For the first quarter of 2023, planting trees and green-thumbing brought the Idioma Internacional community together again for another event through our social responsibility movement, Idioma Cares.
We were able to work with Planta Mi Arbol which is an organization that works with individuals to help reduce our carbon footprint. The goal was to be the change that we wanted to see in the environment by planting trees that will last for years to come. Idioma Cares was able to donate, and plant the trees in an area designated for reforestation.
On Saturday morning, February 18th, 2023, 15 team members in Costa Rica went on site to Planta Mi Arbol’s campus in La Angelina, Cartago and donated their time.Team members hiked 1200 meters up a gorgeous mountain bike path for this quite windy occasion. We planted trees of many different species including soursop, cedar, and cherry, to name a few! We all grabbed shovels, got our hands dirty, and planted trees not only for ourselves but for team members that were not able to attend.
Idioma Cares’ initiatives always incorporate a way that our remote team can participate as well. Therefore, our team outside of the central valley of Costa Rica was assigned a team buddy who planted their tree for them in their name and received virtual documentation of their tree being planted. This is an example of our team working together to make a difference not just with individuals, but with our beautiful blue planet!
Please stay tuned for our next initiative for the second quarter of 2023!
Someone once said that change is the only constant in life. That same someone may also argue that this has been particularly true since March 2020.
Due to the pandemic there has been a total shift from “normal life” to the new normal: a virtual life. The world has changed and is changing. Many lives have been lost. Travel plans have been cancelled and there is uncertainty about even when some may be able to see and hug their loved ones again.
On top of this, there is a world economy that has been severely impacted. Service and travel industries have been crushed. Unemployment rates are skyrocketing. When will it get better? Can it get better?
Costa Rica’s answer to these questions: sí se puede!
Apart from being an absolutely stunning country, from its breathtaking landscapes to its warm, diverse citizens to its always freshly prepared cuisine, Costa Rica is a country that has made serious commitments to its values.
Costa Rica is committed to peace. Costa Rica is committed to working hard. Costa Rica is committed to caring for its natural resources, both flora and fauna alike. And holding it close as a national value, Costa Rica is committed to education.
At Idioma Internacional, we are so truly honored to be partnering with Costa Rica and its public and private entities in order to help bring this commitment to education to fruition for residents and citizens of this country, regardless of pandemics or other setbacks that may come.
In May 2020, with the pandemic and uncertainty still quite fresh and ever-unfolding, the Costa Rican government was still dedicated to providing hundreds of scholarships to people in an effort to educate them in English and assist them in gaining the skills to gain employment. Costa Rica was steadfastly focused on growth and so was Idioma Internacional. Together, we joined forces to combat uncertainty, combat a pandemic, and combat unemployment by taking actions to put into practice the commitment to education and language skills aimed at helping people and their families learn, become gainfully employed, and keep moving forward.
Months later in August, and further into more uncertainty and a continued pandemic, the government once again showed its commitment to education and to its citizens and residents, approving hundreds of scholarships that will help them gain language skills that can translate into employment opportunities. With a quality team of teachers from around the globe, from Africa, Europe, and Asia to the Americas, Idioma Internacional was once again proud to partner with the labor ministry in its social and economic efforts to keep Costa Rica growing and moving forward.
As many of our students are now set to graduate after their intensive, months-long virtual English courses with Idioma Internacional, we are now partnering with the private sector via companies like Amazon, Snap Finance, Equifax and more, in order to host virtual job fairs for our graduating students in a concerted effort to allow companies exposure to our talented groups of graduates, allow our graduates to gain direct access to hiring teams from companies and help to complete the cycle and efforts of Costa Rica and its commitment to education.
And Costa Rica will soon be at it again! Despite a pandemic with still no end in sight, Costa Rica is poised to continue to invest in education and continue to invest in its people with a focus on growth and gaining employment. And Idioma Internacional is proudly poised to commit once again to helping the country advance, and to helping all of its residents and citizens gain the language skills they need in order to keep moving forward with their own personal and professional growth.
-Brendan Mulhall