Volunteers in Costa Rica

The NRECA International Foundation, in partnership with several Georgia cooperatives, has made a concrete difference in the lives of rural residents of Costa Rica by helping to bring electricity to impoverished regions of the country. All of the Foundation’s efforts, however, wouldn’t be possible without the dedication and hard work of our selfless volunteers.

Linemen from several Georgia cooperatives, including Coweta-Fayette EMC, Greystone Power, and Irwin EMC and linemen from the Costa Rican cooperative COOPELESCA have volunteered their time and labor to encourage economic development through rural electrification. In 2005 and 2006, cooperative members from the U.S. and Costa Rica worked together to bring electricity to Nicaraguan refugees along the Costa Rica/Nicaragua border.

The linemen spent long weeks climbing poles and pulling wire in hot and humid weather. Though the work was intense, each lineman found the task rewarding. "Each day we worked, the people watched us from their homes and driveways, knowing they would soon have electricity for the first time," says Pat Long of Coweta-Fayette EMC. Local residents were thankful to the volunteers, and made fresh-squeezed juice and sweet bread to show their gratitude.

The partnerships between the cooperatives in different countries and the residents of rural Costa Rica paid off. Refugees can now create a sustainable local economy in a previously desolate region. Volunteers who participated in setting up the distribution line got a lot out of the experience, too. "I'd definitely go again," says Keith Bailey of Greystone Power. David Tillery of Coweta-Fayette EMC adds, “"I built friendships that will always be in my heart and never forgotten. That's why I hope to go back someday."