Elizondo is the full-time Costa Rican physician responsible for all the care provided to residents of Alajuelita as well as managing the operations of our clinic.  His efforts have been essential in founding the clinic, securing its location, developing protocols for continuous care therein, and nurturing positive relationships between FIMRC and Hospital Nacional de Niños and local communities. 

 

Dayan Alvarado
Health Education Coordinator

Dayan concentrates on developing educational programming for the volunteers and works directly with the volunteers outside the clinic in Tejarcillos and the Alajuelita orphanage.  He is also responsible for managing day-to-day activities of the San Felipe clinic.  He also works closely with Dr. Elizondo to organize outreach initiatives throughout the community.

 

Rita Zuniga
Home-Stay Coordinator

Rita successfully places all volunteers traveling to Alajuelita with Costa Rican families.  These families live in a quiet suburb of San José called Santa Ana.  She also manages all transportation of volunteers between Santa Ana, Alajuelita, and San Jose.  Furthermore, Rita provides qualified information about independent weekend excursions around the beautiful country. 

 

JennyBess Cass
Program Analyst, Central & South America
jennybess.cass@fimrc.org

Jenny Bess is an undergraduate coordinator for FIMRC programs in Costa Rica, responsible for supporting the implementation, monitoring, evaluation and improvement of the program in Alajuelita and expanding outreach to its staff and volunteers. 

 

Sara Schoenleber
VP for Volunteer Programs, Global Health Volunteer Program
sara.schoenleber@fimrc.org

Sara is presently the main coordinator for the Global Health Volunteer Program, handling all stateside logistical issues.  Sara’s abilities in trip planning and tourism is a major asset to the foundation.

 

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