HEALTH AND SAFETY
MEASURES FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY AT THE INSTITUTE FOR CENTRAL AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT STUDIES (ICADS)
We, at ICADS, have for the past twenty-five years worked with an established set of rules and regulations that aim to significantly lower the risk of injury or illness to students who participate in our programs.
We have defined possible risks to students under three main categories:
1. Accidents
2. Personal Security Issues
3. The Risk of Illness
These topics and others are covered during orientation when students arrive at ICADS. We have found that by educating our students as thoroughly as possible regarding all possible risks within each of the above categories, and combining this education with careful monitoring, we have successfully managed to significantly reduce their risk. Much of the credit goes to the students themselves. Our students tend to be serious, intellectually rigorous, goal-directed adults who understand that any security plan depends on their willingness to trust our judgment and follow the rules. We are proud of our exemplary safety record.
ICADS reserves the right to dismiss from its programs any student who willfully violates our rules regarding safety and health.
ACCIDENT PREVENTION
One of the leading causes of injury in any study abroad program is accidents.
TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
One of the most common serious accidents in all study abroad programs results from car accidents (car crashes or being hit by a vehicle while walking). Costa Rica has one of the highest per capita death rates from traffic fatalities in the world. This is due to the following factors:
1. Too many badly maintained cars running on poorly maintained roads
2. Too many inexperienced drivers with no formal training in driver's education
3. Too few traffic police to sanction those who violate traffic laws
Our students are expressly forbidden to rent cars, to drive cars, or to ride in cars with people who are not members of our staff or are not home stay families. The exceptions are publicly certified and licensed bus and taxi services. They are further prohibited from using bicycles or motorbikes. All extra transportation contracted by ICADS is checked for qualification of drivers, condition of vehicles, and insurance. We occasionally grant special permission to students working on public health projects in the countryside to ride as passengers while making home visits. This is how the visits are carried out in rural areas where there is little traffic or risk of collisions. The use of bicycles is permitted under very special circumstances and on a case-by-case basis.
These transportation rules significantly minimize the odds of involvement in traffic accidents. They also provide the extra benefit of preventing students from getting lost or disoriented, or being alone in a vehicle at anytime during the day or night where a mechanical failure could leave them vulnerable to passers-by. Students are fully informed about the traffic situation and are cautioned, even about the way they must cross streets.
**The no driving rule does not apply to non-university students in the Intensive Spanish Program. These students tend to be older and prefer to assess for themselves whether or not to "risk it" on the road.
DROWNINGS
Many Costa Rican beaches have riptides. Available statistics place the number of drowning deaths at approximately 250 people each year. Most victims are foreigners. Costa Ricans generally understand and heed the risks while many visitors do not. Riptides, or rip currents, can quickly sweep even the best swimmers out to sea. Riptides are not visible from the water's surface so they cannot be easily detected.
The ocean waters are always emerald green, warm and inviting. While it is futile to try to prohibit swimming at beaches that are among some of the most beautiful in the world, we have found that we can drastically reduce the risk of drowning by giving students a list of beaches we know to be safe and asking them to swim only there. We educate students about the riptides and ask students to never swim alone, never to swim after consuming any alcoholic beverages, and to assume that all ocean waters, even in tranquil bays and inlets, can be potentially dangerous.
Students are required to sign-out each weekend they are away. They must tell us where they are going. We review the sign-out sheet and selectively reinforce specific safety information regarding their particular destination.
OTHER SMALL ACCIDENTS WHICH COULD OCCUR
- Stepping into holes in sidewalks. We recommend closed-toed shoes for movement around both city and countryside activities.
- Slipping and sliding on algae-covered sidewalks during the rainy season. Stay away from smooth-soled shoes and flip-flops.
- Minor falls while hiking. Students are not allowed to hike in wilderness areas without a trained guide. This protects against major falls or getting lost in the wilderness.
These last few things are mentioned because an injury as minor as a sprain can negatively affect range of movement and limit one’s ability to benefit from the study experience.
PERSONAL SECURITY ISSUES
SERVICES PROVIDED WHICH LOWER RISK FACTORS
1. Participants in all programs are provided with an identity card, which provides emergency contact information, including the host family's physical location and the home telephone numbers and those of at least two ICADS staff members. The cards are designed so that even a student with little Spanish can point out to any taxi driver his or her desired location. This minimizes the risk of students getting lost, should they find themselves in unfamiliar areas. Students can always reach us at any hour of the day or night.
2. ICADS participants are provided with a locker (please purchase or bring your own lock), where they can store valuables such as passport, money, and plane tickets, to avoid walking the streets with these items.
3. Students are always placed in host families within a ten-minute bus ride or a thirty-minute walk to ICADS. Each student is provided with a map that clearly indicates the location of his/her home as well as the location of the houses of all other students in his/her cluster. The fact that students are placed in close proximity to one another increases safety by allowing them to walk together and to share the required taxi ride when returning home at night, which is quite inexpensive when they can share the fare.
4. Upon arrival students are given a tour of their area in San Pedro and the San Jose city area. Their host families show them the bus routes in and out of the city to their neighborhoods and instruct them about safe and unsafe areas within the city itself.
5. ICADS provides students with a comprehensive safety orientation to talk about all of these as well as other safety issues, and to discuss emergency procedures.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HOST FAMILY IN THE SECURITY PROCESS
Each student lives with a local host family who not only feeds and supports the student, but also helps to monitor her/his whereabouts at all times. If a student does not return home on schedule for any reason, we are immediately notified. Families also help us monitor the state of the physical health and emotional well being of each student. They inform us of any unusual incident which may have occurred that might have frightened or alarmed a student, as well as any sign of ill health. ICADS' home stay coordinator is a Costa Rican born, US educated, fully bilingual, trained psychologist who is experienced in matching students with the most appropriate family. Furthermore, she has educated our families about the importance of reinforcing low-risk patterns of behavior.
We work hard to place students with families who represent the typical Costa Rican home to greater enhance students’ cultural experience, while prioritizing safety. We feel that it is absolutely essential that our students always feel safe and comfortable within their homes.
SECURITY WHILE AWAY FROM ICADS
As semester students move into their placement sites outside of San Jose or to our other country sites, they know they must notify their ICADS staff coordinator each time they leave their site and give him/her full information on their destination and when they will return. Each country has at least one full time coordinator who is responsible for every aspect of the student's life. Additionally, each student has an on-site supervisor who reports to the country coordinator. Staffers make regular calls and visits. ICADS routinely keeps a fully updated written log and sign-out sheet on the travels of each student when he/she is away from his or her site. Again, if the student should fail to sign out, we call the home stay family for the information and discuss the lapse with the student upon his or her return.
During the first week of the term, all semester students are given additional workshops on personal security as well as a workshop on sexual harassment and the prevention of sexual assaults.
Rules are written down, handed out and discussed, first, at the initial orientation meetings at the beginning of the term, and again, after the initial four week period when students are preparing to move to their new families and sites in either Costa Rica or Nicaragua. After the first week at the site, each student meets together with her/his country coordinator and the on-site supervisor to develop a learning contract that specifies the number of work hours, structured tasks and projects to be completed. The meeting also serves to clarify the goals and expectations of all parties. This signed contract formalizes the commitment the student makes to the organization.
Students doing internships in Costa Rica and Nicaragua choose from multiple regions within these countries. ICADS staff continually monitors safety-related specifics in both of these countries, and may need to restrict some area options periodically.
PREVENTION OF ILLNESS:
COSTA RICA
Costa Rica is a country with high health standards. The most common maladies students suffer are sunburns, minor skin allergies and infected insect bites. Our host families provide a balanced healthy diet which conforms to the particular dietary needs of each student whether she/he is vegan, vegetarian, or on a health restricted diet. We have never had a student become ill from anything eaten in his or her own home.
Students become more at risk for intestinal infections while traveling. They are carefully instructed never to buy food sold on the street or in large outdoor markets where sanitation facilities for keeping food clean are not readily available. They are discouraged from drinking tap water in small towns without good water purifying systems and are encouraged to carry bottled water with them at all times while away from San Jose.
Students are also given a simple formula to treat their own mild cases of diarrhea, should they occur. If the diarrhea should persist for more than 24 hours, students are taken to a doctor or clinic to be examined for any possible infection. An ICADS staff member always accompanies students who need medical attention (unless the student prefers to go alone). The staff member serves as a support to the student and will serve as translator if necessary. ICADS uses the two best private hospital clinics in Costa Rica. Most, but not all doctors in Costa Rica speak English.
NICARAGUA
In Nicaragua where health standards are not as high, our families are trained in basic rules of food handling and nutrition. All water in host families’ houses is purified. The diet is somewhat limited but basically healthy. Students do get bored with their steady diet of rice and beans but realize that "when in Nicaragua, one eats what the Nicas eat." Students are encouraged to supplement the Nica diet with extra fruits and vegetables as often as possible. In Nicaragua, students are discouraged from eating out.
Students in Nicaragua are asked to submit fecal specimens for parasite tests at any sign of fatigue, diarrhea or nausea. If a parasite is found, it is nearly always common and easily cured with medication.
Depending on the season and the area where they live, students working in Nicaragua may be required to take malaria medication. Students are instructed on appropriate clothing (light colored long pants and sleeves at dusk) and are encouraged to use repellent frequently to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. All students who travel to Nicaragua are required to take along a mosquito netting for sleeping. Quick diagnosis leads to successful treatment for both malaria and dengue fever.
The areas in Nicaragua where students work and live are restricted to the areas in and around Matagalpa, Esteli and Condega, where health facilities are good, and where our coordinators live and work. Occasionally, special permission is given to students to work in Managua. Coordinators can reach any student quickly and handle any problem with dispatch. If students do need medical attention in Nicaragua, their country coordinator always accompanies them.
NATURAL DISASTERS
ICADS has fully ready evacuation plans should students ever need to be evacuated from Nicaragua or Costa Rica for any reason. When hurricane Mitch hit Nicaragua in 1998, our combined staff in Costa Rica and Nicaragua was able to evacuate all eleven students there safely within 48 hours. This was at least two days sooner than the United States Embassy was able to evacuate any other US citizen.
As in all countries in the world, there are many factors and situations in daily life which are out of the control of us all, irrespective of country, but to the extent that we can prevent and foresee potentially dangerous situations, we work very hard to inform, educate and mitigate against risk.
FOR THE FAMILY
We realize that it is often difficult to have a loved one travelling far away from home, and we know that it takes a lot of trust in both the student, and in ICADS to support the student in his or her adventures and learning experiences. We continually work to do all we can to deserve your trust.
When we do our jobs well, our students do not tend to feel oppressed or inhibited by the rules we ask them to follow. The idea is to allow our students, irrespective of program, to get out and experience Central America for themselves – to learn and to grow – while also staying safe.
We are available and willing to address any questions and concerns you may have regarding our programs or policies. We remain continually open to feedback about how we might improve any aspect of our programs.
Anthony B. Chamberlain, Ph.D.
Director-ICADS Programs
Costa Rica/Nicaragua
