A group of Catholic students from Wake Forest University will travel to Costa Rica in January to work with Nicaraguan refugees. From Jan. 3-13, the students will serve the refugee community in Alajuelita, a small borough outside San Jose, by tutoring, helping to run a physical rehabilitation clinic and building a playground at a community center.
The 18 students are members of the Wake Forest Catholic Community. Their service trip will be coordinated by Mas Que Un Amigo (More Than a Friend), a nonprofit organization in Costa Rica that runs a physical therapy clinic and other social service programs there.
“It will provide an incredible way to tangibly put our faith into action,” said Kristin Zipple, a senior from Hattiesburg, Miss. “Immersing ourselves in poverty and working side-by-side with the people there will help us gain a different perspective.”
Nicaraguan refugees make up approximately 25 percent of the population of Costa Rica. They have fled their country in recent years due to economic hardship caused by an unstable government, said Julie Ostergaard, associate Catholic campus minister at Wake Forest. She will accompany the students along with the Rev. Jude DeAngelo, Catholic campus minister at Wake Forest.
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