March 2007
Costa Rica
Chilamate (located in the Sarapiqui region of Costa Rica, two hours northeast of San Jose, in the heart of many banana and pineapple plantations)
Zaida
An active leader in the Chilamate worshipping committee for many years, Zaida is the mother of six and also cares for a granddaughter in her home. She is involved in the women�s artesian group and enjoys painting and making recycled paper from various materials found near her home (banana leaves, etc.). Zaida enjoys collaborating on various ILCO activities. Before, she says, she would volunteer only to
cook because she was too shy to do more. She continues to cook, but now �we know that we
are useful women and we can help.� �The ILCO has been a beautiful thing,� she said, continuing to Zaida, Alba Iris, and Marlen on Easter Sunday
explain that she always used to sit in the back of the
church and would hide whenever there were visitors, but now, thanks in great part to ILCO workshops, she has overcome her shyness and embarrassment and now talks �more than [she] should!�
A typical day for Zaida looks something like this:
3:00am Wake us to make lunch for her son and her husband to take with
them to work at the banana plantations
4:00 � 6:00 am Time for a nap
6:00 Get up to help daughter Yasmin get ready for school
7:00 Yasmin begins school
Morning: Housework: cleaning, cooking, taking care of younger children, etc.
11:30 Get son Steven ready for school and make him lunch
12:00 Steven begins school, Yasmin returns from school
Make lunch for Yasmin and the others in the house
After lunch: Time to make recycled paper and paint
2:30 Prepare and drink coffee with son and husband as they return from work
4:00 Begin to prepare dinner
8:00 Bedtime
Alba Iris
Alba Iris is from this region, Sarapiqui, and has been active in the ILCO for two years.
A typical day for Alba looks something like this:
6:00 Get up, make breakfast, bring son to school
Morning: Return home, bath baby son, do housework
10:30 / 11:00 Begin preparing lunch and pick up son from school
Lunch
Afternoon: housework, and painting some days
3:30 Coffee and then preparations for dinner
5:00 Husband returns home from work as a security guard and they eat dinner
6:00 Bedtime
Marlen
Originally from San Jose, Marlen has lived in Sarapiqui for three years and has been active in the ILCO for two years. As her family is in San Jose, she says the community at the ILCO has become her family. When she first moved to the region she was very lonely, even though she had her husband and children with her. When, through her children, she began to get to know the women in the ILCO she found companionship. A mother of three, Marlen is very involved in leading the children�s activities. She has been a member of different churches in the past, but that the ILCO is different because the ILCO allows and encourages her to take a leadership role in the church, something that she was not allowed to do in the other churches she attended. Marlen has also been helping out with the construction projects of the church and is now nicknamed the electrician for the church.
A typical day for Marlen looks something like this:
5:20 Get up and put water on for coffee and crawl back into bed for about ten minutes while it heats
5:30 Finish making coffee, iron her husband�s clothing for work, wake-up the kids. Help the younger daughter, Reychel, get ready for school and bring her to school by 7:00.
8:00 Work-out (occasionally), following an exercise program on television
Morning: housework, take care of young son, Andru
10:00 Go pick up Reychel from school
Prepare lunch and feed eldest daughter, Elisabeth, before she goes to school at noon.
Afternoon: do housework didn�t get finished in the morning, find some time to paint,
prepare dinner
6:00 Dinner time with children and husband who returned from work at the hardware store
10:00 Bedtime
Alajuelita (part of San Jose, on the southwestern edge of the city. Alajuelita is an economically disadvantaged urban community with a mix of Costa Ricans and Nicaraguan immigrants)
Teresa
Teresa works in the Casa Abierta preschool program
of the ILCO and also is the pastoral agent for Alajuelita. She has been active in the ILCO since the church began its presence in this community in 1994 in the struggle for land rights. Teresa is also taking classes in order to finish her high school degree, hoping someday to be a pastor for the ILCO.
A typical day for Teresa looks something like this:
6:15 � 9:00 Arrive at Casa Abierta to welcome the children
Give breakfast to those who haven�t eaten
Do some exercises and say some prayers
9:00 � 11:00 First teaching session
11:00 � 1:00 Drop-off / pick-up children from school (some older children spend half-days in Casa Abierta and the other half of the day at school)
1:00 Lead children in brushing teeth, reading stories
2:00 Pick children up from school, then depart Casa Abierta for the day
Afternoon: Visit families of the community as part of pastoral agent work, or run
errands for Casa Abierta (pay water, electricity bills), do housework
5:00 Attend activities at church, such as Bible study
6:30 Arrive home and attend to women who have stopped by for advice or
help in various topics, such as obtaining anti-contraceptives.
9:00 Eat dinner (pasta or rice and beans or vegetables or oatmeal, etc.)
9:30 Do homework
11:00 Go to bed
Other nights Teresa may attend meetings for the local housing development association, attend classes, or sew during the evening.
La Carpio (a community just outside of San Jos�, with a population predominantly of Nicaraguan immigrants)
Ana Yensy
Ana Yensy is from Nicaragua but has lived in Costa Rica for 8 years. She came to Costa Rica with her younger sister, Brenda, to come live with her mother, who was already living here. Her father and the majority of her family remains in Nicaragua. Ana became active in the ILCO when, at age 15, she decided she wanted to be confirmed in the Lutheran Church and began attending catechism classes. She currently helps out with the youth and children�s activities in La Carpio, as well as works as the receptionist in the ILCO�s central offices. Ana also keeps busy by studying to finish her high school degree.
A typical day for Ana might look something like this:
5:30 Wake up and get ready for the day
7:00 Leave for work � take two busses to arrive at the ILCO Central Offices
8:00 � 5:00 Work at ILCO Offices as the receptionist
5:00 Attend classes in San Jos�
8:30 Classes end, take bus back home to La Carpio
10:00 Arrive at home, eat dinner
11:00 Go to bed
Nights when Ana doesn�t have classes she arrives home at 7 (there is a lot of traffic at this hour, which makes the commute long), eats dinner, and then spends time with friends.