We are excited to announce that AMIGOS received a grant from the AllPeopleBeHappy Foundation to advance programming opportunities for Latin American students!

Through the foundation’s Fellows Program, Costa Rica Coordinator Nicol Chinchilla will be piloting new initiatives in the Pérez Zeledón region of Costa Rica.

Originally from Pérez Zeledón, Nicol considers herself a change-maker, passionate about contributing to the development of rural communities while also helping to preserve their essence of traditional living. In 2016, Nicol received her B.A. in Environmental Studies and Business & Nonprofit Management from Earlham College, with focuses in Environmental Politics and Women’s Empowerment. During her time at Earlham, Nicol had the opportunity to attend Semester at Sea, a 4-months program that travels to 12 countries around the world.

Nicol began with AMIGOS as a Project Supervisor in Chimborazo, Ecuador and in 2017 Nicol was the Project Director for the Matagalpa, Nicaragua Project. For the last two years Nicol has worked with indigenous and farming community-based organizations in Central America providing capacity building training. She is also committed to social entrepreneurship and during her free time enjoys working with women entrepreneurs guiding them towards their own paths of leadership.

Since our founding, AMIGOS has been committed to providing transformational opportunities for youth in our host countries:

• Through our Youth Ambassadors Program, AMIGOS runs exchanges for students from Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay
• In the new Community Impact Project, at least 2 Latin American students will join each leadership cohort alongside peers from the U.S.
• Each summer we sponsor approximately 40 Latin American students to take part in the Summer Immersion Program.

Nicol will be expanding these opportunities for Costa Rican youth through this new grant.

Nicol will work towards year-round programming for Costa Rican young leaders, the first year-round programming available to Latin American youth in our organization’s history!

She shares, “I am extremely passionate about this initiative with Costa Rican youth, and I am looking forward to developing a mentorship-driven program to create a transformative leadership experience for our youth!”

In the era of COVID-19, AMIGOS is finding new ways to engage youth across the Americas in leadership, service, and cultural exchange.

Thank you AllPeopleBeHappy for your recognition of Nicol Chinchilla and your partnership in expanding opportunities for Latin America youth.