Truly Home in Panama

A big hello from Panama! It's incredible that a year has gone by since I arrived in Panama. It's rare that we have opportunities like this to look back on a year affected by so much change. Maybe only once or twice in a lifetime will one make such a drastic change. I am thankful for this opportunity to reflect on how God has grown me during my time in Panama so far.

 

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I absolutely love Panama and my small community. That love has only grown deeper over the past 6 months. I have been very well accepted into the community, which is a goal every Peace Corps volunteer hopes to achieve. Because we need to work "hombro a hombro" (shoulder to shoulder) with our community members, we rely on trust and respect to achieve our work goals.

 

After 9 months living in my community, my primary and secondary projects have sorted themselves out. Generally, my 2 primary projects are:

1. Creating employment and increasing the income of community members, primarily for men in the community.
2. Teaching life skills and mentoring the young girls.

For the first project, a group of motivated community members has started planting crops not traditionally grown in the area where we live. We are growing tomato, cabbage, carrot, squash, watermelon, cantalope and corn and we hope to expand this variety as we acquire more seed. Additionally, we are growing everything organically and using organic compost as well. By growing these products here on our land, we are able to create a new market among the communities around us. None of these fruits and vegetables are available to these communities because of our very far location from central commerce. Therefore, we believe that we will be able to create a new market and this will create a very stable income source for the group.

 

I am working on the second project by holding Girl Scout meetings once a week for a group of 10 girls between the ages of 5 and 11. Also, me and another Peace Corps volunteer (who lives in a neighboring community 20 minutes away) are teaching life skills classes to a group of 7th graders. This includes everything from learning how to communicate effectively to sex education.

 

My list of secondary projects never seems to end! Currently I am teaching English to the elementary school teachers, building more efficient stoves for the community (uses less firewood and produces less smoke), and working on various projects with the women such as Cooking/Nutrition classes, participating in a Peace Corps Business Plan Seminar to learn how to run their small convenience store better (large group of women who own it), and participating in a Peace Corps Artisan Seminar to learn how to better market the beautiful jewelry they make out of coconut shells and shells from our beach.

 

Of course challenges always come with any project. My Spanish has significantly improved over these past few months, but I still have a lot to learn and improve. Two of the biggest challenges that I have had to face are receiving support from Panamanian government agencies on community projects and also motivating community members to work with me on the Organic Agriculture initiative. We are seeking help and funding from other resources for our Organic Agriculture project. I have learned that I can only do so much to motivate community members, so I am working with those who want to work with me, even though it is not everyone from the community.

 

Now that I am very familiar with my community and their needs, I have a list of items that we would love to receive as donations. Many of you have asked, "How can I help your community?" I finally have an answer for you! 

 

Some of you have the ability to donate a large quantity of medical supplies or school supplies. Specifically, my community would appreciate:

• toothbrushes and other dental hygiene items
• condoms
• reading glasses
• pencils, pens, notebooks (school supplies)

Other items that you might find in your home to donate which my community would greatly benefit from (your trash is our treasure!):

• beads or other jewelry-making supplies
• needles for sewing
• magazines (to be used for making jewelry)
• lightly-worn clothes (both sexes, all ages)
• children's books or games/toys for kids

Please contact me by email (mbstrawn at gmail.com) if you are planning on sending a material donation and I will give you further instructions. Thank you thank you thank you!

 

May God bless you and your family. Thank you for your prayers and continued support.