The Asociación de Desarrollo Comunitario de Prevención, Seguridad y Paz del Cantón de Aguirre (COPAZA), DINADECO affiliate, is an organization whose members are religious organizations, entrepreneurs, Scouts, municipal representatives, and other stakeholders in this community. Our purpose is to assume responsibility as citizens for coordinating programs involving violence prevention to improve the security situation and strengthen social peace in Aguirre. This involves creating opportunities for social, economic, and cultural re-entry for young people in Quepos.

Today, eight months after beginning, our organization has more than 700 members. We work together to organize coordination networks that encompass all the districts. From the outset, our effort has been supported and assisted by the Ministry of Justice, through the Vice Minister for Violence Prevention and the institutions represented by the National Commission for Violence Prevention and Promotion of Social Peace, coordinated by the Vice Minister.

With her support, our Association, less than one year old, has achieved the following:

1. An agreement with Fundación PANIAMOR to help to implement a virtual library.

2. The possibility that Intel might contribute to the virtual library.

3. An agreement with the Municipal Council of Aguirre to use the land in the Boca Vieja square to build and develop cultural, sports and training facilities to open up integral development opportunities for boys and girls, teenagers, and young people.

4. An agreement with the Municipal Council of Aguirre to use one hectare of land that currently belongs to the MCA in the La Inmaculada area to develop the re-entry component in our Local Violence Prevention and Promotion of Social Peace Plan, which is targeted at recovering drug addicts and alcoholics.

5. An agreement with the PIMA to use the facilities next to the Quepos pier as the Canton Emergency Center, a hotel school for INA training, a movie theater, a theater, a restaurant, a conference room, an event hall, an open-air basketball court, and gymnastics.

6. Conversations with the UNED to locate a campus in the existing banana worker houses that will be rebuilt with the assistance of the INA and Palma Tica.

7. An application to the INA to create a branch for ongoing training in the canton and the whole Central Pacific region.

8. Installation of an IAFA branch with three professionals permanently stationed in the canton to help alcoholics, drug addicts and their families, which was inaugurated on July 13.

9. An agreement with IAFA for a daytime mobile care unit for drugs and alcohol to be delivered next January.

10. Negotiations with the San Cayetanao Salvando al Alcohólico shelter to set up a branch on CNP land, managed by the Ministry of Justice and donated by the Municipal Council of Aguirre.

11. An agreement with CENECOOP to create a second world cooperative for professional alcoholic and drug addict training (COPRIS) with a pledge to buy the services and manufactured goods.

12. An agreement with the INA about providing the machinery and construction overseers needed for those COPAZA projects and to provide degrees to the people in the community who participate in the construction processes.

13. An application with the Vice Minister of Public Safety to increase the number of police officers and their equipment in our Canton.

14. Applications for tourist policemen to be permanently stationed in our Canton.

15. An application for Immigration and Immigration agents to be permanently stationed in our Canton.

16. A request for training courses to create a community security network.

17. Organization of activities and peaceful marches to focus the country's attention on our canton.

18. Coordination with the Municipality of Palmares and its Security Commission to exchange experiences under the coordination of the Vice Minister of Justice responsible for violence prevention.

19. Support and participation by Palmares in our next Aguirre al Rojo Vivo (Red Hot Aguirre) event.

20. A request with the MINAE to prepare a preventive and corrective canton regulatory plan.

21. Provision of goods for the Casa de Juventud (the Young People’s Home): a boxing ring and a movie projector for children and teenagers.

22. Donation of paint, a computer, and other improvement to the structure where the Quepos Public Library is currently located.

23. Beach cleaning under the coordination of the COPAZA young people.

24. An application with the Ministry of Tourism to turn over the NAOMI facilities for a family recreation and swimming center for our young people.

25. Creation of the youth theater group “Qué Pasa de COPAZA” (What’s Happening at COPAZA) and the young musical group D’KY.

26. Creation of a network of game rooms including chess, ping pong, foosball, and other games to bring young people together so they can participate in a healthy way in developing sports and cultural leadership.

27. A march against domestic violence in coordination with the Canton Network Against Domestic Violence and the Canton Sports Committee.

28. Coordination, participation, and logistical and economic support to celebrate Young People's Day.

29. Preliminary coordination for workshops about the AIDS problem targeting the young people in the canton.

30. Coordination and preparation for the upcoming international symposium on preventing the destruction of rainforests.

31. Collaboration with the Manuel Antonio National Park with the goods needed to sustain the services it provides.

32. Support by more than 100 local companies for the Aguirre al Rojo Vivo Festival.

33. Participation by more than one dozen national companies and cooperatives in the Aguirre al Rojo Vivo Festival.

34. Preparation and collection of data about the canton’s needs in relation to sports, culture, education, professional training, and volunteer work opportunities.

35. Coordination with the Technical High School of Quepos and the Vice Minister of Justice responsible for the prevention area on the “Young People Seeking Young People” survey to identify the young people who are outside the school system.

36. Canton counterpart for logistical and economic support for refreshments, reproduction material, and invitations for the workshops in the National Violence Prevention Plan component called:  “United Communities” organized by the National Commission on Violence Prevention.
37. Application to set up the first nursing station for tourists and workers in the Manuel Antonio National Park.

38. Since there is no Junta de Protección para la Niñez y la Adolescencia (Board to Protect Children and Adolescents – PANI in Spanish) in the canton, work was done so supposedly there would be a commission to support the PANI with a family training program designed to improve the relationships between fathers, mothers, and their children to eradicate domestic violence.

39. Paint, cable, and ceiling fans for the DINADECO facilities.

40. Paint for the Quepos Funeral Chapel.

41. Work by COPAZA and the ASCAMOTI environmental association to monitor environmental destruction in our canton.

42. Cable and ceiling fans for the Casa de la Juventud.

43. New wiring for the Quepos Public Library facilities for the new computer systems and to secure the library to prevent theft, as well as air conditioning so the computers donated by the Ministry of Science and Technology will work properly.

44. The first March On Drugs.

45. The creation of a web page for COPAZA, www.copaza.org, to contain ongoing current information about meetings, agendas, workshops, events, projects and anything involving prevention, security, and peace in our canton. Any member of the community can come in and see the minutes, attend our meetings, and sign up for the association.

46. Coordination with the National Emergency Commission to evaluate dredging the Portalón River.

47. Formation of the first youth group in the Savegre District numbering more than 70 people to be trained by the PAZARTE project of the Ministry of Justice.

48. Formation of a chess group for young people in Portalón with an eye on participating in the National Games in 2008.

49. Boxing workshops for young people in Aguirre with Jaime Barboza, the National Boxing Champion, with an eye on the National Games in 2008.
50. Organization and financing for the Aguirre al Rojo Vivo Festival to promote peace and prevention during the two-week student vacation in July.

51. The first air show with acrobatics and parachuting, including prototypical airplanes invented in Costa Rica.

52. A request to hold the First Government Council extension in the Canton of Aguirre and coordination for the requests by other local entities for the same thing.

53. Collaboration with various schools for primary school graduation and a donation of the minimum infrastructure for operations.

54. Request to the National Commission to coordinate with the INCOP for the free passage of people heading through the Cold Network facilities.

All these projects are the result of the team work and the wonderful assistance provided by the Vice President and Minister of Justice, Laura Chinchilla, and the Vice Minister of Justice, Mayela Coto. With their task force made up of Ivan Dumani, Marianela Ulett, and the members of the National Commission for Violence Prevention and Promotion of Social Peace, they have worked innumerable hours to help make these dreams come true. We would also like to thank Deputy Xinia Nicolás, her assistant, Josefina Montero, and our Presidential Delegate, Víctor Aguilar, for having joined this movement, practicing governance instead of politics.

We would also like to thank all the institutions represented in our canton for all the help they give us and the community in general for their trust and valor in staying with us in this struggle that we have so recently begun.

We would like to thank FUNDECOOPERACION, UNICEF, CENECOOP, GTZ and Fundación Friedrich Ebert, who placed their trust in the leadership of Ms. Laura Chinchilla and Ms. Mayela Coto, and COPAZA for moving this pilot plan forward.

For more information about events, activities, signing up, reports, or complaints, please visit our web page: http://www.copaza.org.