Guardia, Costa Rica
In September 2024, we flew Dave, Sarah and Jacqui from our Fort Lauderdale office out to Guardia in Costa Rica to assist with Operation Jade, an initiative run by YachtAid Global that focuses on rebuilding and repairing schools that are much in need of infrastructure updates. Situated in the Guanacaste Conservation Area, Guardia is rich with tropical biodiversity and a wealth of natural ecosystems, from marine through to cloud forest and rainforest. Located just a stone’s throw away from Guardia is Papagayou Marina, where superyachts regularly dock and crews often spend some downtime in the area. Sarah once docked at this port for 3 months, back when she worked as crew on superyacht Azteca II. To be able to come back and help the local community felt like coming full circle; Operation Jade was going to be an initiative that felt close to heart.
DAY 1 - New Classroom Floor
It’s the first day at the local high school and the team are put to work pouring concrete, soon to become the floor for a new classroom and laid out by local contractors. YachtAid Global volunteers, Y.CO, contractors and teachers all come together to work on the site.
The team enjoyed getting stuck into the project and learning more about the local community. Filling and shifting 5-gallon buckets with sand and rocks before adding to the cement mixer was hard but rewarding! Later in the day Jacqui and Sarah were invited to join the teachers making tamales – a traditional Mexican dish consisting of corn dough that is filled with delicious filling often beans, cheese and meats, then wrapped in banana leaf and steamed. When there are no classes, the school teachers use the opportunity to make tamales to fundraise for the ongoing development of the school.
Donating sports equipment
Y.CO donates sports equipment to the school – they receive volleyball nets, footballs and goals, basketballs and hoops. Everybody heads over to the gymnasium to install the new sports equipment for the kids.
The Y.CO team enjoyed their time bonding with the teachers and seeing the excitement around the new sports equipment. It turned out the school’s volleyball net was on temporary loan from a neighboring school, so they were beyond happy to finally have one they can call their own. Everyone pulled together to create a volleyball base out of tires and poles ready for their new net.
