New Central Kitchen for Hogar de Vida Costa Rica

Homes of Life in Central America

Costa Rica
May 2013

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We just celebrated the 18^th anniversary of Hogar de Vida in Costa Rica. 18 yrs. ago in May our 1^st child from the Costa Rican social services entered our mission!

Where have all the years gone? It's hard to believe that it's been 18 years. What brings me great comfort is having a safe place full of love and care that these abused, abandoned and neglected innocent ones can come. Here we keep them in a safe place and help them to rebuild trust in their hearts and allow them to learn to live life the way a little child should.

Day to day life in a home for 35 children is pretty hectic. Right now we are looking for new staff to replace one that is leaving on Friday. There are people available, but not many that fit the criteria that we've set to give the kids the best of the best!! Pray the Lord guides the right ones to us.

We are so grateful for all the support we've received for the security fences. We have gone as far as we can for now. To finish, we need the township engineer to help us work out a retaining wall plan with the public soccer field next to us! Prayers are needed to get this working and we hope and pray to get some public funding to do that job. Then the final stage will be a redesign of our front gate.

That means that it will take time to work out all the details. Meanwhile, we are urgently pushing forward on building plans and permits to construct a much needed central kitchen. We now see that the 24' x 10' kitchen + storage room will cost us around $10,000. I was projecting more, but we are grateful for Costa Rican construction workers who are giving us rock bottom labor costs. Building materials have dropped some as well.

As Helen explains below, the central kitchen will significantly improve day-to-day operations of the home and the care we can provide to the kids. The price tag is significant, but we've proven it's well worth the cost. If you can make an extra gift at this time, or are blessed to be able to fund the project in its entirety, we'd sure appreciate it. We are waiting for the permits to come in. Dena really wants and needs this kitchen. To give toward the central kitchen project, designate your gift to Costa Rica Special Need.

Blessings,

Tim Stromstad

Central Kitchen Project

Each of our three houses has 12 kids and three dedicated Tias (translated

aunties) to take care of them.One of the Tias does the cleaning, one does the cooking and one does childcare. One caregiver for 12 children is a real challenge.

Our new motto that spurs us on translates to: "Let's get better all the time." In the US, you'd call that Continuous Improvement. We implemented a central kitchen as a pilot project. Quality of care improved, menus improved and the Tias were happier. Happy Tias, happy kids, a win-win!

Some years ago a guy-team added on an extension to House #2 to serve as an office kitchen to make coffee and a place to heat lunch in the microwave. This became the central kitchen for the pilot project. It worked really well and our goals were being met, but our temporary situation didn't hold up to scrutiny by the Ministry of Health because of code violations, and we had to close it down. But by then, we had proven the value of a central kitchen and that inspired us to dream even bigger. We are now urgently pursing it by faith. We want a "real" central kitchen.

Tim has drawn up the plans which are being revised by the local Municipality. We want a "real" stove, a large commercial refrigerator and some decent stainless steel pots and pans - industrial strength. We'll hire a cook and plan menus with the help of a Nutritionist, so the houses will be able to pick up hot lunches (the main meal) every day. The kitchen will be located in center-campus for easy access to the three houses. It will be a great asset for hosting visitors and special events as well.

Helen Smith

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18th Anniversary