Children's Development Center

The Children’s Development Center (CDI) is an after-school program that focuses on children ages four and older that live in an at-risk community. Our program includes the following:

Health and Nutrition: Each child receives a nutritious breakfast, lunch and/or snack according to the time of day in which they come to CDI.
Scholastic achievement: We help the children with their homework.
English: Our program includes expanding the children’s English vocabulary.
Biblical Values: Every day we study a story from the Bible and learn an applicable Biblical principal.

Currently we there are 30 kids in our program. They come to the CDI five days a week.

These children experience for 4 hours a day a safe environment with caring adults while their parents get a break from childcare to focus on home tasks or earning a living. We have gained the trust of these children’s parents, built strong relationships with them, and helped some families through crisis.

Over the next 5 years we want to steadily increase the number of children attending CDI, eventually reaching 120 children. As the number of attenders increases, we will need a bigger facility, more staff and volunteers, and more sponsors.

For 2024 we would like:

30 sponsors for the CDI kids. Sponsors donate $60 per month for at least a year and commit to pray for a child. The donations will be used for meals at the CDI, materials and field trips.
A bigger CDI building. We are praying for a place with monthly rent of $1,000 or less.
Sponsors for Culture and Sports Programs - $1000.00 Monthly

Read our neighbor's stories: Azucena and Elizabeth.

Sam Baker and his team from Texas spent 6 weeks in 2021 and 2022 with the kids at CDI. Read Sam's story here.

Check out this video about the Children's Development Center.

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Azucena's Story

Azucena and her husband moved to Costa Rica from Nicaragua when their oldest daughter was just six months old. Now, more than a decade later, they’ve built a life for their family in a close-knit neighborhood on the outskirts of San José. After years of uncertainty and moving between rentals, they’ve lived in their current home for the past 12 years.

Like many of their neighbors, the family lives with limited space and resources. Their home is modest and surrounded by other small houses, all built close together. While financial constraints have made it difficult to expand, Azucena still holds onto the dream of one day building a second floor or owning a house of their own.

Despite the challenges, their neighborhood looks out for one another. When safety concerns have arisen, families have come together to protect their community. Azucena speaks with pride about the way neighbors support each other—offering help when someone is in need, simply because they live side by side.

One of the most meaningful changes in her family’s life came when her youngest son, Aiden, began attending the Children’s Development Center (CDI). Since joining the program, Azucena has seen remarkable growth in him. He’s learned to write his name, become more helpful at home, and gained confidence that’s noticeable even at school. His kindergarten teacher recently told Azucena that he’s one of the most advanced students in the class—something she believes is directly tied to his time at CDI.

Azucena deeply trusts the staff and community at the Center. She’s grateful for the way it’s supported her son—not just academically, but socially and emotionally. It’s made a lasting difference in their lives.

Ellie's Story

Elizabeth's Story

Ellie immigrated to Costa Rica from Nicaragua in 2004. She and her family moved into their current home and remodeled it to make it their own. While the municipality provides electricity and water access, infrastructure in the neighborhood remains limited—sewage, for example, still flows untreated into the nearby river.

She is the mother of two boys, Justin (14) and Saul (7), and like many parents in her community, she worries about the environment her children are growing up in. The presence of drugs, theft, and violence in the area has been an ongoing concern. “There are people who use drugs openly, even around children,” she says. “And while we’ve made improvements as a community, there’s still more work to be done.”

Ellie dreams of a better future for her children—a future where they can finish school, grow into responsible adults, and live in a safer, more united neighborhood. “My heart hurts when I see the young people here making bad decisions,” she shares. “But I believe we can change that—especially with the support we’ve found at the Children’s Development Center.”

She’s seen the difference CDI makes not just in her own family, but across the community. Children return home happier, more motivated, and more engaged in their studies. “The kids at CDI are doing better in school. They’re more respectful and responsible. You can see the difference—especially in how they treat each other.”

As a mother who works, Ellie is grateful for the role CDI plays in her sons’ lives. It offers a safe, supportive place for children to learn, grow, and be kids. “Most of us don’t have much time during the day with our children,” she explains. “But at CDI, they get help with homework, they learn values, and they’re surrounded by people who care.”

Ellie hopes more families will get involved in the program. She believes early investment in children’s development—both academically and spiritually—can shape their future in powerful ways. “I want more kids to hear the Biblical values taught at CDI while they’re still young and open to learning.”

Reflecting on her journey, Ellie expresses deep gratitude for the people behind CDI. “We’ve been blessed,” she says. “Whenever I have a day off, I stay in the neighborhood and ask the kids what they think about CDI. They’re always happy. And as moms, we’re thankful. We need that peace of mind—and our kids need that kind of support.”

Sam's Story

Sam

In the summer of 2022, Sam Baker and a team from his church spent 10 weeks serving alongside Great Commission Church in San José, Costa Rica. Their work focused on two key areas: a university student outreach called Hangout, and the Children’s Development Center (CDI), a local ministry supporting families in a nearby Nicaraguan immigrant community.

The CDI operates out of a small rented building near a low-income neighborhood. It offers tutoring, music and English lessons, discipleship, and—most importantly—a safe, loving space for children to spend time before and after school. Though still relatively new, the Center has already had a transformative impact on students' academic performance, behavior, and family life.

Sam’s team supported the local church by helping run five CDI sessions each week. Under the leadership of church members, they tutored children, taught English, shared Bible lessons, and led games. The focus wasn’t just academic help—it was empowerment. The children were encouraged to believe in their ability to learn, grow, and overcome. Through consistent time in Scripture, many memorized 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 and reflected on the meaning of love in action.

“We weren’t there to fix anything,” Sam shared. “We were there to reinforce what the church was already doing—to walk alongside them, not ahead of them.”

Playtime offered moments for mentorship and relationship building. Over the course of the summer, Sam and his team noticed a shift: children became more respectful, more trusting, and more encouraging toward one another. “We saw some of the anger start to soften,” he said. “We started to see the pain underneath—and we saw love beginning to heal it.”

A highlight of the trip was taking the children to a gospel-centered summer camp, where many of them chose to put their faith in Christ.

What stood out most to Sam was the strength of the church’s local leadership and their intentional approach to ministry. “Their philosophy is built around empowering members to serve in ways that align with their gifts,” he said. “It’s not about programming—it’s about people living out the gospel in everyday life.”

The experience left a lasting impression on the entire team. “We left humbled, challenged, and full of vision,” Sam said. “The church in San José is doing hard, beautiful work. We came home encouraged to live more fully and sacrificially for the kingdom of God.”