Sixty years beating with a single heart: the Ciudad de los Niños, the daily miracle that Cartago gives to Costa Rica. Six decades ago the Augustinian Recollects took up the baton of a dream born in 1958: that no Costa Rican boy would ever again feel the outdoors as his only dwelling place. Today Ciudad de los Niños celebrates 60 years of fraternal life, technical formation and shared prayer, a history written with tears, freshly baked bread, sparkling welds and -above all- opportunities.
An intuition born in the street
Father Luis Madina Michelena arrived from Spain in 1958 and was marked by the more than eight thousand children surviving on the sidewalks of San José. His response was audacious: to found a city where broken children could find a roof, a table and a future. Providence showed itself immediately: the presbyter José Francisco López del Corral bequeathed the 136 hectares of the La Jirara farm in Agua Caliente de Cartago. That is where it all began.
With few resources and a lot of faith, in 1962 Father Madina settled with the first group of boys. It was not easy: there was a lack of food, clothing and government support. Exhausted, he decided to leave… and a new “wink” appeared.wink“from God.
The providential relief: the Augustinian Recollects (1965)
While waiting for visas for Mexico, some young Recollect friars helped in the parish of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, Alajuela. On May 31, 1965, the bishop entrusted them with the direction of the work. They encountered debts, impatient suppliers and boys angry at the departure of their founder.
Father Izaguirre, the first Recollect administrator, regained public confidence with tireless work and transparency. Vegetable gardens were planted, a bakery was opened and the production was sold to sustain the house. Little by little the city breathed again.
Learning by doing: when Augustinian pedagogy becomes a workshop
Today the City welcomes 500 young people from 12 to 22 years of age and is building a new residence for 130 more. The training combines:
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Welding, electrical, carpentry, agriculture and livestock workshops (nationally recognized).
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Specialties in precision mechanics, electromechanics, light vehicle repair and agribusiness, with a technical degree and internship.
All this without neglecting the spiritual dimension: interior silence, liturgy, psychological accompaniment and community life.
“We offer them sports, culture, personal accompaniment and first-class technical training,” says Friar Jesús María Ramos Leza, the current director.
Voice of experience: 60 years of exclusive delivery
“What does it mean that we’ve been here 60 years? It means betting on an exclusive dedication and giving them the basics to get ahead”, summarizes Friar Jesús María. About a hundred collaborators – teachers, counselors, human formators – accompany the children day and night, listening, understanding and pointing out horizons.
Mission, vision and values that continue to guide us
Our Mission
A non-profit social welfare institution, run by the Augustinian Recollects, which from the Augustinian pedagogy and the “learning by doing” methodology “learning by doing provides integral formation to adolescents and young people, helping them to discover their talents and to develop Christian and humanist values.
Our vision
To be a national and international model of integral education that generates personal, technical and academic opportunities, promoting family unity and a supportive and inclusive society.
Our values
Interiority, Truth, Freedom, Friendship, Community and Justice in Solidarity. Values that invite us to move from noise to fruitful silence, from indifference to friendship, from selfishness to communion, and from exclusion to committed mercy.
Sixty years later: the work continues to grow
From the inauguration of the chapel in 1998 to the creation of the Colegio Técnico Agustiniano in 2007, the City has not stopped innovating. Today, the second stage of the campus is advancing with the slogan “Help us to help”: new roads, gymnasium, swimming pool and professional workshops. Many professors are former students – palpable proof of a virtuous circle that multiplies hope.
La Ciudad de los Niños celebrates 60 years beating to the rhythm of the Gospel and of the “one heart and one soul turned towards God”, as St. Augustine said. of St. Augustine. Every desk, every lathe and every hectare of cultivated land tells the same story: when the young person’s inner self is cared for, the whole of society flourishes.
To celebrate this anniversary is not to look back with nostalgia, but to renew a commitment: to continue opening doors so that more young people discover that their lives are worthwhile, that their future counts and that, with everyone’s help, dreams can also be achieved.