“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision, the ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” — Andrew Carnegie
Celebrate…!
“Friends of Copey”…we are much more than “friends”. We are a team of doers, believers, and visionaries. I continue to see things we just cannot ignore. I must keep saying “Thank You” or congratulate a “Friend of Copey” for something special that has happened.
This week, I congratulate Cindy and Larry Windes. They recently published a very important book. Most of you are well acquainted with Cindy and Larry. They left Arizona many years ago to live near Copey. They are “living the good life” for they have mastered an environmentally conscious and self-sustaining life style.
They are both just great folks and our official hosts for “Friends” who journey to the Copey area.
I really enjoy and admire these two because they are very creative “possibility” thinkers.
For some time now, Larry and Cindy have been working on the “mini” or “tiny” or little house project…aka Fold-A-Mansion. This is a truly amazing housing concept and venture that has been tried and tested.
Some of our USA “Friends” while visiting Copey, stayed in the “mini” house. The experiences have all been positive.
This project is now in the marketing phase and I invite “Friends” to look into this product. Check out the book from end to end and see the talent and vision built into this idea. You can find the book on these two popular sites:
During the week before Christmas, I reported several Emory & Henry College students visiting Costa Rica including a special trip to Copey. Dr. Ed Davis accompanied by Professor Shelley Koch traveled to Copey earlier in July and then returned with ten students in December. Dr. Davis provided this trip report:
Copey Visited!
This past December, a group of ten Emory & Henry College students visited the village of Copey, led by professor Shelley Koch and me. We were met there by all the friendly people of the Copey Learning Center. They had arranged for us to stay in the homes of their many friends in the village. That was quite pleasant – and that alone would have been great hospitality, but they fed us and had a party for us with music. I could say “we had a wonderful time!” but that does not begin to reflect the unforgettable positive experience for us and our students. Copey is one of the friendliest places you can find.
We arrived on a Thursday night after dark, and were met by Anyela (the center’s director), and Lorena. We got settled into our host families’ homes that night.
The next morning we were fed by the families and then toured some farms around Copey. One farm was called El Pedregoso (which translates to rocky), a small organic dairy farm, where we ate amazing cheeses! We also visited in the nearby hamlet of Providencia, where we learned about organic coffee farming from a woman farmer named Deily Mora.
We walked in a rainforest where the coffee trees are in the understory, and the wildlife can flourish. We helped process the coffee berries – just to see how it is done.
Serious adventure: The roads in rural Costa Rica are not always great, and we learned that when our van came to a landslide that had buried the narrow road. This was on a steep mountainside and we could not just go in reverse or turn around. So for the next two hours we all (mostly the students) fashioned shovels from branches and dug through the landslide until the van could safely cross it. I know the students will remember that forever – and in a positive way: we were reminded that hardship is common in a poor country, and we should not take our infrastructure for granted. Also, we bonded by doing the physical labor! That night we prepared for Saturday’s school activity!
On Saturday we had the village children (of all ages) for our English games. The high school children practiced what the Learning Center has been teaching them: they conversed in English with our Emory students. The middle school children played a game of tag that required English skills. Check out this photo below: You see the younger children of the village playing a game with our college students Eli, Fallyn, Kalianna, and Ryland. This was a very simple language game, and the kids loved it.
What we learned was how we are all learners all our lives. Each of us learns life lessons through the very act of teaching.
Catalina Cortes took us leaders out to lunch, and showed us around. And the students took a tour of Finca Santa Cecilia, an organic vegetable and herb farm on the north side of Copey. This tour was led by a local friendly retiree named Tony Warren.
I dearly hope other Friends of Copey who have not visited will be convinced to do it! The people are so generous and friendly, and the children are as sweet as can be!
Special Announcement Next Week!
Several important activities are gearing up to put “Friends of Copey” in a very special light. I anticipate having enough information next week to broadcast the news.
Also, we are in the final planning stages of our 2023 Pathway Project. In early May, our fundraising campaign will begin. We are supporting the travel needs for two or three Copey guests to journey to the USA. Their ultimate destination is Emory & Henry College (soon to be University) but may include Washington, DC. Also, mark your calendars for June 16 for the “Friends of Copey” 10th Anniversary celebrated at the annual reception in Abingdon, Virginia. If you are on the eastern side of our country…join us.
an environmentally conscious and self-sustaining life style.
