Casa Sonja
Costa Rica is a tropical dream. But for some children, domestic violence and abuse have turned it into a nightmare. Casa Sonja is a safe space surrounded by the greatest and most nurturing healer of all: Mother Nature. Under her guidance, they are now able to grow and soon to live a life without fear.
The right conditions
Casa Sonja is a loving and eco-friendly shelter for children who are victims of domestic violence in Costa Rica. It’s a safe space for children and women to heal, learn, and thrive, in harmony with the surrounding healing forces of Mother Nature. The space is currently spread across 5 acres of protected land. The land currently has an edible forest, a dormitory, fresh water and electricity and mother’s houses – for mother’s of children in residence, and much more.
Entrepreneur
Sonja Bautista graduated from Santo Dominico where she worked in a hotel group. She was promoted to train a team in San Jose Palacio, 22 years ago. Soon afterwards, she opened a spa in Santa Teresa. As she attended the church in Cobano, she was moved by the needs of the children and mothers of the area. She felt a calling to take action. She relocated to Cobano to dedicate her resources to feeding over 100 children and single mothers in poverty.
Strong and resilient, she dreamed of hosting the abused children into a loving and eco-friendly shelter, bringing them protection and hope. In her own words: “I want these children to know that there’s hope, to dream that anything is possible, to give them the opportunity that I never had.”
Results
We have started regenerating the land, planting over 2,000 trees, including hundreds of fruit trees, building a greenhouse that delivers 200 plants a week to the children, and constructing the first dormitory to accommodate our current population of 32 children.
Over the past three years, the organization has operated a shelter for victims of family and sexual abuse in the Cobano region. The shelter currently hosts approximately 32 children and 4 mothers, supported by 10 employees and various volunteers, working closely with PANI (The National Institute for Children).
While we aim for a boarding capacity of 100 children at a time, the actual capacity exceeds this number as many children return to their extended families. Current children receive psychological support and educational assistance. Despite arriving with academic deficiencies, many show tremendous progress, with several becoming top students in the local school.
Mission
100
children capacity
10
mothers housing
5
Hectares of land fully and sustainably utilized with green house, school, dormitory, kitchen and infrastructure
Mission
100
children capacity
10
mothers housing
5
Hectares of land fully and sustainably utilized with green house, school, dormitory, kitchen and infrastructure
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