Nutrition Center
In her own words, Olga says that “what I like about working in FundaVida is the opportunity to serve God. For me, serving God is being willing to work in any community, in any situation, with whatever means possible. Chris Dearnley’s mission to help children and families at risk has been a true inspiration to me. You could say that his example unleashed a passion inside of me to serve with all my heart, just as Chris, Eladio and Blanca do today.”
“My name is Mariana Ortiz, I am 64, married with 7 grown children, and I live in Linda Vista. I have cooked in each of FundaVida’s Nutrition Centers over the last 4 years, and I now serve in Linda Vista. What I enjoy most about working with FundaVida is the unity I have with the children. It is a blessing to serve them with each dish of food.”
In 2005, at the annual Christmas party, Marianna became the day’s hero. FundaVida had brought 200 kids to Veritas University and it was a fantastic day of fun for all. Unfortunately during this event, a child was climbing on a playground and began to fall. When Marianna saw that the boy slip, she ran to help, but soon realized that she could not get there in time. So, Marianna slid her leg under the falling child. In the process of breaking his fall, Marianna lost her toe nail. As she puts it, “I never thought about being at risk, I just cared about the boy. When I think about it, working in FundaVida really makes us put others before ourselves, as Jesus commanded.”
Rosa Solano Badilla, is 48 years old and has 5 children. She lives in Concepciòn de Alajuelita and has served in the Nutrition Centers since 2001. Initially, Rosa came with her children as a recipient of the Nutrition Centers, helping clean after the meals. She did the job so well, that Blanca decided to hire her full-time as a cook.
Rosa enjoys serving the children with all that she can provide.
Olga Solano is 27 years old, has three children and lives in Concepciòn de Alajuelita.
“What I enjoy most about working with FundaVida is the opportunity to share time with these children, talking, laughing and just listening to them. Through the years I have had many great experiences, but one that I will never forget happened just a couple years ago. We were delivering Christmas presents in the community of Linda Vista. We had the chance to visit several of the families that attend FundaVida’s programs and it was a blessing to share in the the kids’ joy and gratefulness.
In the process, I found out that one of the families walked 1 hour every day to visit our center at FundaVida. They did not have electricity or water and their homes had dirt floors. Despite all of that they lacked, this family was beyond happy to be a part of the FundaVida family.”
