Monday, May 19, 2008

20th Anniversary Reflections: Carlos Murrillo

Carlos Murrillo is the president and founder of Expocert and worked with Bill Fishbein and Coffee Kids to create the scholarship program Fundacion Hijos del Campo in Costa Rica in 1995. In this entry, he talks about working with Bill Fishbein and Coffee Kids to develop the foundation that has provided thousands of Costa Rican students with educational support and hope for a brighter future.

“We first spoke to Bill Fishbein in 1993 and we discussed rural development, corporate responsibility in the coffee industry and the coffee-growing regions.

“It resulted in us inviting Bill and Coffee Kids to Costa Rica. It was in a meeting with Bill that we institutionalized the scholarship program Fundacion Hijos del Campo (FHC). Before that it was just a program funded by outside groups, but with Bill’s suggestion and Coffee Kids help it became something more formal with a bigger budget and strong programs.

“Bill is someone you can dream with, but he’s also someone you can work with to make those dreams come true.”