cheat_training_group Looking for donations for kids kayaking school in Costa Rica

Hello - I am helping my friends find boats and gear to set up a kids kayaking school in Costa Rica.  I stayed at Chilamate Rainforest lodge in April and the owners are lovely people.  They built the lodge "by hand" and are dedicated to preserving the rain forest.  I met Maren Jaffee in Ottawa and found out that she was working with Davis to establish a school.  I am donating a boat and if anyone else had gear or boats to donate, Maren will arrange the shipping.  Smaller boats and gear are especially appreciated.  Here is more information about the non-profit organization:

Free Flow Kayak, a Colorado non-profit corporation, and the Sarapiqui River School were born as a strategy to get local kids in developing countries off the streets and on the river. In many parts of Costa Rica and other developing nations, children grow up watching tourists enjoy the river on rafts and kayaks but rarely have the opportunity to try these activities themselves. Given the lack of youth-focused activities in many of these countries, Free Flow Kayak and the Sarapiqui River School want to give local kids the opportunity to learn a sport that has the potential to provide a greater appreciation for the environment and conservation efforts, a chance to take on a new challenge, possible employment, and most important, a means of empowerment. 

With this kick-starter campaign, Free Flow Kayak is assisting in launching a non-profit kayak school in the Sarapiqui region of Costa Rica. Sarapiqui River School is located at Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat along the banks of the Sarapiqui River(http://www.chilamaterainforest.com/). Megan Patricia Casey and her husband, Davis Azofeifa Rugama, the founders of Sarapiqui River School, currently have one kayak available for use to students. In order to accommodate several students at once, we will need several more boats as well as additional safety gear.

We have a small fleet of donated boats currently being stored in Colorado that needs to be transferred to Costa Rica as soon as possible. Shipping kayaks out of the state or country, however, is not cheap. I have been working diligently to get discounts and other types of assistance from airlines and courier companies, but we are in desperate need of financial assistance to get these boats to their new home in time for the upcoming Saripiqui River Festival(http://worldclassacademy.info/blog/2011/11/25/sarapiqui-river-festival-service-learning-project/), which began three years ago with the help of World Kayak and World Leadership School.

Donations of any amount are appreciated. All financial donations will initially go toward transfering all donated gear to the Sarapiqui River School as well as toward the purchase of additional safey gear, such as life vests, helmets, and throw ropes. Any additional funds will go toward operational expenses, such as room and board for volunteer instructors. If you have any used gear you would like to donate, I am always taking donations. Feel free to contact me to arrange a pick-up time. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Happy paddling season, everyone! 

http://www.gofundme.com/freeflowkayak

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