Some organizations do one thing well. CEPIA does many things well, and has been doing them quietly in Guanacaste for over two decades.

Based in Huacas de Santa Cruz, CEPIA — Centro de Educación y Prevención Integral para el Adulto — is a Costa Rican nonprofit that works at the intersection of women's rights, childhood development, education, and community health. 

Their programs reach families across the cantons of Santa Cruz and Carrillo, including communities here in Villareal and throughout the Gold Coast that many visitors never see.

CEPIA runs one of Guanacaste's most comprehensive after-school programs, reaching children and teenagers across the cantons of Santa Cruz and Carrillo. Their Children's Daycare Center (CIDAI) serves 110 children aged 2–17 living in high-risk situations, offering daily education, nutrition, psychosocial support, arts, and sports in a safe, structured environment.

The Sunflower Group provides specialized support for children with additional needs — physical therapy, speech therapy, art and music classes, and social activities designed for full inclusion. For families in acute need, CEPIA distributes school supply kits and uniforms to over 1,000 children at the start of every school year, and Christmas gifts to hundreds more.

Beyond children, CEPIA runs professional training programs for 600 adults annually — courses in English, cooking, surf instruction, entrepreneurship, pool maintenance, bartending, and more, many in collaboration with Costa Rica's National Apprentice Institute (INA). A qualified attorney provides free legal advice to victims of violence, covering immigration, labor rights, and domestic abuse cases. Five psychologists offer counseling to children, teenagers, and adults navigating trauma.

CEPIA's women's programming is built on four interconnected pillars. Women's Circles offer a safe, recurring space for reflection, skill-building, and mutual support. The Female Entrepreneurs program gives women business workshops, individual guidance, and material support to start or grow their own livelihoods. The Women's Committee supports unemployed mothers in extreme poverty with training, volunteer work, and a weekly food basket.

The fourth and most recognized pillar is Vida Mujer — a reproductive health initiative providing free copper IUD insertions, pap smears, and sexual health education to women in rural communities with limited or no access to gynecological care. For $80, Vida Mujer gives a woman 10 years of contraception and, for many, the only pap smear of her lifetime. The program has now reached over 1,500 women across Guanacaste.

CEPIA is a nationally accredited organization operating in formal collaboration with Costa Rica's most important public institutions. Their partnerships span:

PANI (National Child Welfare Agency) — joint identification, counseling, and reporting of child abuse and neglect. Ministry of Public Education (MEP) — permission to operate inside schools, teacher training programs, and educational initiatives. National Women's Institute (INAMU) — collaboration on women's rights and gender-based violence response. Public Force (National Police) — crisis intervention training for officers, coordinated response to domestic violence. Ministry of Health / CCSS / EBAIS clinics — medical coordination for mental health, suicide prevention, and at-risk cases. Ministry of Justice — collaboration with the civic center of Santa Cruz. IMAS (Social Welfare Institute) — partial funding for CEPIA's daycare center.

At the international level, CEPIA works with ACNUR (the UN Refugee Agency) to support refugees in difficult situations. The organization has also recently expanded its extracurricular programming in Brasilito and surrounding communities, adding Hip-Hop, Circus, String Ensemble, and English groups — reaching 38 additional young people in 2025 alone.

Sol Gallery's relationship with CEPIA is rooted in a conviction Alex Starre has held since before the gallery opened: that art belongs to a community, not above it. CEPIA represents exactly the kind of work that makes a community worth showing up for.

That relationship takes several forms. Sol Gallery has contributed original artworks — by Alex Starre and other represented artists — to CEPIA's fundraising events throughout the year.

These pieces have been auctioned to supporters, with proceeds going directly to CEPIA's programs. Over time, this has become one of the ways Sol Gallery participates in the community beyond its walls.

The gallery's most visible collaboration with CEPIA is Voces de Mujer — an annual event that brings live art, movement, music, and community together inside the gallery in support of CEPIA's Vida Mujer program. What started as a single night has become a tradition, and each edition builds on the last.

Every piece below tells part of the same story, told differently. Works by Alex Starre have been donated directly to CEPIA — offered at their fundraising auctions as outright gifts to the cause. Works by other Sol Gallery artists were created or offered with their sale proceeds going to CEPIA, a choice each artist made in the spirit of the community they are part of. The retail values shown reflect what each work is worth — and what has been given.

CEPIA accepts donations directly through their website. Financial donations are tax-deductible in Costa Rica and internationally through their partner associations. If you want your contribution to reach Vida Mujer specifically, include a note indicating that when you give — the program runs on targeted support.

They also welcome volunteers, medical professionals, and corporate sponsors. If you are a doctor, dentist, psychologist, or other health professional with time to offer, CEPIA has a track record of putting that expertise directly into the hands of people who need it. If you represent a company, their corporate partnership program offers structured ways to build a lasting relationship.

For those who want to give through art: keep an eye on Sol Gallery's events calendar. When Sol Gallery hosts or donates to a fundraiser in support of CEPIA, original artwork goes directly to the cause — and you take something home that carries the story of that evening forward.