Isabela Kimmel, a Girl Scout from Anaheim, CA, was a participant in our Girl Scout Service Challenge and headed the amazing project of building a library for a rural isolated community in Costa Rica. “I went to the Leadership in Andes: Peru [Girl Scout] Destination last summer and I was inspired to focus my Girl Scout Gold Award project on helping children in other countries. Upon acceptance in this Destination, and alongside the help and support from Outward Bound, we decided that we are going to build a small library for the Bajo Cuen elementary school,” said Bella. The school is located in a remote area with no electricity, access to books or school supplies. The community has received very little help from governmental institutions. Outward Bound Costa Rica mobilized to provide materials and paint so that Girls Scout would be able to build shelves and decorate walls. Bella mobilized her own community and other Girl Scouts, brought library materials and gathered donations of Spanish books. She ended up bringing 7 boxes and two suitcases of books to Costa Rica, along with school supplies. Since the only school supplies the Bajo Juen community had were the ones teachers had bought themselves, Bella also made an effort to get donations of paper, pens, crayons, scissors and other school supplies, along with flashlights since the community has no electricity. “The cool thing about this is that future groups that come to this Destination will bring more over time so the Library can keep growing and help can keep coming!” concluded Bella. For more course photos, visit and Like our Facebook page. To learn more about our Summer and Semester Programs head to our website or contact our office.