35 disabled women and caregivers in the Nicoya region of Costa Rica are working towards massively improving their quality of life through a workshop hosted by the National Women’s Institute (INAMU).

The workshop aims specifically to help impoverished and disabled women (and/or their caregivers) through a comprehensive training program that focuses on three strategies. The first is technical training designed to bridge the digital gap that many women in less privileged communities experience. The second strategy is formal education and the third is the cultivation of productive projects.

INAMU then channels the interests and needs of the women to other institutions such as the Ministry of Public Education, the National Institute of Learning, or the Ministry of Labor to help them further their specific goals.

One of the most important issues addressed by this workshop is the gap in technological know-how that women in these communities tend to experience. Many of the participants don’t have a computer, to begin with, and if they do, then they likely don’t know how to use them to their advantage.

To deal with this reality, the Association of Nicoyan People with Disabilities (ASONIPED) is working with INAMU to give assistance to women who don’t have the necessary tools at their disposal.  

Teaching women how to use technology helps them continue their education despite the pandemic which forces many to stay home. It also allows for disabled and impoverished women to learn within their home environments, surrounded by their families (who can also participate in the learning).

Moving this process to a virtual learning platform can also open up the program to people who have to traverse long distances to join. Now members have the possibility of clicking into the workshop instead of being on the road all day for a four-hour in-person session.