June - Peace Corps Panama Friends

45 Años
de
Amistad
1963-2008
On the cover: Stephanie Collins with Claudina “China” Montezuma in Chami, Comarca Ngäbe-Bugle (photo by Ed O’Brien). Above: photos contributed. Opposite page: Laura Boeckner and
Arisia Lee (photo contributed). Back cover: Cerro Tute, Santa Fé, Veraguas (photo by Peter Redmond).
La Vaina
July-September 2008
Table of Contents
Country Director’s Corner
PTO Insights
Siempre Mejorando
Water Everywhere
Going Green
In Business
Tourism’s Maiden Voyage
What’s Peace Corps Response
Welcome Group 61
Never Stop Learning
Leading the Way
Medical History
Surviving the Riots
Gender and Development
Let’s Stick Together
VAST New Funding Arrives
La Moda: El Look y La Cultura
How Far Do You Go?
Nuestro Mundo
Salomar/Why I Came
Recuerdo Los Santos
Next La Vaina deadline:
September 15, 2008
This special 45th
Anniversary issue is
dedicated to
Raymond “Bud”
Keith, RPCV
(Panama 1965-1967).
Bud was President
of Peace Corps
Panama Friends for
15 years
(see page 4).
4
6
8
10
12
13
14
15
16
18
20
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
From The Editors
Welcome to the 45th Anniversary edition of La
Vaina. La Vaina serves Peace Corps Panama as a
source of information from office staff and as a
medium for communication between Volunteers,
enabling distant colleagues to share humor, wit,
work tips, joys, and challenges from far flung
locales. We thank the US Embassy for printing
this special color edition and Country Director
Peter Redmond, whose support stretched from
searching out funding to feeding a weary editorial
staff on Saturday night. And thanks to you,
readers, for all the great photos and stories.
Please keep them coming. On a sad note this is
the last La Vaina for Editors Meredith Donegan
and Greg Landrigan. Frederick DeWorken and
Matt Sheehey will try to carry on without Greg
and Meredith’s talents and good company.
La Vaina
Country Director’s Corner
Human beings don’t live forever. ... We live less
than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure
our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what
value there is to human life. There is so much
pain in the world. What does it mean to have to
suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than a
blink of the eye?... I learned a long time ago …
that a blink of the eye is nothing. But the eye that
blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing.
But the man who lives that span, he is something.
He can fill that tiny span with memory, so that its
quality is immeasurable.
-Chaim Potok’s The Promise
P
eace Corps/Panama lost a great friend and champion
on June 14 with the passing of Raymond “Bud”
Keith (RPCV, Panama 1965-67) the President and
engine behind Peace Corps Panama Friends for
the past 15 years. Bud was a remarkable man who served as a
teacher for blind adults and children in Panama City and truly
filled his life with memories to make the quality of his life
immeasurable.
Being blind did not
stop Bud from
achieving what
most adventurers
only dream of—he
climbed Mount
Rainier three times,
earned a doctorate
in special education.
He was a frequent
biker and skier and
even made nine ski
trips to Norway
where he won the
Order of St. Olav,
one
of
that
country’s highest
honors, for his work
on behalf of sports
for
the
handicapped.
If I accomplish half
of
what
Bud
accomplished in his
life, I would die a
happy man. This
45 th Anniversary
Edition of La Vaina
is dedicated to Bud
Keith and to all the
4
Peter Redmond
(RPCV Honduras 1990-1992)
giants, the Returned Peace Corps
Volunteers, whose shoulders we stand on.
Our Beginning
Peace Corps came to Panama the same year
that I was born—1963. As a member of a
proud Irish-Catholic family I was weaned
on the promise of the New Frontier and the
inspiration for a new generation, President
John F. Kennedy.
Like so many other baby boomers the newsreel footage of
Kennedy’s inaugural address was ingrained in my head and in
my heart – “…ask not what your country can do for you, but
what you can do for your country.” From my early youth, I
knew that Peace Corps would be part of my life.
In 1963, Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver and his staff
were overseeing Peace Corps’ rapid growth and addressing
the two main issues—1) poorly administered, insufficiently
structured overseas programs and 2) unhappy volunteers.
Early evaluations
had indicated that
many programs were
ineffectual and
many volunteers
were frustrated and
angry.1
Shriver understood
that volunteers were
the lifeblood of the
Peace Corps. These
results
were
unacceptable to him.
Staff Support
Photo contributed
Country Director Peter Redmond poses with PCVs Heather Love and
Rebecca Fertziger in Portobelo, Colón outside a PCV sponsored computer
center.
“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
In 1963, the first
Peace
Corps
volunteers first
entered Panama
unaware that they
would live through
one of the country’s
historically defining
moments as its
people
sought
sovereignty over
the Panama Canal—
an issue that
eventually caused
the Panamanian
government to ask
July - September 2008
La Vaina
Peace Corps to leave in May 1971.
45 Years in a Blink
Forty-five years later—seemingly in the blink of an
eye—we are celebrating the successes and the
friendships created through the Peace Corps
program in Panama. Fortunately, Peace Corps
returned to Panama in 1990 thanks to the friendships
and support that remained from our first eight years
— and now more than 1,700 volunteers have served
in Panama.
The impact of past Peace Corps’ work can still be
seen today through the thriving cooperatives and
organizations that volunteers helped initiate—like
the Cooperativa de Productos de Mola in Kuna
Yala, created in the 1960s by PCV Johanna McGeary,
that counts 1,400 women on 14 islands; or La
Cooperativa El Progreso in Agua Buena supported
by Steve Herrick (1969-71) and others; La Unión
de Ebanistas Orgullo de Agua Buena who credit
PCV Will Woodfield (1998-2000) with the creation
of their carpenters’ cooperative—and who now earn
more than $1 million annually in sales revenues
thanks in part to PCV Roy Knoedler (2004-06); or
the thriving youth environmental organization
Panama Verde that PCV Jackie Flynn (1995-98) and
other environmental education PCVs helped create.
Today’s volunteers are continuing in this great
Peter Redomnd
tradition, but their successes do not come easy.
Though today’s PCVs have tools unknown to our
Peace Corps Panama strives to pair Volunteers with
1960s pioneers—cell phones, laptops and periodic
community counterparts in projects with ample opportunity for
Internet access, etc.—the two-year service is still a
cooperation and a high liklihood of sustainability. Drew
difficult journey both physically and emotionally.
Lebowitz (right) is a Peace Corps Response volunteer working
Like Sargent Shriver, current Peace Corps Director
with MINSA to install water systems in Panamá Éste
Ron Tschetter knows that our core business is
supporting the work of our Volunteer and our staff
is consistently working to improve our program and support Our newest project, Tourism and English Advising (TEA), is a
for volunteers. Panama’s Regional Leader program, established response to the overwhelming requests to help communities
in 2003, taps successful third-year PCVs to improve volunteer affected by the current tourism boom—11 of the 46 volunteers
support, strengthen local agency relations and improve site that take the oath of service on June 26 will be from our
development (see Zach Barricklow’s article inside).
pioneering TEA group.
Hombro a Hombro
Thanks to the work of our volunteers, the dedicated staff who
have come and gone over the years and the support of our
host communities and agencies Peace Corps/Panama is
realizing its vision of being recognized as a partner of choice
and grassroots development leader. Our year-old Peace Corps
Response program assigns volunteers directly to agencies—
including the Ministry of Health, UNAIDS, Panama’s Red
Cross, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, the
Panamanian Cooperative Institute (IPACOOP) and NGO
Sustainable Harvest—for short term, highly structured
assignments.
Finally, felicidades to Group 61 on the start of a life-changing
journey—I wish you a happy and productive service. And
bienvenida to our friends from Peace Corps Panama Friends
who are here to celebrate the past and plan for the future. And
my sincere thanks to the PCPF reunion committee, including
Jamie Thornberry, Valerie Whiting, Steve Spangler, Justin
Mortenson and Sarah Berghorst. Together we are making the
memories to fill the short span that we are given in Peace Corps
and in life—and in that short blink of the eye we will know the
immeasurable quality of a life well lived and work well done.
1Stossel, Scott, Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver, 2004, p. 279
[email protected]
5
La Vaina
PTO Insights
Greg Branch Programing and Training Officer
(RPCV El Salvador 1998-2001)
The most important thing to remember is this: to be ready at
any moment to give up what you are for what you might
become. – W.E.B. DuBois
B
ueeennnaaa… If you have spent any time with the
people of Panama or the region, you know just what
that sounds like. It comes with many tones and
lengths but always engages you as you meet, pass,
or are approached by another. I pause to reflect on the many
souls who have spoken that very word to me.
On June 1 1998, I swore in as a Peace Corps Volunteer in El
Salvador. Ever since that
day, I have been working
for the three goals of Peace
Corps. That is a decade
and counting, my friends.
Half a year from now, I will
finally be COS-ing.
I knew I was bound by my own highest
expectations. Good site development with
the best of communities that wanted
Volunteers to be there, strong agency
support providing tangible work that the
Volunteers could do and then, the best
support for Volunteers in any way they
needed.
These became my mission, my sweat and tears, my inspiration
and my continuation of service.
As APCD, I put in five
years and handed the
torch to current APCD
Tim Wellman, with
whom I couldn’t be
happier. In January 2007,
I began my labors as
Program and Training
Officer (PTO) for Peace
Corps Panama.
On this 45 Anniversary of
Peace Corps in Panama, I
am honored to be here. The
Peace Corps Panama
program will always hold a
special place in my heart.
This post is where I put the
spirit of my 3 years and 4
months as a Peace Corps
Volunteer in El Salvador
into providing the best
support possible for
Volunteers here in Panama.
On September 24, 2001 I
had
the
unique
opportunity of starting the
Environmental Health
project from scratch. The
project, a vision of then
Country Director Janice
Jorgenson, sought to be
started by a third year PCV
to reach the poorest of
poor in Panama.
The Volunteers I came
here to serve suddenly
quadrupled. Since then,
the thoughts running
through my mind have
quintupled in trying to
keep up with all the
requests.
Photo contributed
I have been humbled,
dazzled, humored,
impressed and left
breathless by all the
b r i l l i a n t
accomplishments and
ambitions I have
witnessed. One thing is
clear to me: as diverse as
the Volunteers that join
Peace Corps are, I am
amazed at how their
diversity finds itself
emanated through a
common light and how
service is done in such
uniquely diverse ways.
Busy PTO Greg Branch still manages to rustle up his own
grub. Here he is in Tonga.
I had a little more than three
years as a PCV and was
hired for the task with the
support of CD El Salvador Mike Wise.I knew what I wanted to
do. I wanted to create a project that would allow Volunteers to So why am I leaving all of this behind come January? I am
have the same blissful, satisfying, immense, extraordinary and following the true course of the river that Peace Corps prides
profound service that I had just finished. To accomplish this, itself as being. We are all meant to come and go. A metaphor for
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“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
July - September 2008
life. Whether it is your two or three years of service in your
community or your 5 years as a Federal hire, John F. Kennedy
was speaking with wisdom when he said “nobody should make
a career out of Peace Corps.”
La Vaina
That keeps us ambitious. I have not one drop of regret or
doubt that every day I spent, from the best to the worst, has
been absolutely, without reservation, worth it. I have worked
for most of this decade with current Country Director Peter
Redmond, who I cannot
thank enough for the
mentoring,
laughs,
memories and friendship he
has given me.
I take my hat off to all of
you that have passed in
your own way along the
path.
Being a Peace Corps
Volunteer opens many a
door, into yourself and to
the world around you,
allowing you to be a global
citizen and stand proud as
a representative of the
United States of America.
I have always told the
Volunteer community,
“Make the most of it. It is
up to you. Enjoy!” You in
are such a unique position
to improve yourselves and
the people around you.
With the best intentions,
move forward diligently.
Soak in all the discomforts
and relish all the moments.
Take pride in the one soul
you have touched. Be
grateful for all that you
have learned. Give thanks,
for we have much to be
thankful for.
Theresa Milstein
Diablico Sucio
La Feria de Corpus Cristi, celebrated every year 40 days after Easter, is considered to
be one of the Panama’s most colorful festivals. This shot was taken in Parita de Herrera,
home of one of Panama’s most famous mask makers.
[email protected]
In the spirit of global peace
and understanding, I bid all
who have read this article,
my best wishes and
aspirations. It is no wonder
that when we are trainees
they call us “aspirantes”.
May the world be a better
place because of what we
have aspired to and
accomplished while we
were here.
7
La Vaina
Siempre Mejorando
W
elcome Peace Corps Director Ronald Tschetter and
Panama RPCVs who have come to celebrate Peace
Corps Panama’s 45th Anniversary with us! A few
Panama RPCVs may remember the start of a Natural
Resource Project back in 1991. Today, seventeen years later,
that project has evolved into the Sustainable Agricultural
System Project. The project was created to alleviate the
problems caused by land use practices in communities inside
and around the Panama Canal Watershed by incorporating
alternative agricultural practices and reforestation projects. In
1992-1995 the project expanded into areas beyond the Panama
Canal Watershed. In 1995, the agricultural and forestry projects
were combined to create the Agroforestry Program, an emerging
field at the time. In 2001 the project’s name was changed to
Permaculture, to reflect a broader scope of PCV work. In
addition to agricultural projects, those needs include health,
sanitation, agribusiness and environmental conservation
projects. In 2002, the Permaculture project plan was revised to
focus on Sustainable Agricultural Systems. SAS was born.
I joined the Peace Corps Panama staff in October 2006, as
APCD of the SAS project. I am Panamanian and have worked
Aimee Urrutia
APCD Sustainable Agricultural Systems
on various projects in rural areas of
Panama for more than 10 years. I have a
Master’s Degree in Rural Planning and
Development from the University of
Guelph in Canada. I have a strong
personal commitment to work with the
rural impoverished people of my country.
The SAS mission is that “Panamanian farm families will improve
their quality of life through the incorporation of sustainable
agriculture techniques that will increase agriculture production
while decreasing the impact on the local ecosystems.” Our
goals and objectives focus on sustainable agricultural
techniques, animal husbandry, agroforestry, agribusiness, and
promoters’ development. Our Volunteers teach sustainable
agricultural techniques with the intention of improving soil
quality and fertility to increase the quantity of production for
subsistence farmers. We are also working with cash crops like
coffee and cacao helping indigenous and campesino farmers
place their products in fair trade markets, specialty coffee
markets, markets for organically certified products and national
markets. The SAS Program is implemented through the hard
Photo contributed
Animal Husbandry:The Sustainable Agriculture Project coordinates with governmental agencies such as the
Ministry of Agriculture (MIDA) to facilitate trainings on animal husbandry.
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“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
July - September 2008
La Vaina
work of its Volunteers in
communities across every
province including indigenous
territories. Great
work
everyone!
A
peek
at
recent
accomplishments of SAS PCVs:
More than 100 farmers have
received training to improve
their coffee farm production and
to improve their post harvest
management techniques. SAS
PCVs, with the participation of
host country partners, put
together a Coffee School for
indigenous highland coffee
producers. Training for lowland
coffee producers was made
possible with the contribution
and support of host country
agency MIDA.
Radio broadcasts for coffee
producers were introduced by
SAS Volunteers and indigenous
coffee producer leaders with the
help of HCA Proyecto Ngäbe
Buglé.
Approximately 60 cacao farmers
have received extensive training
on how to manage and improve
their cacao farms. SAS
Volunteers have empowered
Orlando Lozada, a local trainer
and owner of well managed
cacao farms to facilitate these
seminars.
Victoria Flagg
Around 60 farmers have SAS Volunteers work with campesino and indigenous farmers in remote villages across
implemented fish and/or rice Panama to teach sustainable agricultural techniques that increase production while
tanks and approximately 100 decreasing the impact on the local ecosystems.
farmers have been trained in
these techniques.
Volunteers have developed technical manuals for Cacao, Coffee
and Organic Fertilizers in both English and Spanish. The
Agribusiness Manual is in the oven and is expected to come
out in July with the help of CED PCVs. Seeders Vegetable and
Forestry Manual is also in the oven and is due by the end of
this year by CEC and SAS PCVs.
Together, with great SAS PCVs such as Brian Richardson,
Gregory Landrigan and Jake Slusser, we have strengthened
the Coffee Program and Seeders Group. This has been done by
organizing their main objectives, their work plan, and working
protocol. There is a Coffee digest and a Coffee website. The
Seeders Group also provides quarterly newsletters that go to
the regional meetings with a Seeders box full of seeds to share
and exchange.
Working as a part of Peace Corps to facilitate capacity building
and to empower, not only, impoverished rural people, but SAS
Volunteers as well, makes my job full of great rewards.
[email protected]
9
La Vaina
Water Everywhere
G
Tim Wellman (RPCV El Salvador 1997-99)
APCD Environmental Health
reetings and a warm welcome to Director Tschetter,
his staff, and the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
back in country for the 45th reunion and swear-in of
group 61. In addition, a big hello and hope-you-arewell to all you PCVs out there in the field – getting your
hands (and feet) dirty.
I am honored to share in this monumental celebration, time for
reflection, and time for vision, with so many people that served
as Peace Corps Volunteers and with those who continue to
contribute to the world in the spirit of volunteerism.
I am the APCD for the Environmental Health Program. I have
been working in international and community-based
development with indigenous and Hispanic communities in
the Americas for eleven years. In fact, I began my career as a
water and sanitation Peace Corps
Volunteer in El Salvador in 1997.
I then moved on to be the technical trainer
for the Peace Corps El Salvador Water and
Sanitation Program, then returned to the
states to be the Tribal Drinking Water and
Sanitation Program manager for the New
Mexico Rural Water Association.
The Environmental Health (EH) program was started in 2001
by Peace Corps Panama’s current Programming and Training
Officer, Greg Branch, under the direction of Janice F. Jorgensen
the Country Director at that time. Since 2001, the EH program
has had a total of 112 volunteers.
The EH program receives individuals with experience in
engineering,
construction
and
health promotion.
Currently, there are 37
EH volunteers serving
in the Comarca Ngäbe/
Bugle
and
the
provinces of Bocas de
Toro,
Veraguas,
Herrera, Los Santos,
Coclé, Colón, Panama
Este, and the Darién.
Over 70% of these
Volunteers are working
with
indigenous
groups. There is a lot
of great environmental
health work being
done!
The EH program is
designed to support
local stakeholders in
the improvement of
community health
while protecting the
environment on which
the
community
Photo contributed depends.
PCV John Spalding (Group 42, 2002-05), a member of the first group of EH Volunteers in
Panama, worked with Waterlines NGO Volunteer Robert Cumberland in La Gloria, Bocas del
Toro. This photo shows the inauguration of a new water system.
10
“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
In addition, the EH
program endeavors to
strengthen the efforts
of the Ministry of
Health (MINSA). EH
July - September 2008
La Vaina
Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs)
live and work in remote,
marginalized regions of Panama.
PCVs train motivated community
members in water and vectorborne disease prevention
practices, participatory decisionmaking methods, sustainable
health infrastructure development
techniques, and economical
environmental
protection
strategies.
PCVs then collaborate with these
individuals, MINSA staff and
other stakeholders to promote
beneficial health and hygiene
practices, improve water and
sanitation infrastructure, support
community management of that
infrastructure, and protect critical
natural areas for environmental
health.
Since 2001, EH PCVs have
organized and trained water,
sanitation and health committees
to take control of their
community’s environmental health
future. They have educated
countless community members on
cost-effective health and hygiene
methods.
They have designed and
constructed numerous pit and
composting latrines to eliminate
disease transmission pathways
and protect the environment.
They have designed and
constructed gravity flow water
systems with community members
to bring valuable potable water
from protected watersheds to
communities that have never had it.
Photo contributed
An artful composting latrine built with river rock by PCV Mike Gaffney, also from
the first Environmental Health project, in Filo Verde, Bocas del Toro. EH works
closely with the Ministry of Salud (MINSA) and the Ministry of the Environment
(ANAM) to promote the building and proper use of composting latrines across
work, carrying out the 2nd goal of Peace Corps, the lovely
exchange of culture, custom, tradition and language.
They have worked with local, regional, national and
international governmental and non-governmental
organizations to provide financial support, technical assistance
and sustainable development methods for communities that
need it the most. EH PCVs live in the communities where they
They then return to the US to carry out the 3rd goal of Peace
Corps, bringing back to family, friends, and the communities
where they live and work the beautiful stories, colorful pictures
and rich experiences of what it means to be Panamanian.
Photo Submission Guidelines
Please submit photos to La Vaina as high-resolution JPEG documents. We need to know who took the photo, where it
was taken, and what/who is in the picture. The file name should include the name of the photographer. Thanks!
[email protected]
11
La Vaina
Going Green
I
Francisco Santamaria
APCD Communty Environmental Conservation
am a Panamanian with a passion for environmental
protection. I joined Peace Corps in September 1997 as
a training assistant. Later, I was hired as Agro-forestry
Trainer and Family Coordinator until May 2003. Since
then, I have been the Community Environmental
Conservation (CEC) APCD working as a team with the Ministry
of Education (MEDUCA), the National Environmental Authority
(ANAM), and the Panama Verde Association.
The CEC project has 37 Volunteers all over Panama, including
the Comarca Ngäbe- Buglé. Over the last five years, Volunteers
have been placed in communities located in and around
protected areas. PCVs work with Panamanian elementary
schools to implement environmental education curriculum, as
well as at the community level on conservation projects such as
reforestation,
protection
of
endangered species,
and
appropriate
technologies. CEC
Volunteers combine
efforts with MEDUCA
and ANAM to train
teachers
and
extensionists in the
use of environmental
education guides for
primary students.
Blanco) who developed activities such
as workshops, summer camps,
reforestation projects, beach clean-ups.
Twelve years later, Panama Verde is an
official NGO with 38 registered groups
and more than 700 participating youth.
The Association has impacted many
youth by creating leaders and helping
them develop professional careers. Here
are a few examples of some of our Panama Verde youth success
stories:
Elizabeth Osorio, leader of the Program of Children and Youth
at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); Ennio
Arcia, Executive
Director of the
Panama
Verde
Association; Darío
Floresm,
expresident of Panama
Verde Association
and an English
teacher; and Claudio
Rodríguez, biology
professor at Albert
Einstein
High
School.
The Panama Verde
Association has
been recognized by
institutions such as
the
National
Environmental
Authority (ANAM),
Ministry
of
E d u c a t i o n
(MEDUCA), Health
Ministry (MINSA),
and international
organizations such
as United Nations
Environment
Programme (UNEP)
and
the
Pan
Thanks to Doctor
Raisa Ruiz (APCD
1993-2002) and all the
Volunteers (including
Melissa Kelleher, Brett
Jacobs, Michael Park,
Mark Vogl, and William
Irons) who worked
hard creating these
guides in the early
1990s.
Julie Allen
CEC
Projects
continue
to
Local Santeño children inspired by the environmental education classes
strengthen Panama
taught by their CEC Volunteer spend a day cleaning up Playa Guanico.
Verde
groups
throughout
the
country promoting youth leadership with a focus on American Health Organization (PAHO).
environmental issues and life skills. Panama Verde started in
1996 with around 100 youth from rural areas (Churuquita With these projects, CEC Volunteers continue the efforts of
Chiquita, Villa de Los Santos, Guararé, Ocú, Las Guabas) and all the past environmental volunteers. Thanks and
was coordinated by Peace Corps Volunteers (such as Jacqueline congratulations to all who have served in Panama. Happy 45th
Flynn, Christine Blair, Nancy Redwine, Maria del Socorro Anniversary!
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Maria Elena Ortiz
Acting APCD Community Economic Development
July - September 2008
In Business
A
Greg Branch will be supporting me as the Co-Acting APCD for
the CED Program. He will be in charge of supporting Volunteers
in any technical, personal or community problem. Do not
hesitate to contact us.
CoCo Robinson, Ashley Swopes and
Joanna Hitchner. In this seminar, we were
able to build capacity to initiate and
continue promotion and application of
business planning. A huge thanks to
Frederick DeWorken who helped
coordinate everything in order to have a
successful seminar for Host Country
Nationals and Volunteers. Also, I would
like to thank Cynthia Redwine as the
pioneer of the seminar’s proposal who obtained funding from
the Center and IPACOOP to make this seminar possible. I know
she would have been proud of the results.
Creating a Business Plan Seminar
I would like to take this opportunity to give a big thanks and
recognize the hard work of all PCVs who participated in the
Business Plan Seminar that took place in CEDSAM from May
26-May 31, 2008: Adam Gorski, Jacob Seiler, Robert Dawson,
Adam Burr, Francis Basiolli, Lisa Chesnel, Matthew Sheehey,
Site Development for Group 62
Thanks to all the Regional Leaders that have been working
with me to develop sites for this incoming group of
CEDers. Again, I would like to recognize your hard work in
supporting APCDs and Program Assistants to develop the best
sites for the best PCVs.
s the new Acting APCD for the CED Program, I am
very happy to work with you and offer any help or
support as you need it. I have been with Peace Corps
for about 8 years. For 4 of those years I have worked
as the Safety and Security Coordinator. I am full of
energy and excited to develop sites for the new group of
incoming CED Trainees. I enjoy going to the field and
interacting with community members and Volunteers.
Frederick DeWorken
CED Volunteers kick off the recent Business Plan Seminar at ANAM’s Center for Sustainable Development for the
Environment with a dinamica.
[email protected]
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Tourism’s Maiden Voyage
P
eace Corps Panamá’s 45th anniversary represents the
dedicated efforts to support Panamanian people
achieve their own goals. There are countless
successful stories that express how much the Peace
Corps Volunteers provide to the Panamanian people.
A total of 4.5 years have past since my arrival to Tocumen
airport. I can tell you that today I feel very “Panameño” and
very proud of my work both as the Community Economic
Development (CED) APCD and now as Tourism and English
Advising (TEA) APCD.
June 26 2008 is also unique and special because we are swearing
in the amazing young professionals who will compose the first
group of TEA Volunteers! Their service will be focused in
teaching English as a foreign language and promoting
sustainable tourism development. They will be distributed in
the provinces of Bocas del Toro and Veraguas, the Comarca
Ngobe Bugle as well as Chagres National Park. They will find
communities that have tourism industries already budding and
the need for communication with tourism agencies as well as
for strategic planning efforts is recognized. And yes the rumor
is true, two TEA Volunteers will be working with the Escuela
Normal in Santiago to help train Panamanian teachers in
effective
Pablo Garrón
APCD Tourism & English Advising
English teaching methods. I wish all
of them great success.
At the end of 2008, nine years will have
passed since my first day at work in a
rural community half an hour away
from the capital city of Cochabamba,
Bolivia. There, I worked for Peace
Corps as a family coordinator, cotrainer, tech trainer and master trainer. I was then hired by PC
Panamá as APCD. During my time, I have interacted with about
568 Volunteers making so many friends and learning so much
from them along the way. The majority of my professional
experience is from my time with the Peace Corps. I am a devotee
to grass roots development and a believer in the impact of
Peace Corps Volunteers.
I want to congratulate Peace Corps as an organization that for
more than 45 years it has maintained its vision for development.
Peace Corps has given me the opportunity to lead a great
project and to make a difference in lives of indigenous artisans,
business owners, cooperative members as well as school
children. The Peace Corps has given me countless other things
that I am thankful for. During this 45th anniversary celebration
of Peace Corp’s involvement in Panamá, let me raise my voice
to say. Viva Cuerpo de Paz, Viva Panamá!
Photo contributed
Olé pue’s
The juego del toros always draws a crowd. New TEA Volunteers are advised to steer clear of the corral.
14
“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
La Vaina
Tess De Los Ríos (RPCV Panamá, 2003-06 )
Coordinator
What’s Peace Corps Response?
July - September 2008
W
elcome back to Panama RPCVs! It’s an honor for
us to be hosting Peace Corps Panama’s 45 th
Anniversary. Thanks to all of your hard work and
dedication in previous years, our job in Panama is more
rewarding than ever.!
I served as a Volunteer from 2003-2006 in the wonderful tropics
of Valle Risco, in the province of Bocas del Toro and am now
the Peace Corps Response Director, here in Panama City.
“What’s Peace Corps Response?” you might ask.?
Peace Corps Response (PCR), formerly known as Crisis Corps,
began in Panama in March of 2007 as a result of heavy flooding
in late 2006. PCR
provides 3-6 month
work assignments for
RPCVs that can hit the
ground
running.
RPCVs can use their
previous Volunteer
experience to have a
strong impact in a
short time.
Since
Panama,
gracias a Dios, is
outside the hurricane
track, Panama’s Peace
Corps
Response
program has evolved
to include a diverse
array of projects. We
have been averaging
10 assignments per
year and it looks like
2009 will be no
different.
•
•
•
designing and repairing
water systems with MINSA
and current PCVs
teaching IT skills in
indigenous communities to
better support tourism
endeavors with Intel and
Winrock International
creating Monitoring &
Evaluation tool kits for the
Cruz Roja Panameña’s HIV/AIDS program & for the
International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent
Societies’ Club 25 Blood Donation program
•
liaising with
MINSA’s National HIV
program, the Center for
Disease Control (CDC)
and UNAIDS for
implementation of best
practices for improved
data collection to
international standards
Ashley Swopes
Unlike regular PCVs
who apply to a general
PC program area,;
PCRVs apply to a
previously identified
project with a specific
organization in a certain
country.
El Centro
Therefore, from the
beginning they know
Parita, Herrera is home to one of the most beautiful colonial-era
the exact technical skills
churches in Panama. The rows of attached red-roofed homes evoke
required of them, the
images of the old days.
agency or organization
they will be partnering
Here are some of the projects that PCRVs have worked on or with, and the time frame they have to complete the project.
are working on in Panama:
Two-time PCRV Leo Redmond IV has best described the
difference between PCV and PCRV service in this way: “While
• planting 20,000 coffee seedlings and 5000 citrus PCVs are community-focused with more qualitative than
seedlings among 30 rural farmers with MIDA and quantitative results, PCRVs are project-based with a sharper
Sustainable Harvest International
focus and a narrower scope of tangible results with a
• training 80 community members from communities heightened pace of project implementation.”
with difficult access in basic First-Aid and emergency
response tactics with Cruz Roja Panameña, MINSA If you’d like more general information about PC Response
and SINAPROC
worldwide, visit www.peacecorps.gov/response. And if you’d
• supporting the International Federation of Red Cross like more Panama-specific information, feel free to contact me
Red Cresent’s Pan American Disaster Response Unit at [email protected] or 317.3329. Enjoy your stay in
with the coordination and development of the regional Panama!
Pandemic Influenza preparedness project
[email protected]
15
La Vaina
16
“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
July - September 2008
[email protected]
La Vaina
17
La Vaina
Never Stop Learning
T
raining is a two-way street. There is teacher. There is
learner. And at any given point in a training event the
trainer and trainee may fill either (or both) of these
roles. My experience as Training Director of Peace
Corps Panama has been no different. In the nine years that I
have been onboard, our approach to Training has changed
immensely. And yet, while much has changed in the way that
we as a Staff equip and support Volunteers, the core elements
of what first drew me to Peace Corps remain the same.
My first contact with Peace Corps came in 1996. I was traveling
with a group of colleagues from USAID/Panama to San Juan
de Pequeni and La Bonga, near the Colón region of Panama.
Along the way we were joined by a Voluntaria del Cuerpo de
Paz named Laura Hunter, (Agro-forestry, Peñas Blancas, ‘96‘98). It was the first time I had heard the phrase. The idea
fascinated me. As we made our way up river and through the
forest to our destination, I marveled over how it could be that
a U.S. citizen would come to my country and devote their energy
to help my people have a better life.
As fate would have it, the next few years brought several
encounters with Peace Corps Panama staff. In 1997, I enrolled
in a master’s program where I met Rafael Cuestas, the former
Training Director for Panama; a year later I met Dorian Stone,
former APCD for Community Economic Development (then
known as SBD). In 1998, Dorian invited me to a Reconnect IST
event, where I was asked to talk about community organization
and development to the first SBD group. The rest, as they say,
is history.
In 1999, I saw the advertisement for an opening as APCD of the
SBD project, and I saw it as a great opportunity to contribute
to the cause. For two years I worked and learned with my PCVs
in this role, and in 2001 transitioned into the Training Director
Training Director Raul Ramirez
position. Seven years have passed and
I am still here (the longest and toughest
job I have ever loved!) For me, this is
more than a profession; it is a vocation
and something I believe in with all my
heart.
One of the things I love about this work
is that I never stop learning. And that
is good, because things never stop
changing! Since I started with group
45, 17 groups and 464 Trainees have come and gone. In the
meantime, our beloved sectors have changed names (and
acronyms), changed focuses, changed leadership, and a few
programs have since been added to the Post.
The cumulative effect of this constant change and feedback is
the approach to Pre-Service and In-Service Training that we
employ today. The premise of this approach is that of balancing
flexibility with structure, learning with teaching, freedom with
responsibility. We acknowledge that most things cannot be
taught. But they can be learned. Our goal is always to facilitate
the best conditions for learning—providing the setting, the
resources, the experts, etc.—based on what Volunteers in the
field define as relevant.
In educational terms we have moved from a lecture-heavy
methodology, to a more holistic approach, which gives more
consideration to adult learning principles. For instance, each
technical session is divided into two parts: the first half (2
hours) covers the “Essential Tech,” which everyone needs to
be clear on; the second half (2 hours) offers a series of options
that the Trainee can choose between depending on technical
proficiency, language level, learning style and project/site
assignment.
Programing and Training Upcoming Events
July:
• Regional meetings July 2–5
• Site development for Group 62 (EH and CED)
• Quarterly reports are due
August:
• PST preparation (EH and CED)
• Group 58 COS conference–Valle Anton
• Group 62 Arrives August 13
September
• La Vaina deadline September 15
• Strengthening community water committees September 4–6
• Group 62 PCV site visit August 27–September 2
18
“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
Darlene Yule
July - September 2008
La Vaina
The setting for PST is divided into
2 weeks of center-based, 2 weeks
of field-based, and 6 weeks of
community-based training. To
further enhance the Trainee’s
frame-of-reference, we also send
them out periodically to visit actual
sites—both of other PCVs and
their own future site.
Within these varied settings the
training content and resources
focuses on cultural and linguistic
adaptation as well as the
acquisition of basic technical
knowledge, skills and attitudes.
The first four weeks cover
generally applicable elements of
sustainable development. After
site placement announcements in
Week 4, both language and
technical sessions become more
directed at the context-specific
needs of the trainee’s future site.
For example, besides Spanish
language, indigenous languages
such as Embera, Wounaan, Kuna
and Ngäbere are also offered.
The experts who co-facilitate this
learning consist of Technical
Trainers (usually Panamanians
who know the “nuts and bolts” of
the sector-specific techniques)
and PCVs (who know the realities
of promoting and articulating
these techniques).
Goal #2 In Action
Brian Trainor
Reconnect IST follows a similar
logic: the goal being to maximize
relevance and practicality. During Amanda Trainor paints nails for Ngäbe school children at her home in Cerro Brisas,
this event—typically 3-4 months Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé.
into a PCV’s service—the content
of roundtables, lectures and work groups is based on what long seminar focused on either the hard skills of project design
and management or the soft skills of leadership and project
PCVs have identified as their training needs.
management. These seminars are highly dynamic and
This needs assessment is communicated through Regional interactive, and have received very positive feedback from
Leaders and APCDs following their Volunteer visits in-site. participants.
Again, at Reconnect IST PCVs have the freedom to choose
and the responsibility to participate in one of the various Underlying the maze of logistics, paperwork, coordination,
training options offered—determined by how and what they coaching, and improvisation that characterize the day-to-day
of this Training operation, there is one question that drives it
need to learn.
all: How can we better empower our Volunteers to be more
The second official IST takes place about 6-7 months into a effective? To this end we learn, we act, we reflect, and we
PCVs service, and includes community partners in a week- move forward. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute
to the process!
[email protected]
19
La Vaina
Leading the Way
I
Zack Barricklow (RPCV Panama 2005-07)
Master Trainer
n 2003, CD Jean Lujan and PTO Peter Redmond worked
with a small cadre of seasoned Volunteers to develop
the vision for a region-based Peace Corps Volunteer
Leader (PCVL) program.
Realizing that PC Staff were over-stretched, they proposed an
innovative system of regionally-based Volunteer Leaders who
would be trained and charged with three main functions: to
widen the network of Volunteer support; to strengthen hostcountry agency relations and coordination; and to improve
site development.
Since that time the Regional Leader (RL) System has evolved
into a cornerstone of Peace Corps Panama’s approach to
programming and is viewed as a best-practice in the global
Peace Corps community and replicated in Posts across the
world.
We divide Panamá into eight regions: Azuero, Coclé/Panamá
Oeste, Chiriqui, Comarca Ngäbe-Bugle, Bocas del Toro, Darién/
Panamá Este, Colón/Panamá Centro, and Veraguas.
Bia Büa (Esta Bien)
Each of these regions is led by a senior
Volunteer who has succeeded in their work.
These leaders have demonstrated
professionalism, common sense,
adaptability, team work and leadership that
make them a competent source of personal
and professional support for Volunteers
working in their region.
Typically, RLs live in their provincial capitol or a central hub of
the region. This makes them accessible to Volunteers and Staff
and close enough to frequently visit the offices of Panamanian
ministries and institutes.
RLs maintain some level of community-based projects that are
balanced with their duties of supporting an average of 20
Volunteers per region.
An RL’s activities within the three main functions are many
and varied. Widening the network of Volunteer support
consists of: two official site visits to PCVs—at 2 months and
10 months of
s e r v i c e ;
coordination of
quarterly regional
meetings; one-toone
peer
counseling;
accompaniment and
advice with regard
to establishing and
maintaining agency
relations;
and
communication and
coordination with
PC Staff to provide
any needed training
or resources.
Photo contributed
Chest covered in fresh jagua tattoos, Environmental Health PCV Rob Little pauses to get his
picture taken with an Emberá man in Playa del Muerto.
20
“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
Strengthening
host-country
agency
(HCA)
relations
and
coordination is
accomplished
through frequent
office visits; a
quarterly report
including past and
future
PCV
activities in the
region; agency
coordination
July - September 2008
La Vaina
meetings between PCVs and
HCA extension agents; and
involvement of HCAs in the
site development process –
identifying
those
communities where agencies
would like to partner with a
PCV.
Improving site development
is an ongoing process in
Peace Corps Panama, and
many of the improvements
are thanks to insights by
RLs.
RLs coordinate and facilitate
all 4 of the official visits
made to a community prior
to a new PCV being placed
there, one by themselves,
one with a Program
Assistant, one with an
APCD, and one to confirm
that a community has, or has
not, been selected. RLs are
responsible
for
communicating with PCVs
and HCAs in the region to
identify potential sites.
There is no doubt that
Regional Leaders play a
critical role in shaping the
experience of Volunteers.
Their initiative, energy and
dedication serve as an
essential element to make
the Peace Corps approach to
sustainable development
more effective. They help
bridge the gap between
agency initiatives and
community needs, as well as
between Volunteers and
Staff.
Kuna Tradition
Photo contributed
Every year, Kunas celebrate the anniversary of their revolution, which began February
25, 1925. The Kuna Comarca was established in 1938, Panama’s first indigenous
comarca.
Help Wanted
La Vaina is looking for a new staff member. If you are interested in working to put together Peace
Corps Panama’s only Volunteer magazine, send us an email describing your background and letting
us know why you are interested in being a part of the La Vaina staff.
[email protected]
21
La Vaina
Medical History
Dra. Lourdes Rodriguez
T
here have been quite a few changes in the Peace Corps/
Panama Medical Office since the new millennium. We
are growing and always improving, and I would like to
share a bit of our history in this 45th Anniversary edition of
La Vaina. We are doing more than ever for our PCVs as we try
to help them stay safe and healthy during their service.
When I started working as the Peace Corps Medical Officer
(PCMO) and doctor in 1997, we were just 1.5 PCMOs managing
between 80 and 100 Volunteers. I joined PCMO Willy Leyens,
a nurse of Belgian descent who joined Peace Corps in 1990
when the program reopened. Willy had been working alone for
several years until I was hired on as a half-time physician. Back
then we received three training groups per year, each of which
included between 15 to 17 trainees.
In 2001, the office added a medical clerk, Lina Cubilla, who is
still with us today greeting Volunteers with her bright smile
and helpful attitude. When Lina started with us, our office was
a very small space in a bank building in the center of Panama
City. The place was so small that Lina, Willy and I had to share
the same office! As the post grew, the office expanded, and we
each got our own offices in 2002.
In 2004, Willy left Peace Corps and we had the opportunity to
search for a new PCMO and reorganize the medical office.
After a six-month search, we found our new PCMO/Nurse Emilia
Fuentes. Emilia has brought a very caring
approach to her work and specializes in
promoting and treating mental health
issues.
In 2005, Panama became the third post in
the world (behind South Africa and
Thailand) to host a Regional Medical
Evacuation Hub. Working with the Office
of Medical Services in Peace Corps/Washington, we determined
that Volunteers could get equal or better care for a variety of
medical issues in Panama.
We received our first medevac (from Paraguay) in May 2005
and have cared for nearly 50 medevacs since then. Today we
receive nearly 20 medevacs annually from Latin American and
the Caribbean.
Most gratifying is the high marks these patients give our care
providers for quality of care and attentiveness. It also helps
that we work with some of the newest and most highly regarded
hospitals in the region, including the Johns Hopkins Punta
Pacifica Hospital and the Hospital Paitilla.
In 2005 we welcomed the talented and diplomatic Ricardo Greco
as our Medical Administrative Assistant. He takes care of the
logistical and administrative support for our visiting medevacs.
And in 2007, I came on board as a
full-time medical doctor for the more
than 150 volunteers in Panama.
So now we are an office of four. But
we also rely on others, including
medical consultants and specialists
in the city and a national network
of physicians, clinics, hospitals and
pharmacies that provide care in the
field.
When we do Volunteer site visits
we also do on-site visits to these
providers to make sure they
continue to perform to our
standards of treatment.
Hello, Sugar
Julie Allen
A cane grower uses a giant cauldron and ladle to make miel de caña over a fire
in Guanico Abajo, Los Santos. Miel de caña can be used to make raspadura.
22
“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
We in the Medical Office are happy
to be part of the network of Volunteer
support for which Peace Corps/
Panama is famous. To achieve this
we continue to strive to be a worldclass medical staff and active
members of the Peace Corps/
Panama staff.
July - September 2008
La Vaina
Surviving the Riots
By RPCV Donna Litwack
(Panama 1963-64)
I was in the Peace Corps Panama Group 1 from 1963-64. I lived
in Lidice, Panama Oeste, during my assignment and was there
during the riots.
I plan on attending the 45th Anniversary reunion with my son,
Zach, who is a film director. He is planning on doing a
documentary on my experience in Lidice during the riots.
While in Lidice, I worked in community development,
particularly in health and sanitation. A lot of the time in the
beginning was spent working with the people to get them
organized so that we could work together to correct the
particular problems in the village.
Some of the major health and sanitation problems that were
addressed were the need for health care in the area, health
education, sanitation disposal and the need for sanitary
drinking water. In my time there, these problems were addressed
and significant progress was made.
I was in Lidice when the riots developed in Panama City. Soon
after they started, several vehicles came from Panama City to
my house to attack me. Out of the cars came men with machetes
and other weapons who were ready to get into the house.
Immediately people from my village came and made a human
fence in front of my house and would not permit the men to
enter.
Crab Man
Photo contributed
This fisherman hauled in a perfect specimen from
his dugout canoe.
People from all age groups, including grandmothers, mothers,
children and men, stood hand in hand for about an hour. They
told the men that if they wanted to get into the house that they
would have to get past them first!
Finally, the group of men left. While this was happening a car
from the Canal Zone was parked in front of the house that
belonged to a priest who had come to say Mass for the people
of the mountains.
He was accompanied by another Volunteer, Bill, who also lived
in Lidice. When they arrived back in the village we left Lidice,
and Bill and I went into hiding for about two weeks. When we
returned we were both welcomed by everyone and this
experience actually made our work more effective. This story
was printed in the Congressional Record.
After the riots, all Americans were asked to leave Panama except
for the Peace Corps Volunteers. I feel that this very positive
experience is what Peace Corps is all about! The local people
actually saved my life that day. I have received much more
than I ever gave.
Mud Boggin’ Junta
Maggie Murray
Mike Schneider (left) and Jonathan Payne bonded
in the muck during Culture Week on the Azuero.
[email protected]
23
La Vaina
Gender and Development
I
was told that we were supposed to keep this article to
one page because of the fancy in-color edition. This
has proven to be a real problem for me and Gender and
Development (GAD) because after so many years of
oppression and misunderstanding between the sexes, gender
just isn’t short winded. However, to honor this beautifully
pixilated depiction of our efforts to create Peace, here it goes
(deep breath).
Robby Alley (Men’s Coordinator) continues to work with
Panama Boy Scouts to integrate Boy Scouts into Peace Corps.
He’s also working on an alcoholism charla that should be
ready now, so e-mail him if you want it ([email protected]).
Michelle Pobjoy (Treasurer)
has new polo shirts for sale
that should be ready for the
week of swear-in. Also from
Michelle: send her your
pretty/funky/cool pictures of
Panama and her people for our
GAD postcard sale fundraiser
([email protected]).
Foy Spicer is working on the
new GAD Cookbook, so send
her your fancy rice recipes and
campo gourmet ideas
([email protected]).
GAD Secretary Valerie Brender
will have another shot to close your
eyes and lift your hands (position
descriptions below). From the last GAD
meeting: Congratulations to our new
Vice-President, Lisa Chesnel, and our
new regional reps: Allie Hayes for
Chiriquí and Steve Russo for the
Comarca Ngäbe-Bugle! We have
buckets of faith that they will ignite the
GAD torch to new heights.
Openings
The new GAD Directiva positions open for the August 4
meeting are Secretary and
Treasurer. The Secretary’s
duties are:
z Keep GAD minutes at
General and Directiva
meetings;
z Write the quarterly La
Vaina update;
z Maintain communication
with volunteers about GAD
happenings;
z Maintain communication
with and information about
Muchachas Guias.
This is my last article to you
all. Spanish wine and tapas call
and I must continue gender
peace in the throes of flamenco
dancing and the harsh world
of impersonal metro systems.
I will keep up with all your
valiant GAD efforts from Spain.
And Treasurer:
z Keep charge of the GAD
bank account and receipts;
z Be in charge of all
reimbursements for GAD
events and activities;
z Do the GAD T-shirt
ordering and sales along with
other GAD fundraising efforts
Note: It is best if this
individual is Type A.
Our next General Meeting is
Monday, August 4, in El Valle
at 3 pm. Bring your GAD
grants, gender questions, and
support for candidates
running for election.
New Entries
You see, GAD is more than
gender issues. It is also a
refresher for those of us who,
in the perils of the Panamanian
jungle, have forgotten how to
vote. If you missed the
opportunity to feel civically
inclined this last quarter, you
24
GAD Grant Recipients
Leo Redmond
GAD supports volunteers who work with young people,
especially girls, and adults on programming like sex education
and life skills. The organization also includes a men’s health
coordinator, Robby Alley, who aims to address issues like
alcoholism and establish Boy Scout troops.
“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
This quarter’s winners are:
Robby Alley ($50), Emily
Harrington and Coco
Robinson ($35), Shawn Abeita
($50), Melissa Muterspaugh
($35), Cassandra Burdyshaw
($35) and Laura Mills ($47).
Congratulations to you all!
July - September 2008
Let’s Stick Together
La Vaina
VAC President Laura Gregory
A
s time flies by in Peace Corps, it is impressive to
look back and see how far we have come as
individuals and as an organization. Just over a year
ago, I was elected President of our Volunteer Advisory
Council (VAC) and I have been so honored to serve and
represent my fellow Volunteers and, more importantly, my
friends.
VAC is the middleman/woman between the office and the PCVs
in the campo. Our directiva advocates Volunteer concerns
and suggestions in order to improve Peace Corps Panama,
which is constantly evolving as a result of these suggestions.
Our work here as professional volunteers is dependent upon
the support and resources we receive from the office. VAC
serves as this means of efficient communication.
Quarterly VAC meetings give Volunteers a chance to represent
their respective needs. Usually, this is done through regional
representatives who speak on behalf of the PCVs in their
p r o v i n c e .
Common topics
Maggie Murray
are
mail,
reimbursements,
encomiendas, and
the never ending
quest
for
affordable hotels in
Panama City.
fuel digester, cacao seminars, coffee
dryers and a technology fair.
We are able to fund these grants
through our primary fundraiser beautiful calendars with photos
submitted by current PCVs. A big
thank you to Peace Corps Panama
Friends for helping sell and distribute
so many of the calendars, enabling
current Volunteers to better serve their
communities.
March 2008 brought back our beloved All-Volunteer Conference
(AVC). This year’s conference was about bringing people
together and learning how to use each other as resources. The
theme “Being Leaders, Creating Leaders” focused on our ability
as Volunteers to be role-models and teachers in all aspects of
our work.
Peace
Corps
Experience
E x c h a n g e
Program is off the
ground
and
running. This is
an opportunity
for families in
Panama City to
host a PCV in
some capacity
(but it usually
includes a comfy
bed, hot shower,
and a meal not
including rice).
We are primarily
working with the
U.S. Embassy to
match families
Likewise, these
r e g i o n a l
representatives
return to their
regional meetings
with the latest
administrative
news from the Volunteers and Trainees helped build a quincha house during the recent Culture
office and are better Week in El Cedro de Los Pozos, Herrera. When people get together to mix the mud,
able to explain new it’s called a junta de embarra.
Peace Corps policies. In addition to fielding concerns, VAC
with Volunteers.
has the pleasure of acknowledging staff members who have
It is a great opportunity for host families to learn more about
been instrumental in volunteer support by presenting staff
Peace Corps and offers a chance for PCVs to have a reminder
appreciation awards.
of home. It is a rewarding experience for both sides.
VAC has continued the Super Small Project Assistance grants
to financially support Volunteer projects. Super small means
$60, but this can be significant on a Peace Corps salary.
Volunteers attend the quarterly meetings with grant proposals
in hopes of having them funded.
A few examples of projects include First Aid/CPR workshops,
composting latrines, irrigation systems, chicken projects, a bio-
A big thank you to my fellow officers: VP Jacob Seiler, Secretary
Laura Mills, and Treasurer Darlene Yule. The commitment of
our dedicated Regional Representatives is priceless. The
success of VAC would not be possible without the willingness
of Peace Corps Panama staff to change and their unwavering
support of every Volunteer in this country. Best wishes to all!
PS: Since there are no meeting minutes printed here, pay extra
attention to your VAC Rep. as he/she will tell you the latest
VAC news at your July regional meeting.
[email protected]
25
La Vaina
VAST New Funding Arrives
C
ongratulations Peace Corps Panamá! As the new HIV
coordinator it is my pleasure to announce that we are
one of nine posts worldwide to receive funding from
the Office of AIDS Relief for HIV/AIDS activities, and the only
post in Latin America/Caribbean region! Thank you Volunteers
for your hard work and commitment to the global response to
HIV/AIDS.
HIV Coordinator Victoria Flagg
VAST Grants will be awarded up to $1,000
per Volunteer (Volunteers that collaborate
on projects may receive $1,000 per
Volunteer).
VAST Projects can include:
•
What we’re doing with the money:
On May 18, 12 Volunteers joined with APLAFA (Asociación de
la Planificación de la Família) in San Miguelito for the 25 Annual
International Candlelight Memorial in honor of those affected
by the AIDS pandemic. Thanks to all who participated.
Community-initiated activities in
HIV/AIDS
education,
prevention, mitigation, or care
•
Community-focused trainings in HIV/AIDS education,
prevention, mitigation or care
On June 18-22, 15 Peace Corps and 20 Red Cross Volunteers
attended a Community Health Seminar in Las Tablas, Los Santos
focused on STI/HIV/AIDS education,First Aid, Disaster
Preparedness and water education. PCVs met Red Cross
Volunteers working in their province and will partner with them
to plan future HIV/AIDS activities.
•
Training and other capacity-building activities with/
in CBOs and NGOs that will assist the organization in
meeting the needs of the community it serves
•
Community activities designed to support people
living with AIDS (PLWA) and especially orphans and
other vulnerable children (OVC)
•
Informational or educational materials on HIV/AIDS
prevention, for use within a community setting.
Part of the Office of AIDS Relief funds has been set aside for
small grants for Volunteers doing projects related to HIV/AIDS.
These grants have been named VAST (Volunteer Activities
Support & Training). VAST grants can be used to support
small-scale, capacity-building activities among nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and/or community-based
organizations (CBOs) that work with or provide services to,
local communities to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
To apply for a VAST Grant:
• Contact Victoria Flagg at [email protected]
for forms and guidelines.
• Have the proposal completed by July 15, 2008.
• Complete the proposed project by September 31 of
2008.
• The second round of VAST grants will begin in
October.
Photo contributed
Allison Musser (RPCV 2004-2006) was PC Panama’s first HIV Coordinator. The program has expanded to
include educational activites throughout the country.
26
“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
La Vaina
July - September 2008
La Moda: El Look y La Cultura
Por Profesora Vicky Mabell de Cristi
E
n la historia del mundo, en los mitos, y en todos los
cuentos, encontramos siempre al hombre
particularmente vestido. Haciendo notable excepción
en los inicios de la creación, datada en los textos bíblicos, que
describen a un hombre y a una mujer completamente desnudos,
viviendo en el jardín del Edén. Sin embargo, el hombre gracias
a su capacidad racional, es quien diseña las primeras formas
para cubrir su cuerpo, ya sea por las razones que lo llevaron
después de probar la fruta prohibida, como lo explica el libro
de Génesis; o por la necesidad de protegerse de las inclemencias
del tiempo y la imitación de la condición animal; como en
contraposición, lo explica la historia científica.
En fin, en todas las épocas y generaciones, encontraremos una
forma de vestir muy particular marcada por las normas sociales,
políticas, culturales vigentes, pero aún más, por las influyentes
exigencias del mercado. A esto, es lo que conocemos como la
moda.
Como ya es de conocimiento, la moda inicialmente acaba con la
desnudes, pero también, la moda ha dado inicio a la desnudes.
Sin embargo, el hombre y la mujer tienen libre albedrío de
vestirse como quieran, siguiendo los patrones de las marcas
famosas y los grandes maestros del diseño o ir en contra de
ellos. Esto es parte de la personalidad humana. ¿Cómo te quieres
ver ante los demás?, esa es tú elección. A esto, es lo que
llamamos el look personal.
Objetivamente, el hombre es lo que hace y la cultura se define
por lo que hace el hombre en el medio en que vive; es decir, es
la manera de vivir de un pueblo en todos los aspectos, tanto
interior del ser humano; como en lo exterior, material y tangible.
Actualmente, diversidad de look y moda podemos encontrar
en cualquier parte del mundo, así como existe la diversidad
cultural. Y Panamá es uno de esos países llevados por la
moda y la diversidad de culturas, convirtiéndolo en un paraíso
atrayente para muchos.
Por otra parte, Cuerpo de Paz, también posee una gran
diversidad… con personajes que marcan su estilo o look.
Durante mis años de trabajo en Cuerpo de paz, he sido
testigo de esa gran diversidad de razas
como de looks que me llevan a reflexionar
en que Cuerpo de Paz tiene su estilo propio,
o en otras palabras su original cultura
de vestir. Sin embargo, hace unos
meses atrás, mi mirada fue atraída por
un estilo diferente y especial; que para
mi concepto encierra una gama de
estilos y culturas al mismo tiempo.
Este colage lo observé detenidamente en la indumentaria del
Voluntario Scott Mann, quien llevaba un look entre lo formal e
informal con una mezcla de estilos culturales entre lo latino,
norteamericano y caribeño.
Como pueden observar en la foto, el Voluntario modelo luce un
par de zapatos negros tipo mocasines, pantalones cargo short,
una camisa body fit tipo hawaiana por sus estampados; y
como accesorios, una pulsera tejida de hilo encerado muy
común en la moda Rasta, que hace complemento con una banda
tejida de lana en los colores de la bandera de Jamaica que a su
vez recoge sus cabellos largos al estilo hippie. Y como última
pieza del atuendo que cierra este arte del vestir, observarán
unos anteojos claros que le dan al modelo un toque intelectual.
En conclusión, con nuestra forma de vestir mostramos parte
de nuestra identidad personal dentro de una sociedad. El
vestir es un arte, y cómo tal, puede ser alagado o criticado,
según el gusto de quien lo mira.
El vestir bien o mal, es lo de menos. Vestirse es lo importante
y necesario para no andar mostrando nuestra
naturaleza por doquiera. El look lo define
cada persona, según sus gustos; la moda,
aunque dominada por las más altas y
famosas firmas, la escoge la sociedad en
general. Entonces, el vestir se
convierte en una
cultura, en la
Cultura del
Vestir, la que
hacemos
nosotros
mismos, más rica, con
todas nuestras
peculiaridades y
diferencias
individuales.
Indumentaria por Scott Mann
Vicky de Cristi
[email protected]
27
La Vaina
How far do you go? Take the quiz
By Joe Goessling
and
Nico Armstrong
Are you one of the hardest toughest,
grimiest, most volunteers? Take our
quiz to find out. Feel free to
extrapolate ratings if you feel you
fit between categories.
Photo contributed
Volunteers Brandon Braithwaite (left) and Joe Goessling lead a class on Gross
Domestic Toughness (GDT).
80-89
28
You are a Chuck Norris/John McClane level
“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
July - September 2008
La Vaina
Nuestro Mundo
By John Jenkins
P
a’ que es este? ¿Tienes una mamá? ¿Saca mi foto?
If there is one thing true of wherever you are in
Panama, it’s that kids ask obnoxious questions. Like
20 people in your chiva that actually holds 12 there
is little you can do to change that. One thing you can do,
however, is try to answer them every now and then in a manner
other than mumbling something about dead batteries followed
by the classic “escucha, tu mama esta llamando.” That
question, of course, is ¿de donde vienes?
Nestled somewhere in the resource library there exists a packet
containing everything you need to paint your very own world
map on an otherwise drab wall in your community. While
acquiring said packet may entail putting the pages back in
some semblance of order and then wrestling with one of the
office copiers, once in hand you will be ready to approach
your school/casa communal/etc. with your idea. Now that you
have the information, a wall, and hopefully some helpers you
should be ready to start the real planning.
Paint and Supplies
Choosing your paint will be the most difficult decision you
make in the course of the project. The paint will not only be
your biggest and possibly only expense for the project. First,
you must decide if you want to use oil or latex paint for your
map. Oil paint has a shinier (glossy) finish, is cheaper (around
$5 per quart), and will stand up better to wet conditions while
you are painting. The down side is that it is not water soluble
and must be cleaned up with kerosene (paint thinner if you’re
ye ye). Your teachers may have painted the national symbols in
the school recently and may already have some of the paint
you’ll need in the school.
If you decide to use latex, make sure you only buy exterior
paint Latex is more expensive ($8 per quart) and harder to find,
your local supercentro may have plenty of the interior/exterior
on hand but that will not stand up to the elements. The best
bet is to stop into a Do-It Center or Rodolag next time you roll
through the provincial capital.
Materials
Now that you have picked your paint you will need 1 quart of
each: ocean blue, regular blue, white, red, yellow, and green
and the smallest can of black you can find. If there is no ocean
blue you can buy an extra quart of white and add in the regular
blue to the color you want. Use a 3” brush for painting the
ocean background and a 1” brush for the remaining large areas.
The vast majority of your work will be in small areas so buy
Photo contributed
The author works on Cerro Tula’s world map.
several water color brushes from your local chino. If you make
your way to one of the fancy hardware stores, keep an eye out
for a small lettering brush. It will make your life a lot easier
when trying to label those little countries in Europe. You’ll
also need a tape measure, level, yard stick, eraser, and a few
pencils.
The first thing you need is an idea of how big you want your
map. The grid itself is 28 squares tall by 56 squares wide.
Think about how big you want each square and then multiply
it out to get the total size of your map. Next, measure out your
wall to center the map and mark off roughly the area that will be
painted. Use the line between the blue bottom and white top
as a reference. Its best to set and draw out a level bottom line
first by starting at one side and working your way across with
the yardstick and level and then repeat for the sides and top.
Make marks for your grid lines around the box saving the odd
ones for the top and bottom rows and columns. Once you
have the grid done, the rest is easy. The packet should walk
you through the drawing of the countries and the proportions
you need to mix your colors.
Kids love to stick their finger in fresh paint. Only curse at them
in English, that way nobody knows what you are saying.
People already think you are crazy anyway. Follow up by
giving 20 to 30 minute lessons in geography to the various
classes in the school and you’ve just provided the little boys
and girls with some grade-A knowledge. Kids may still ask
obnoxious questions but maybe with a little hard work and
dedication a higher percentage of the primary school students
in your adopted community will be able to find Iraq on a map
than in your hometown!
[email protected]
29
La Vaina
Salomar
Why I Came – A Last
Poem from Muekidete
By Gregory Landrigan
V
Was it for something that Rosa weaves, feet
bare, toes strung as looms, sitting by her fire,
wrinkles deepened by her smile. Or was it
for a speech still ringing in my head, a
carousel of thoughts that never arrive.
C
Higinio’s red socks for meetings and
aunt Jemima doo rag for workdays. Blue
purple and green pants that taper to boots.
Generic rolexes that are broke, but
still worn proudly and checked regularly.
olunteers can now email [email protected] and post any
information or resources they think would be useful to other
volunteers. The information stays in the account and can be query
searched by users who are looking for information on specific
development topics. Information on how to log in and submit can be
obtained by contacting Kevin Cropper at [email protected]
or 6639-1352.
assandra “Aire Adventurosa” Burdyshaw, Krista “Tierra
Tremenda” Cole, Allie “Fuego Fantastico” Hayes , and Melanie
“Agua Asombroso” Valm have formed the awesome Captain Planet
team that is coming to a town near you! This Captain Planet team
kicked off its first environmental fair at the primary school in Cabuya
de Arriba in Coclé. Each volunteer made her own costume and planned
activities that centered on her theme. If you are interested in hosting a
fair at your school or community please contact Melanie at 6439-0672
or email [email protected]. The hosting volunteer needs to
provide hospedaje for the Volunteers, and hopefully some food!
O
n April 28, PTO Greg Branch and PCV Elizabeth Horton
presented Peace Corps Panama to the American Chamber of
Commerce in Panama at the U.S. Embassy. Scotia Bank wrote
PC Panama a check for $2,000, the Panama Canal Railroad wrote
another for $2,500. Donations will go toward children’s books to be
distributed to PCVs promoting reading and literacy in their sites. Plans
are in the making for PCVs being able to present their projects on a
quarterly basis to this group.
R
egional Leader Jon Clay and a group of community members
are implementing a program designed to exploit the
motivational power of movies to increase environmental awareness.
Funding by the USAID Small Project Assistant funds and coordination
with Peace Corps Panama has helped El Grupo de Accion Ambiental de
Cuipo to educate young adults and children. Environmental
documentaries and “eco” movies are shown and discussed in area primary
schools and open-air locations throughout the region, all free of charge.
El Grupo de Acción Ambiental is training a new generation of
environmentally conscious and motivated individuals who will be the
foundation for the preservation of Panama’s most precious resource,
the Panama Canal, says Jon.
S
haring the love of reading with youth has just gotten a little bit
cheaper for Peace Corps Volunteers and their projects. Piggy
Press, a company that publishes multi-lingual children’s books has
recently agreed to offer PCVs a 30% discount on all of their books.
The vast majority of their titles are written in both English and Spanish,
with at least one that also is in Kuna. Many have an environmental
message as well. To get the discount contact Pat Alvarado and identify
yourself as a PCV. Email [email protected] or call (507) 3179051.
— April
amily Visiting? Contact Tours 507. English speaking Dario and
Mary will take you and yours on almost any custom tour that
you can invent in their brand new air-conditioned 12-person van.
Boquete? No problem. Portobello? Sure. Just give them a call and tell
them where you’d like to go, even the airport. Mention Peace Corps
and you get a 20% discount. Visit www.tours507.com or call 6676-
— Frederick
30
Hot chocolate sleep deprivation parties
at which the gravity of a sick child
or lost relative is shed to punch drunk
giggles at late night stories. Children who
visit every night right at dinner time.
Rosendo’s missing front teeth. Amalia’s
unflinching response to the number of
men a woman needs to stay “warm” – thirteen.
Husbands forced to take second wives by their
first wives and the strange lack of jealousy.
Fighting as a party game. The next day
still drunk; miles walk from home; stumbling.
The children: running, smiling, falling – free.
Crying, happy, naked, begging – still free.
Will these be the reasons that I came here?
Bernardo, smiling holding his daughter
My name Oli … called out by the children
as I arrive down the trail into town.
And my zinc shack: puddled floor when it rains,
oven when the sun shines, always dark – but mine.
Cropper
F
4950.
Weathered fists clasping headstraps of bags filled
with bananas and otoë. Bright colored
dresses flapping fierce in Summer’s sharp breeze;
flags staking claim to a land that is theirs.
Hungry July nights of cry children.
And when I get home, far away from here
will I unload my bag and find all these
packed between my mosquito net and boots;
My reasons for coming to Panama.
Memories of time in the Comarca.
De Worken
“The toughest revista you’ll ever love.”
July - September 2008
La Vaina
RPCV Carolyn Burgin
Gray (far left) arrived in
Panama with Group 9 as
a 22-year-old University
of Colorado graduate. She
was assigned to Peña
Blanca de Las Tablas, Los
Santos, in late December
1965 to work in rural
community development.
She assisted area doctors
treating diabetes and
helped build a new school.
After her service, she
earned a master’s degree,
married Don Gray, and
taught Spanish and social
studies in Alaska.
Recuerdo
Los Santos
In the photo above, Peña
Blanca residents Luis
Lombardo and Avelino
Dominguez discuss using
fertilizer on onions. At left,
residents inspect the new
school, which was built
through fundraising and
help from the USAID SelfHelp School Construction
program. Burgin Gray,
who provided these photos,
also worked as a Peace
Corps recruiter.
[email protected]
31