United World College Collects $5,500 for Haiti

Last month, students from the United World College Costa Rica (UWCCR) took the stage at Multiplaza Escazú, performing songs and dances from all over the world, and then passed the donation can for earthquake relief in Haiti. They raised $5,500 at the event, and more will be raised by other efforts under way at the college.

The event was coordinated by Ricardo González, director of the Creativity, Action and Service program at the college. Among the volunteers were Central Valley expats Sasha Maslov, Remi Geohegan, Amanda Merkx, Rebecca Hicks and Anders Persson.

The funds will be donated to SOS Children’s Villages in Haiti, which in addition to taking care of orphans is providing support to hundreds of displaced people.

Before the school became a UnitedWorldCollege, it was the Colegio Internacional SOS Herman Gmeiner. Many SOS villagers, including one from Haiti, have studied on the campus in Santa Ana, southwest of San José. Today, some 160 students from more than 60 countries and a spectrum of socioeconomic backgrounds are enrolled at the college, where they study for two years, refining their leadership and other skills and earning an International Baccalaureate diploma before moving on to international universities.

Four current UWCCR students and three recent graduates are from Haiti.

Though it appears their immediate families were not injured, the same cannot be said for all of their friends and relatives. Recent estimates indicate that more than 100,000 people died in the Jan. 12 earthquake.

In reaction to the Haitian disaster, the college aims to raise funds to increase the number of scholarships offered to promising Haitian students. If you would like to help or find out more about the school’s programs, write development@uwccr.com.

–Rita Benavides, Development Office

United World CollegeCosta Rica