St. John’s Jesuit High School in Siete Colinas, Costa Rica
There is one crucial question one must ask themselves when immersing themselves into another culture with the intentions of being philanthropic: “Why am I truly here?” Prior to our eye-opening experience within the beautiful community of Siete Colinas, many of us did not know what we were going to manifest for the community, things which would last for generations. Many of us felt trembling emotions in regards to leaving our families for nine days, along with the concept of becoming adjusted to a new environment. Little did we know, this wonderful experience and opportunity would positively alter our lives, along with those of the community, forever.
The morning of June 18th started very unlike any normal day; we left our homes around two o’clock, meeting at our school and then boarding the bus to the airport for two flights that would lead us to San Jose, Costa Rica. After making it through the airport, we boarded another bus that brought us to Siete Colinas. While we were traveling through the mountains and rainforests of our new nine-day home, we were taken aback by the sheer beauty offered by this new environment. After eight tenuous hours, we finally arrived in the late night to a very warm welcome by the people of Siete Colinas, including a cultural dance and an excellent dinner: this was our first taste of the immense generosity and selflessness of the community.
The next day, as with each of the following days, we received a delicious breakfast that consisted of rice, beans, spices, fresh fruit, and a drink consisting solely of water, sugar and the extracted juice of a blackberry. After our breakfast, we tackled our first day of work; we were going to work with the community to build a multi-use athletic court that was twenty-eight meters in length. The work process was simple: there was an area with piles of rocks and sand to shovel into buckets for the concrete, there were two concrete mixers to mix five buckets of rock, six buckets of sand, one bag of cement mixer, three handfuls of concrete fiber, one cup of acrylic fluid, and as much water as needed to achieve a desired consistency. The mixture was then wheelbarrowed into one of seven sections of the construction site until each one was full and smoothened. The process took four days to complete and involved copious amounts of digging rock and sand, lifting heavy objects, and hauling wheelbarrows of concrete through rough terrain.
When the court was all dry and ready, on our last full day of staying in Siete Colinas, we were able to connect with everyone in the community to officially inaugurate the court into the community. Alongside us were locals, younger and older, to celebrate this new element of the town. After the inauguration, we set up a basketball clinic on the court for the younger kids, teaching them basic elements of the game such as dribbling, passing, and shooting. Later in the day, we organized a tournament with ourselves and locals as one final way of engaging with the community.
Of course, this project would not have been possible without the community. First, the guidance of the workers: they taught us how to mix the concrete, they operated the concrete mixers, they helped us transfer the concrete to the court, and they even worked alongside us in the digging, lifting, and hauling of the materials. Next, the craftsmanship of the cooks: they were always there to provide us with hearty meals to keep us energized and healthy for our work. Then, the kindness of the locals: they provided us with a clean and safe place to stay, including beds for every one of us covered in nets to protect us from all of the creatures in the area. Finally, the ability of the locals to keep us entertained: they coordinated fun activities like playing and watching soccer, tug-of-war, potato sack races, and, most importantly, our forty-minute trip and discovery of a gorgeous, natural waterfall and a hot spring. The ability for us to truly build a sense of camaraderie with the locals made the trip very meaningful in terms of finishing the court and mind-altering in how we perceived service as a whole.
Each and every one of us came into this trip with a feeling of uncertainty and left with an unforgettable experience. From our first tastes of exotic, culturally-distinguished fruits like guava, guayaba, and guanavana, along with very delicious drinks, like “Agua Dulce,” we were able to truly feel at home and integrated into the deeply unique culture of Siete Colinas. The mixture of the journey of integrating and immersing ourselves into the community and reaching the destination of becoming a collective group with the community gave us a new sense of how to interpret why we serve others: because we love it.
- Dominic DeLucia, Jonathan Kinsman, St John’s Jesuit High School Students
Volunteer Quotes:
“Learning the concept of giving and helping others is the best feeling in the world.” - Claudio
“I recommend a Courts for Kids trip because it is uniquely built to live in a community as part of their family.” - Matt
“This trip can teach students to be respectful, outgoing and to experience service and philanthropy in a more mature manner.” - Jon
“I feel this trip has changed me by allowing me to better understand that you don’t need everything you own to be ‘top-of-the-line’ to be happy. And that inside you just need to appreciate what you have. I also feel like I would go on another trip like this, and that I want to travel more.” - Haydn
“I learned that I love to get out of my comfort zone and explore new things. I’ve gone from a person who barely was able to hold a conversation in Spanish to being someone who is able to talk clearly and hold conversations confidently in this language. This trip allowed me to explore a side of myself that I never knew and I really love that.” - Mason T.
“The relationships I made here were easily the most genuine relationships I’ve ever had, and I don’t even speak the language. I hope that within 5 years I can come back and see my Siete Colinas family again.” - Christopher
“Every single day was exciting, fun and meaningful to me and it was because of the activities and people I met.” - Benjamin
“I recommend a Courts for Kids Trip because it is an eye-opening experience that allows you to see different walks of life and engage with them. My favorite memory from this trip is the pure bliss I felt after we went to the waterfall at the end of the hike. We had worked so hard to get there and seeing it made it feel like all my hard work, not only from the hike but also from building the court, was worth it. It felt like the visual manifestation of the beautiful results of hard work in life.” - Dominic
“Seeing everyone gather together and sharing in celebration of love and community was a touching experience which showed that language is not a barrier but rather something that can bridge two communities together through action, love and kindness.” - Edward
“This trip changed me into being more outgoing and that I can put love into everything I do.” - Braaden
“I recommend a Courts for Kids trip because I made new relationships and got to experience a once in a lifetime trip that improved my character. What I learned about myself is that I don’t really know myself at all, however, I did learn that I experience true happiness from helping others.” - Mason I.
“This was easily one of the most fulfilling and unbelievable experiences of my life. Worth any lows, they aren’t even close to the highest highs. A high point from the trip was the overall sense of real acceptance and belonging in the community. The most difficult part about going home will be to carry on the values and lessons that I learned on this trip. I want to carry them with me and keep them in my mind throughout decision making and living life.” - Samuel
“When I saw the smiles on the faces of the children and adults on the last day it showed me how much my service meant. Even though it was not the biggest act of service ever, the people definitely made me feel that way.” - Kaiden
“There is a clear spirit and life to these people that can’t be ignored. The pureness and innocence of the children here made me want to disconnect from the rest of the world and be with them forever. The children’s enthusiasm, compiled with ours, made this trip even more worth it.” - Hamza
“The most difficult part of going home will be leaving behind all of the people that we met and realizing that we may never see them again. Through the construction work, the meals we shared, and all the adventures that we went on, I will never forget these people and the memories we shared.” - Tony
“It doesn’t matter how much you have or don’t have, just that you make the best of it.” - Adam
Community Quotes:
“This experience was very nice, and is definitely a unique experience. The volunteers treated us kindly, and our collaboration together was very beautiful.” - Joselyn
“This was a beautiful experience that strengthened our community to have a court where many children, youth and adults can find enjoyment in a healthy way. We need more people in the work that work with love like the Courts for Kids group. They touched me in this way: that we can always do more for others regardless of religion, ethnicity and gender. I’d recommend Courts for Kids 100%. It’s a very solid organization that works with love to bring healthy enjoyment to different parts of the world through their courts.” - Keyna
“I felt a lot of love from and for this organization, and I will carry that in my heart with me.” - Silvia
“What deeply touched me in particular was the success of the cultural exchange that took place. It was demonstrated that will is power and that together everything is possible, no matter how small the community is. This project opens the door for children to have a space to practice sports, get along with other children in healthy ways, and to keep them away from negative influences, such as drugs.” - Josefa
“This was excellent and to see the final results was satisfying.” - Estefany
“This experience was incredible and it was a great learning experience for me.” - Diony
