Educación Plus transports crowds of children each week to public parks or, in the rainy season, to hired premises, so they can let off steam and develop their skills in a managed environment. These groups include boys and girls from about nine to eighteen years old. Many of the youngsters return to empty shacks afterwards, so we always buy them a drink and something to eat on the way home.

We have also developed three Annual Football Championships - for boys under 13, boys over 13, and girls under 15. There is a group trophy for each competition and best players from all teams win medals, which is very good for their selfesteem. We always provide lunch for all 80 or so youngsters who participate in each tournament.

Football Schools
The great sporting passion in Costa Rica is football, confirmed by such a small country twice recently qualifying for the World Cup finals. There is a wealth of football talent in the shanty towns. However, children have to play and practise wherever they can, including on unmade streets and on rough ground between the shacks. Very few teams can afford uniforms and footballs are usually old and punctured.

Every Saturday morning for some years, we have taken a group of promising boys to the football school of one of Costa Rica’s best professional teams. Their skill, fitness and enthusiasm are equal to any of the other youngsters. However, when matches are arranged, it is impossible for the boys from the shanty towns to travel to other parts of the country to play. Although they benefit greatly from their Saturday mornings, they are unable to participate fully due to a lack of resources.

Educación Plus would like to start its own football school, where the economic limits the children live with would be recognised and addressed. In addition to the benefits outlined here, it is also possible that some of the more able youngsters might get scouted and find a way out of the shanty towns through professional football as they grow older.

Other Activities
Other sports activities that we run depend largely on the volunteers that offer to help. It is especially difficult to find ladies who are available and willing to help with the girls. We regularly run volleyball sessions, mainly for girls. Another popular activity is swimming. Knowing how to swim is very useful in a country with high tropical rainfall and many rivers. We sometimes take groups to local pools and some children have actually learnt to swim during these sessions.