Deb McGrath and Barbara Radecki’s Story

We, Deb McGrath and Barbara Radecki, are writing partners and we write a blog called The Middle Ages. In October 2011, we were awarded a Costa Rica Gift of Happiness in which we would travel to Costa Rica for a week with our husbands, Colin Mochrie and Philippe Ayoub, to explore various sites. On our award package itinerary there was a link to Pack For a Purpose. We had never heard of your organization before so we investigated. We were so excited to discover that there was a charitable network specifically designed so that travellers to less developed countries could bring medical, school, and sports supplies, as might be needed. We jumped at the chance to … pack for a purpose! Gathering together as many soccer balls and school supplies as we could fit into our suitcases, we looked forward to meeting the Costa Ricans and learning more about their magnificent country.

Midway through our trip, we spent the day with several members of the Maleku tribe, an indigenous tribe of a few hundred people. This was an extraordinary experience–where their gift to us far exceeded our gift to them. They showed us their village and healing gardens and introduced us to their children. They fed us traditional fare and explained their history and struggle to remain culturally distinct. We were honoured and humbled to be able to share this special day with them and to learn how they live. It felt like a small token of our great appreciation to be able to leave our Pack for a Purpose gifts–which we were assured would be greatly appreciated by the children of the tribe. This is a link to the full story with lots of great photos of our experience: http://themiddle-ages.blogspot.ca/2012/01/our-costa-rica-gift-of-happiness-day-4.html

We were so impressed with your organization that we’ve been telling everyone we know about it–and we will always make a point to Pack for a Purpose. Thank you for doing such great work!