This past couple of weeks has seen some strange occurrences with regard to the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Representatives from both sides of the argument, for the first time, actually started to agree on things!! This was a major breakthrough, and since then there has been an even bigger shock. This came when Pro-CAFTA president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, completed a U-Turn from being opposed to the proposed referendum on whether CAFTA should be ratified by his country, to firstly supporting it, then fast tracking the process to get it started asap!

Thanks to Arias and an Executive Branch decree submitted to the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, the binding referendum on the future of CAFTA in Costa Rica could take place as early as August this year. It hasn't come too soon in the eyes of many, as Costa Rica are the only country left out of the 7 that the agreement involves to not yet ratify the pact.

This decision to hold the referendum has been met with widespread support from all over, including both Anti and Pro CAFTA activists, Church leaders, bus company owners and indeed anyone else who has an opinion on the subject. It has truly ended alot of the conflict and now it is down to the people of Costa Rica to decide the future. Something that many people see as the solution that should have taken place long ago!

This will be the first ever referendum on a free trade agreement in history, not only of Costa Rica, but of the whole globe, and will be the first referendum of any kind in Costa Rica, since inhabitants of the country voted for independence from Spain in 1821.

We all know that as we get older we are going to be able to do less for ourselves, and there will come a time when we need help from outsiders whether we like it or not. This is why a 27 yr old company from the United States has set up in Costa Rica to help out the older generation of this developing country.

Homewatch Caregivers Costa Rica will provide a range of services for the elderly from in home nursing and hygiene to helping out with grocery shopping and laundry. Indeed they will undertake any task which their customers are now unable to do for themselves, or simply be there to help out and make sure that they are able to do everything that they need to.

The friendly and highly trained staff can be arranged to check in hourly to make sure things are ok and help with any mobility issues etc, or can be hired to stay for longer periods of time depending on individual needs. This great service has been welcomed by many people and is set to be a big help to many!