A "chance meeting" leads to an opportunity to assist an indigenous community

The BriBri are an indigenous people in an area known as Talamanca, in eastern Costa Rica and northern Panama. Sometime ago we met a young man, Mathias Vilmar Pereira, sitting in a hospital reception room in San Jose, Costa Rica. Mathias had traveled by bus from his home in a small village above the town of BriBri, after suffering a compound fracture of his right leg.... he traveled alone, with the fracture exposed, without pain medication... 8 hours by bus! He's a tough young man!

Over time we developed a relationship with Mathias and his small mountain community. Located several kilometers above the the town of BriBri, the community is without running water, electricity, indoor "facilities" or communications. Traveling to the village involves driving to a mountain town above BriBri, crossing a river by "dugout canoe", trucking up the mountain several kilometers, crossing a second river by suspension bridge and hiking 2 kilometers further up the mountain. We have delivered shoes, clothing, food, feminine hygiene products,

and toys for the children. We will be returning to Talamanca this year to continue our support of Mathias and his community!