Mission - Casa Sonja

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For children and women of Costa Rica

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Our mission

We have marveled at the beauty of this country, but we have also witnessed its struggles—poverty, abuse, hunger, lack of affection, and the many barriers to education. These challenges have deep and complex roots, but rather than standing by, we chose to act. We decided to start at the very foundation: breaking the cycle of violence.

Giving them the chance they never had

We strongly believe that breaking the cycle of violence happens when you are given the means and hope to succeed and grow. It sure doesn’t happen overnight and it sure is not easy. That’s why we decided to address all the aspect of our children’s life and bring balance : healthy food, access to sport and nature, great education, psychological care, a lot of unconditional affection, security, … Our hope, but then it will be their responsibility is to raise them and give them the will to be, when it’s time, agent of change of their own. That’s when our action and theirs combine will bring systemic and long lasting change

Highlight

Our model is recognized as both innovative and relevant to provide better child care and we intend to document and scale this outside of Costa Rica once we will have sufficient perspective and precise measurement on the outcomes.

Facts

Serving 35 000+ meals every year 125+ children rescued up to early 2025 Significant scholar improvement Several thousand trees planted

Chapter 1 - complete the model

Progress

Completion 100%

This initial phase focuses on improving the initial model of Casa Sonja, ensuring the necessary infrastructure and personnel are in place.

Essential Infrastructure:
Casa Sonja is a complex of several buildings with core facilities, that allows us to host and run our actual care protocol and further building for specific use (such as the school). With the completion of the first dormitory at the end of 2024, we are just finishing in 2025 a few more buildings:

> A multipurpose space for dining and studying ;
> A living space for the leadership team (i.e. Sonja Bautista) who lives on the premises ;
> Additional fencing to facilitate security rounds ;
> A volunteer space ;
> Infrastructure to connect the different buildings and provide more reliable access to water, electricity, and treatment plans

Complete Hirings:
Hiring qualified staff, including licensed social workers, is crucial to providing adequate support and care for the children. The goal is to ensure each child receives the attention and care necessary for their well-being. A full-time psychologist is among the identified needs.

Chapter 2 - Scale and sustain

Progress

Completion 70%

This second phase focuses on expanding Casa Sonja’s capacity and reach the critical size establishing mechanisms to ensure its long-term sustainability. We aim at an increased capacity of over 100 children and 10 mothers : this expansion also includes building a 300 m² school (up to 150 children enrolled).
> School Development & Educational Program: an on-site school and the development of a comprehensive educational program designed to achieve improved psychological and educational outcomes for residents
> Agricultural Programs & Self-Sufficiency: increase of production and transformation of added value products (sauces, flowers, …)

> Securing Stable Funding: we want to secure the necessary funds for our 2025-2028 plan to be able to focus on operation and improvement of our process of care. We already applied for grants and started discussions to reach that goal. We are also adjusting our organization to fit all PANI’s subsidy on labor cost requirements, to cover 70% of social workers’ salaries.
Strategic Partnerships: developing partnerships with organizations like Real World School and DemoLab aims to strengthen the project’s impact and reach. These partnerships create synergy, integrating education, personal development, and civic engagement. These partnerships also demonstrate Casa Sonja’s holistic vision, empowering its residents to become leaders and engaged citizens and advocate for democracy, shaping a brighter future for themselves and their communities.