The Belize to Mastatal Fundraiser Ride

About this blog

Hello! My name is Aaron Lawson, I am 22 years old and from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Over the past three and a half years I have been volunteering in a small village named Mastatal in rural Costa Rica. Mastatal is located about an hour inland from the pacific coastal town of Parritta and about three hours from the capital city, San Jose. The past three years of my volunteer work have been mainly spent on a local cocoa farm in the area of Mastatal and also with various community projects and events. The Mastatal area consists of roughly 120 residents spread among numerous farms. Currently there are 20 children attending the elementary school and 35 youth at the High School, both located in the town centre.

The purpose of this blog is to inform and hopefully include you in supporting two friends, Marcus Reichenbach and James Hannon, and I in a fundraiser bicycle ride from Belize City to Mastatal, Costa Rica. Marcus, James and I will be flying out of Edmonton on January 26th, 2012 to Cancun, Mexico. We will then shuttle south to Belize City and begin a 2000 kilometer journey south to Costa Rica. We plan to take about a month to arrive in Mastatal, averaging about 120 kilometers on each travel day.

Our hope and vision for the journey through Central America is to make available increased educational, sports and musical opportunities to enrich the lives of the youth of Mastatal. The school has an enrolment of 35 students with minimal resources from the government. Through raising funds we will be able to supply the students with items that were identified by the teachers such as: new text books for each student as opposed to a single text for the teacher, a variety of musical instruments (guitars, recorders, percussion equipment, and music books), classroom equipment (desks, fans, filing cabinets), repairs to the school itself and student supplies for those who cannot afford to purchase themselves. Once these primary needs are met, if there are funds remaining we would like to work towards the constuction of restrooms for the students which are currently non-existent. Currently the students need to leave the school and walk down the road to the local resturante or bar to use the restroom.

100% of the funds raised will go towards the school and its students. Our goal amount for the project is $4000 to be able to cover what was outlined by the teachers. Once in Costa Rica we will be accompanying the teachers to purchase these items and post photos on the blog of what was purchased. By purchasing locally we will be contributing to the local economy.

To make a difference in the lives of children in this rural community please sponsor us using the donating option "support my tavels:donate" to the side of this page or alternately cheque can be made out to Aaron Lawson 9420 76 St Edmonton, AB T6C2K6. Thank you very much for your consideration and support. You may follow us with regular updates and photos on this blog and Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Belize-to-Mastatal-Fundraiser-Ride/186576521416368). Once in Costa Rica we will be posting photos of what was purchased for the students and school and the ways in which your support will impact them.

Aaron Lawson (780)7173623 belize2mastatal@hotmail.com

James Hannon jameshannon1@hotmail.com

Marcus Reichenbach yeahrightmj@hotmail.com