The National Roadway Council on Wednesday confirmed the decision to postpone the first stage of expansion of the Circunvalación, a belt route bordering the capital’s central canton, until Housing Ministry officials complete the relocation of 191 families currently living where the new road is to be built.
These students, parents, teachers, volunteers and donors are expert foragers, turning unused classrooms, time and resources into educational gold. Their determination, commitment and selflessness also represent a broader spirit of giving that we seek to celebrate.
Last September, Hanes announced it would close nine plants in five countries and reduce its global workforce by 12 percent as part of a major restructuring effort. The company eliminated 8,100 jobs in the United States, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica, and moved 2,000 jobs to Asia.
On December 10, 2004, Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmental and political activist, became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. In her acceptance speech in Oslo, she said, “I am especially mindful of women and the girl child. I hope [this] will encourage them to raise their voices and take more space for leadership ... and urge them to use it to pursue their dreams.”
JUTIAPA, Guatemala – The small village of Horcones sits at the end of a pothole-filled road in Jutiapa, in southeastern Guatemala. Here, about 40 percent of the population is dedicated to raising livestock, earning an income that isn’t reflected in the wealth of the whitewashed, Grecian-columned houses that are found in this farming community.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua – His corn and bean fields ravaged by drought, Nicaraguan farmer Leonel Sánchez Hernández grudgingly found a new harvest: tarantulas. He gets a little over a dollar for each of the hairy critters, which breeders sell overseas as pets.
Carlos Sojo was not only one of the most brilliant academics of his generation in Costa Rica and Latin America, but also he was a great human being. Statistics and concepts pained him, almost as much as people did. He was an expert on poverty, but he was most pained by people living in poverty.
Six months after taking office President Luis Guillermo Solís outlined – in a 560-page document – a roadmap for his administration that includes a promise to reduce Costa Rica’s extreme poverty rate by 45 percent by 2018, the year he leaves Casa Presidencial.
"My father, who died while trying to improve our region, taught me that a country is only as good as its citizens, and that we each have a role in shaping its future," Paiz said.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua – The number of Nicaraguans living in extreme poverty – defined as less than $1 a day – increased from 7.6 percent to 9.5 percent from 2012 to 2013, according to a survey by the Managua-based Fundación Internacional para el Desafío Económico Global. This means that living conditions worsened last year for some 355,000 Nicaraguans following a slight improvement the previous year.
