Ocean

Water for Living is our water project in Drake Bay, Costa Rica. It is a beautiful town on the OSA Peninsula, in the south part of the pacific coast. This town is primarily a tourist town that developed in the last 50 to 60 years. It has been developing so fast and distant from other major cities that the community has had to create and fix their entire current infrastructure.

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It has not been an easy thing, most people here have come to find jobs and/or create their own businesses. They work long hours and have little to no breaks; they are driven and focused on making money. While they have managed to establish a successful community there are a lot of issues and challenges they still face. A major one is the water: the current water that comes into their home is not clean and sometimes comes out brown during the rainy season. They sometimes run out in the dry season, and many homes now have their own tanks to save some water for when it is brown or not available.

Although most locals drink the water from faucet knowing it is not clean, tourists and some families mostly buy processed water in plastic bottles or jugs. While the efforts to keep the beaches and town clean have improved, plastic and trash still exists in the water and in the town. And to make matters worse, the town has a black water problem in the access points close to the center of town, the schools, and the community clinic. Since there are no regulations being enforced in the area, a lot of waste is dumped through pipes that go off into the ground, ending in the ocean.

And I think we can do better, for the ocean and all of us. I hope we can all wake up and realize that the ocean is very much alive, that it’s a part of who we are. We need to open all our hearts and explore what the ocean gives to us.

On my last full day in Drake, I visited a nearby beach called Cocolitos. It is a small, but beautiful space where land meets the ocean in all its rawness. I stared into the ocean, planted my two feet within its grasp and felt its energy. I become a little afraid, for the energy was neither peaceful nor relaxing. The ocean is fierce, it pushes us and it pulls at us. In its fluidity and movement it has direction and strength. I felt humble, I felt vulnerable, I felt part of something I did not understand. My body felt strong and relaxed. I realized my habit to plan and control, and I let go.

 

If I am the ocean, my energy, my intentions, have direction, they have power, and they have movement. We just have to be clean, and we have to be true.

As I walked back through the jungle, back to town, I realized that in all its pushing and pulling, almost aggressively, the ocean had cleansed me. Its intentions, while they seemed wild and tough, were pure and empowering. We all need the ocean to be alive at its highest potential, we all deserve to be in the world and be our highest potential.

The children of Drake Bay need our support. They are doing the best they can, but it is just not enough. We all need help in some form. LiveGlobally, through supporters, is committed to improving the access of clean drinking water for the children at the schools and to assist in facilitating better communication and action in order for the community to improve the health of its members and provide better opportunities for all.