April - Peace Corps Panama Friends

Transcription

. . .
Hello again to all our friends, we’re glad you came
to play.
Your friendly Vaina
staff lineup is
changing. Dave
and Rich are
joined
this
issue by
two young
talents from
Minor League
Newsletter-Editing.
That’s right; Jessica
Samples
and
John Sturm are ready
for The Show.
If this issue is a little skimpy,
it’s because the April La
Vaina contains no COS
section. Hear that Group
51? No articles,
photographs or enemies
lists were submitted by
any of you. So you are
officially invited to send
in submissions for a
COS
Section.
Otherwise the July
Issue
will
contain only
some poetry that Rich and
Dave copied from Johnanna
Abbinante’s diary before she
came back from the bathroom
about an hour ago.
That goes double for the
rest you. This issue of La
Vaina had a whopping twelve
pictures submitted, and everyone
knows Volunteers are just looking
at the pictures. So, we need every
thing we can get our hands on. We
know you are all having fun out there
without us; we just want you to send
pictures of what we’re missing.
Also, please note that there are
Haikus strewn randomly throughout
this issue. This is a known bug in
the Adobe PageMaker software
we use to produce La Vaina.
Actually, they were written by the
staff at a recent staff retreat.
Please try to enjoy them.
Warmest regards
-Rich, Dave, Jessica and John
La Vaina
Table of Contents
April - June 2005
foto por Tess
From the Suits...
4-5....................................................... De la Jefa por Jean Lujan
6......................... ....................From the PTO por Peter Redmond
7.....................................................Curanderas Notes por Lourdes
7..................................De la Chica Mas Segura por Maria Elena
8-9 ..............................................................EH Update por Greg
10-11...................................................Talking Business por Pablo
12..............................Agropeucaria Sostenible Update por Jason
13...............................Environmental Conservation por Francisco
14............................................Cuerpo de Paz en Kirbati por Greta
15-18..........................................BCI Planning Tools por Barbara
19.............................. From the Training Director’s Desk por Raul
Next La Vaina deadline - June 22
Announcements, Articles, etc...
19..........................................Peace Corps Blog Info
20..............................................................WID/GAD
22-23........................................................Centerfold
24..............................................More Than You Give
25-26......................................................Zach Attack
26......................................................Brownie Recipe
27......................................................InfoPlaza Listing
28-29...................................................Culture Clash
30..................................................Brian Speaks Out
31-40...........................................Panama in the News
41.....................................................Koller Back Y’all
42....................................Volunteers Speak Out/Quotes
42..............................................A Letter to the Editor
43.........................................HotAllSexy Harvard Man
Joe has taken the Hunter S. Thompson suicide pretty badly
Submission Policy: All subject matter is welcome. We will not print articles which demean or slander Panama or Panamanians. We also will not print exceptionally funny jokes, unless
they are ours. Keep in mind who might read La Vaina --Presidents, chiefs of state, and the like. We will try to correct speling, punc-tuation, and grammars, unless your article is really
long. We get tired. The content of the articles will not be touched unless it is deemed to go beyond the boundaries of decency as the CD, PTO and APCDs judge it. We at La Vaina have
no natural sense of decency. This newsletter is for the Peace Corps community, so it is what you make of it. Contribute, give suggestions, and SUBMIT! We appreciate your support.
Article Guidelines: All articles of various subject matter are welcome. You will make the editors’ job a lot easier if you would please adhere to these guidelines:
1. Please e-mail your articles to [email protected], or submit the articles on disk. Do not handwrite your articles. We do not have the time/motivation necessary to type them.
2. Don’ t try to show off your skills with Word by formatting your article elaborately. Pagemaker doesn’t dig that.
3. Please e-mail digital photos to [email protected], or put photos and other art in the hanging folder in the office.
4. Please do not send submissions, especially pictures, to our personal email accounts. That’s what we have the La Vaina email account for. They max out our mailboxes and then
John might miss an opprotunity to Make Big Money While Working From Home.
cover photo: Jake McCleland
back cover: los Pfeifer
La Vaina
De la Jefa
por Jean Lujan
This is my last LaVaina article as CD
and
I
wanted
it
to
foto por Dan H. be inspirational, educational, motivational,
etc. I meant to work on this earlier, but I was really
busy, and well, now it is too late for the wished-for
masterpiece. The editors offered to ghost-write it for
me and I was tempted. I think they know what is
important to me, what my expectations are for you and
for the program. I am hoping you know these things
too. If you don’t, then I haven’t done
the job I needed to do. After almost 2
½ years as your CD, you should know
where I stand—and trust me to be
there! Indulge me while I tell you, one
final time, what I believe to be
important: briefly, the Peace Corps
volunteer as a development resource.
Thank you all—volunteers and staff—
for your support of me, and for your
dedication and commitment to Peace
Corps and to your communities. We
have made some big changes to the
program in the last 2 ½ years—
changes for the better, I am convinced.
And you hung in there, giving me the
benefit of the doubt, when maybe you worried about
where I was leading you, unsure whether you could trust
me. Let me review the course for you.
Alarmed by reports of floundering volunteers and angry
agencies, I started this job determined to take a hard look
at the program: what were its strengths and weaknesses.
Its weaknesses, I discovered, were primarily related to
programming. We had no real agency partners—
governmental or non-governmental. With some notable
exceptions, we were working alone, and we were not
working as a team.
Among the post’s strengths were many motivated,
talented volunteers and some very
competent, committed staff, including a
PTO who “got” what I wanted to do and
made it better every time (Thank you,
Peter). Together, we challenged senior
staff to figure out what role we should
play in Panama’s development.
Recognizing the unique value of the
volunteer to a community and to a project,
we articulated a big vision for the
program: “We will be recognized as a
development leader and partner of choice
committed to eradicating poverty,
promoting social justice and fostering
cross-cultural
understanding.”
Everything we do— from project design,
site development, training, to budget and
personnel decisions—should take us closer to making our
vision a reality.
Then we “found our focus”—we work “where the circles
intersect.” One circle represents Peace Corps’ capacity,
including our limitations; the second circle represents
host country projects and priorities; and the third
circle represents community needs and resources.
Site placements are made with this focus as our
guide. Working partners—both agency and
community—are now required for every placement.
And we craft our projects to support community
and agency projects.
Finally, we identified and stated out loud what our
values are:
professionalism, teamwork,
accountability, trust, transparency, effective
communication, and respect for diversity and cultural
differences. I measure my own actions against these
4
“The toughest newsletter you’ll ever love.”
La Vaina
April - June 2005
So that’s it. That’s what I want you to remember about
my service here—if you remember at all (you can forget
about my falling in the creek!). That’s what I am hoping
will last. If it does, Peace Corps/Panama will make a
significant contribution to Panama’s development, and
volunteers will go home with a greater satisfaction for
the work they do and a more profound understanding
of Panama’s peoples.
values and expect each staff member and volunteer to
do the same. Each of us is responsible for the kind of
organization we are and the kind of workplace we
create. The ideals of Peace Corps, maybe the “most
inspired initiative ever undertaken by any national
government” , are something very special and we have
a responsibility to live by them every day.
As for me, personally, I have never had a job I loved as
much, where I worked with as many extraordinary
people, doing work that is so important. It has been an
enormous privilege to work with you—staff and
volunteers. You inspire me to do more and to be better
at what I do and who I am. It has been a blessing to
work in Panama—a country that has welcomed us so
warmly. I arrived in country as a ‘believer’ in Peace
Corps. I am pleased to report that I leave more hopeful
for the world and the potential for Peace Corps to make
it a better place.
Un fuerte abrazo a todos, mucha suerte y mil
gracias.
Is the job done? Hardly. We still have some floundering
volunteers but fewer. Partners don’t always come
through. Our training for those volunteers working with
the indigenous needs work. The list is never-ending.
It’s a journey, a process. The good news is that I
believe Peace Corps/Panama has found its way.
Peace Corps/Panama
Vision
We will be recognized as a development leader and
partner of choice commited to eradicating poverty,
promoting social justice and fostering cross-cultural
understanding.
Mission
We work in partnership with others to promote
sustainable solutions in the areas of health, sanitation,
agriculture, environment and small business as we
promote the dignity of people and their capacity to
improve their own lives.
Values
Professionalism ♦Teamwork ♦Trust
Accountability ♦Transparency ♦Diversity
Effective Communication ♦Respect for Cultural
Differences
[email protected]
5
La Vaina
From the PTO
por Peter Redmond
“The worth of a thing is best known
by the want of it.” – Old Scottish
saying
cairn, noun: A mound of stones piled up as a
memorial or to mark a boundary or path.
Sitting in the center of my office meeting table is a small
pile of rocks – a cairn. To those of you who have
wondered aloud about my strange choice of décor, I have
shared with you my love of hiking in the mountains above
tree line in the stomping grounds of my youth — the
Adirondacks of New York, the Green Mountains of
Vermont and the White Mountains
of New Hampshire. In those
beautiful environs, cairns, some as
tall as me and others just a few
stones high, mark the path set by
those who came before.
The word cairn comes from Scottish
Gaelic.
Cairns were used
extensively in Scotland to keep
sojourners out of danger as they
foto por Emily
traversed the treacherous trails of
the Highlands. Cairns offered the traveler a reference
point on the treeless land that was often covered with
foggy mist. Large cairns were also used to memorialize
a person or event and were integral to the pre-Christian,
earth-centered religions of the region.
foto por Christel
6
My office cairn is
both memorial and
path mark – a
memorial to those
who came before us
in Peace Corps and
a reminder of the
path we have set
for Peace Corps/
Panama. It is fitting
that both Jean Lujan
and cairns are of
Scottish descent, for
Jean is responsible
for marking the path
of Peace Corps/Panama these past two and a half years.
Now you might be thinking that likening Jean’s
accomplishments to a pile of stones may not seem to be
the most flattering analogy, but it is true nonetheless.
Cairns are not the work of one single stonemason, but
the result of the hands of many. On an unmarked trail,
lots of hands are needed to carry and set the many stones
to mark the way. Jean has led the way, creating and
motivating the team of both staff and volunteers who
have carried the stones to build our cairns — our vision,
our mission and our values will be the most enduring of
Jean’s cairns.
Working with Jean these past
two and one-half years has
been one of the most
exhilarating and rewarding
experiences in my twenty years
of professional life. As with
every Peace Corps experience,
I have learned and gained so
much more than I could ever
give. I’ve learned about how
to be a better leader; I have
admired her ability to speak honestly to both staff and
volunteers about tough issues; I have watched her take
to heart and respond to the evaluations and feedback
from Volunteer surveys; I have seen her challenge both
staff and volunteers to do better; and I have seen the
power of principle-centered leadership – a leadership
steeped in the belief that the capability of a group is more
than the sum of the individuals that make up the group.
I’ve also seen her choke up as she spoke about how the
work we do today is even more important than when
Peace Corps began 44 years ago. But more than
anything, I will remember the laughing we did – for I
have never laughed as hard, or as much in any other job.
This is a reflection of the joy and enthusiasm that Jean
brings to her work and to the world – and for this she will
be missed by all of us in Peace Corps/Panama.
And to Volunteers and staff alike, I hope you will mind
the cairns that we have built together and challenge
yourself to build new ones as we blaze new paths for
others yet to come.
April - June 2005
La Vaina
Office News
Airport Exit Tax Exemption: Peace Corps has solved the
problem with the Ministry of Exterior Relations and
Airport Authorities and has reinstated Peace Corps’
exemption from the $20 Airport Exit Tax. If you plan on
traveling by air out of Panama, you will need to carry
your purple ID (carnet) AND carry a copy of a Ministry
of Exterior Relations letter that you can get from AO
Greta Mendez.
Office Move Update: Plans are moving forward to move
the office later in the year. We hope to start renovations
to the office space in Ciudad del Saber in April 2005.
More information to come as renovations move forward
and a move date becomes imminent.
‘The newest trainees
will have fun safety sessions
with different tools ’
-Maria Elena Ortiz
Curandera’s Corner
por Lourdes
PANAMA AS REGIONAL MEDEVAC POST
We would like to share the good news with all our
Peace Corps Panama Volunteers. As of March 2005,
Panama has been chosen as a Regional Medevac Post
for the Inter-American region.
Volunteers from Central and South America as well
as the Caribbean will be sent to Panama for medical
attention or special exams that are not easily or reliably
performed in the countries where they are serving.
This is very important for Peace Corps/Panama, since
it is a recognition of the excellence of our post and of
the high quality of Panamanian medical services and
technologies.
We are in the process of developing guidelines and
policies for this program, relying in large measure on
advice from our colleagues in Thailand and South
Africa, the Regional Medevac Centers for EMA and
the Africa regions. We will keep you posted on
developments.
De La Chica Mas Segura
por Maria Elena
If you come to Panama City be aware of pick-pocketers. There are a lot of cases of carteristas (pick pocketers
in English) who are so skilled that they unzip your purse and take out your wallet without you even noticing. Do
not go alone to Avenida Central or Calidonia. Leave your big purses and jewelry at home. Keep your money
in a safe place (pocket inside your pants or your purse in front).
If you are coming to the PC office, please do not keep any thing of value in the Volunteer lounge, some volunteers’
work so hard they forget what belongs to them at the end of the day. If you need to store any items for a short
period of time in the office, please talk to a Peace Corps staff member about securing them.
I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome the new people that will be working as Safety Coordinators
and Regional Leaders. They are very important part of our Peace Corps team. Feel free to contact them in case
of an emergency or any issue related to your area.
[email protected]
7
La Vaina
Environmental Health
por Greg Branch
“I know of no more encouraging fact than the
unquestionable ability of man to evaluate his life
by a conscious endeavor”. -Thoreau
Howdy ho, y’all smell like flowers! Its La Vaina time
again and I’m sending my saludos out to all of you to
wherever you are, be it the latrine, the bus, the Volunteer
lounge, or swaying in your hammock.
My new favorite thing to do is to ask strangers the
following question: If you had a piece of advice to tell
a young man like me, what would you say? I have
found that people love the opportunity and don’t often
have the chance to share their thoughts so directly. For
some reason this works better with Americans than it
does with Panamanians.
Airports are my
favorite place to
ask, as you both
know that you will
probably never see
each other again.
Some of the advice
From Lalo and Lizzy up the Cricamola in
I have been given
Bocas, to Mike and Dan off the islands of
is, ‘never work in
Kuna Landia, to Katherine and Murry on
a job you don’t
the in Panama’s Wild Wild East to Kevin
like’; ‘Time is the
Stevens and his four hour hike through the EH has spirit yes we do!
most
precious
hills of Veraguas (which I drove through in
resource you have’; ‘Love as many women as you
less than one hour). The remaining two who are extending can’; ‘Have a lot of children, whether you can afford
are Laura Squire as Ngobe-Bogle Comarca Coordinator, them or not’; ‘Enjoy the simple things’, and “Don’t
and Dost who is to fill those big shoes that Kevin Bingley waste time worrying’. In general, women tend to give a
is leaving behind.
whole lot more advice than men. One woman said, ‘Call
your mother often’.
Peace Corps is funny that way, folks are always acomin’
and agoin’. Life is that way. As people; we are born into Most satisfying is the look in their eye as I am shaking
a roulette wheel of families, poop in our diapers, crawl their hand goodbye. As if suddenly they care what I
around, figure things out just in time to get old, feeble, might to do with their advice. People are mirrors of each
crawl around and poop in diapers again. History is made, other and no matter what roulette family you are born
progress noted, and that’s that. The next rounds of babies into we are equals inside. I believe the quote at the
are already coming in to hear about it and then make beginning of the article.
their own tracks.
Peace Corps is a mini life for all of Evaluate your life often. Make the necessary changes to
us. Meet your new host family, make it feel right, feel good. Life is too short to become
learn to express yourself and adapt, complacent. I am convinced that attitude is the number
then exit on your own terms, having one controlling force that dictates how your life will evolve
shared your thoughts and and, of course, how you evaluate what goes on around
perspective with those you.
you were living with,
and hopefully doing So, how to sum up these philosophical ramblings? From
some good along the experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer only 3 and half
way.
years ago, to the congressional delegation last week, it is
foto por Manuela
So much has happened since the January
issue, but then again, there is always a lot
happening. First of all, sombreros off to
the good people of Group 50 who have just
COSed.
8
April - June 2005
La Vaina
clear to me that being a Peace Corps Volunteer is a dream
job. I am amazed at how many people are envious/
intrigued/interested in the kind of life a PCV lives.
Remember that. Aprovechar that. You have two years.
Then that’s it. On to the next thing. You most likely will
never do something quite like this again. In everything
you do. Those are my aspirations for you.
improve their
quality of life.
Kevin is a living
example of 1+1 =
4, having worked
and taught in every
corner of Panama.
Bueno, my traditional ramblings have come to an end.
Do what you have to do to make this the most rewarding,
challenging, real experience that you have had to date.
So without further pupu….
Group 56 arrives in
August! As many
of you have heard
by now, Kevin is
no longer going to
be the tech trainer
for the next EH
group. There was ‘lil’ Kev Stevens has a big chakra
a conflict in time
and Kevin was only available for the first 7 weeks of
training. What’s the plan? It is going to be tough to replace
the kind of experience that Kevin was able to offer. From
the feedback/evaluations that we have received from y’all,
its clear that the field trips and sessions involving currently
serving PCVs were the highlights of
training.
The Tech...
As I mentioned before, some of group 50 have left and
believe it or not, most of group of 47 are actually leaving
come May 5th. I am having a hard time trying to attempt
to explain the history of this group. For EH, the five that
are still here are part of the first seven that came to
Panama in January 2002. Their contributions to EH and
Panama have been huge!
John Spalding, Mike Gaffney, and
Ian Jarvis successfully launched the
composting latrine design in Bocas.
From radio shows to hosting a
seminar for agencies, to seeing an
almost three year project to the end,
you guys did a tremendous job.
Because of your work, we are going
to have a National Latrine Seminar foto por Katie C
for Agencies in Panama City April 28th.
Ryan Gross, the whitest, funniest, Chiriqui Ngobe to lay
aqueduct pipe and build pit latrines this side of the
Cordillera. He deserves a lot of credit for the grand
success of the three aqueduct management seminars last
year.
foto por Gil
Kevin Bingley,
where to begin?
One of hardest
w o r k i n g
Ingenieros I have
had the pleasure to
work with. A man
who is dedicated to
developing
technology
so
Panamanians
We will continue to do the PCV visit
during the third week and the
composting latrine tech week. I hope
to do maybe one or two more field
trips an aqueduct work field trip and
a health promotion/ lorena stove trip.
Please let me know if you might be
able to host any of these four sitebased trainings. As for the Santa Rita training, I will be
contacting you individually, to ask if you can come in to
train various sessions.
Dost will be taking over Kevin’s position in May. As
Kevin’s talents were in aqueducts and tech designs, Dost
is good at coordinating, organizing, and planning. She will
be in Panama City headquarters, planning the upcoming
health seminars y mucho mas. Contact Dost at
[email protected] regarding the health seminars
or any other EH coordination issues. Two of the three
seminars have dates, here they are:
May 24 -27 Veraguas/Chiriqui
June 6-10th No Kribo/Bocas del Toro
Darien/Panama Este: TBA
Well, that is enough of this long-winded article. Happy
trails to all of you, be it from Panama, or in Panama.
[email protected]
9
La Vaina
The CED File
por Pablo Garron
Here we go again. This morning
during the Staff meeting, we realized
that the La Vaina article was due
today, of course with muchas ganas y con echa pa’
delante so without further delay, here is my part.
I want to start by saying, great job at AVC. With your
help we have the new, fully tested, error free (so far)
quarterly report available at our PCPCED page. Which,
by the way, has been pretty crowded lately. Use the new
QR to report your work of this past quarter. The new
DVD compatible Virtual QR, that Mark was talking about
during AVC is taking more time than we thought, so please
use the old one until further notice.
My site visits finished with a great trip up to Bocas del
I
foto por Johanna Toro.
had the
chance to
travel with
an
IT
specialist
who works
for PC HQ
i
n
Washington
and it was
his first
time visiting a site, so I took him to Norteño, to meet Ann
Sawner. The visit was great and the food was excellent.
Thanks Ann! A CED PCV can’t leave without trying the
Bocas-Tuna Surprise.
Like you already know, Lockheed Martin computers are
confirmed, Peace Corps Panama accepted the donation
and according to PC HQ they are sending the computers
pretty soon. Lockheed Martin confirmed the number of
computers is 90, so the good news is that all the
communities will have their requested numbers fulfilled.
I sent an email asking for a time line but I haven’t received
any news yet. As soon the computers arrive you will be
hearing from me, I don’t have to much space in my office
for that equipment so please start thinking with the
Computer Committees how the logistics of the
transportation is going to work.
Life was beautiful, foto por Johanna
and then I got
invited
to
participate in the
Y o u t h
Development and
Employment
Workshop to be
held in the ugly,
not fun, St. Lucia.
So I will be traveling there from the 22nd to the 28th of
May. The participants (APCDs) will share their
experiences and results on working with youth.
On my return I will share with you the results of the
conference. Apparently, it is not going to be the only trip,
I will also going to participate of the OST in Washington
from June 6th to July 2nd, this is a training time for new
APCDs, CDs, AOs, PTOs, at headquarters. I hope my
family will still remember me after that.
Changing the subject, as you already know, will have a
series of workshops in different places of the country, as
plan in the sustainable artisan project; some of you will
receive and invitation to participate on those training
sessions as trainers with the help and participation of other
HCAs.
The places of the workshops will be: Cilico Creek, Bocas
del Toro; Penonome, Cocle; Santa Fe, Darien and San
Ingacio de Tupile in Kuna Yala. The exact dates will be
sent later this week, but it will be from the 26 of April to
the end of May. Those interested in participating as
trainers in the following subjects, send me an email.
foto por pablo
10
April - June 2005
La Vaina
Resumen Ejecutivo
PRODUCCION Y VENTA SOSTENIBLE DE ARTESANIAS
Meta: Artesanos Panameños se recibirán entrenamiento, apoyo y motivación para participar
efectivamente cada año en la Feria Nacional de Artesanía.
Objetivos:
1.Hasta el fin de Julio, los artesanos seleccionados, serán capacitados para planificar
estratégicamente su participación en la
Feria Nacional.
2.Al inicio de la Feria Nacional, un stand
apropiadamente construido estará
disponible dentro de las instalaciones
para los artesanos participantes del
proyecto.
3.Al final de la Feria Nacional un Fondo
Rotativo existirá para la participación
de los artesanos en la próxima edición.
Resultados:
1. Aumento de la auto confianza de los
artesanos en sus productos gracias a la
mejor venta de sus productos en
relación al año anterior.
2.Mejoramiento de la calidad de los productos debido a la capacitación y al tiempo de
planificación.
3.Permitir una participación genuina de los artesanos de áreas rurales a la feria más
importante del país.
4.Educar a los visitantes mostrando la forma tradicional de crear artesanía, de esa
forma, fortalecer la cultura y la percepción sobre el valor del producto comprado.
5.Disminuir el impacto ambiental en la producción de artesanía.
Que capacidades serán desarrolladas:
Los artesanos que participen de este proyecto, podrán realizar lo siguiente:
1.Preparación y desarrollo de presupuestos.
2.Planificación antes, durante y después de una Feria.
3.Desarrollo de Productos considerando preferencias del consumidor.
4.Atención al cliente para incrementar sus ventas.
5.Cortar de manera saludable la palma para la elaboración de la artesanía.
Los artesanos que participen de este proyecto cambiaran sus actitudes respecto a:
1. Trabajar dentro de una organización.
2.Beneficios de la planificación para evitar el fracaso.
Su rol en la preservación de la cultura y su medio ambiente.
[email protected]
11
La Vaina
SAS Update
Por Jason Cochrane
I am sitting at my computer trying to
think of something fun and witty to
write as La Vaina deadline looms over my head. This is
the first deadline that I am rushing to make since I took
this job, if that is a testament to how busy things have
been recently. Trying to reflect a bit I am reminded of a
couple of images and events from the last couple of weeks.
The first one was that of a homeless woman washing her
clothes from a spigot while a Palm Sunday procession
walks by. The symbolism is not lost on me. The process
is commemorating the entrance of one of the world’s first
advocate for the poor into Jerusalem. The symbolism is
that while we pray and sing and bless the palms, we walk
by someone that this prophet went to the grave to help.
Yet we walk by as if she does not exist. Have we
progressed? Have we learned the lesson?
Keep up the great work. As always, I am proud to be
working with you all.
My travel schedule:
April: 3-11: Duty officer. I will be in the office that
week.
April 19-20: COS Conference in El Valle.
April 20-21: RL training in El Valle.
April 25-28: Farm planning seminar in Divisa. I also
plan on visiting Bryan, Nicole and Joe for one year visits
this month.
May: I will be visiting Chad, Shane, Scott and Paul this
month. Also, trainees arrive the 19 th. June: I will be
visiting Ben, Clairissa, Sara, Julia and Erica as well as
being involved in training. Also, Coffee seminar in the
end of June (we will keep you posted as to the details).
Image number two: At the ambassador’s house attending Seed Project International. Remember: as the garden
a reception in honor of a congressional delegation visiting projects are being completed, please send me a one page
Panama. At numerous times, separate congresspersons summary of what you planted, with whom, what worked,
what didn’t and how many persons
sought out and spoke with our
benefited along with photos.
volunteers. They were
inspired and very proud of the
Farewell to Erick, Christina, Kim
work you are doing and how
and Dan M. Thank you for all your
well you represent our
hard work and dedication and we
country. It gave us a rare
wish you well in your next
opportunity to take a step
back from the craziness of the
adventures.
work we do to reflect upon
Now that we have work groups
its importance and that there
formed and you have sent me your
are numerous people who are
lists and what you are proposing to
proud and maybe a bit jealous
las
tres
fotos
por
Sturm
of what we do.
do, we are on to the next step:
Implementation. Group presidents,
try
to
set
up
a
meeting
with me over the next three months
How are these two images connected? Here comes the
segue. Sometimes it feels like the goals we have - so we can discuss this. We can do this by phone or in
eradicate poverty, make the world a better place to live in, person at your convenience and when my calendar
etc. - seem so big, so daunting that it always leaves one permits.
saying: “But there is so much left to do!” Yet we are
doing the work. We are doing the best we can to make a Great job everyone at the AVC. We had a great
difference. That is what impresses the visiting policy conference and it was fun to get caught up with everyone.
makers. We answer the call: “If not me, then who? If We are doing great things that we all should be proud of.
not now than when?” We may never get all the homeless
off the street, or feed the hungry or save all the rainforests, Send me your calendars. Let me know when you are out
of site for more than two nights and call the out of site
but at least we are trying, where others are ignoring.
box when away. Keep up the great work!
12
April - June 2005
La Vaina
Environmental Conservation
Por Francisco Santamaria
Hello Friends, first, I want to extend a
warm greeting to you all. At the same
time, I hope that all of you are well and happy in your
communities. Secondly, thank you so much for your
valuable participation in the past Sector Conference.
Congratulations to the volunteers who are extending their
service in Panama. They are Monica Bosquez and Lauren
Koller with Fundacion Tierra Nueva (Foundation New
Earth) in Darien and Jeremy Terhune with Instituto
Nacional de Agricultural (INA) in Divisa. Also to
Katherine Dennis who has extended in her site until June.
I spent the last two weeks (03/07 – 19/05) doing the second
official visit of group 52 (Anna, Dana, Victoria, Lauren,
Mary and Kimberly) and I want to say to you: Thanks!. the communities will be located in protected areas and
Thanks for the high level of commitment to your buffer zones with a strong focus in the Panama Canal
communities and the people with whom you are working. Watershed (50%). The rest are repeat sites.
Next May and June will be the second official visit to Environmental Calendar (From ANAM)
group 53. I’ll let you know when the dates are set.
Abril 7 Día Mundial de la Salud
A new group of 18 volunteers will be arriving promptly Abril 22 Día Mundial del Agua
and the site development process is underway. As always, Abril 28 Día Mundial contra el Ruido
Mayo 15 Día Internacional de la Familia
Segunda semana Semana Internacional de las Aves
Migratorias
Tercer Viernes Día Mundial del Árbol
Mayo28 Día Internacional de acción por la salud de la
Mujer
Mayo 31 Día Mundial sin Tabaco
Junio 5 Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente
Junio 8 Día del Océano
Segunda semana Semana Ecológica
Tercera semana Semana de la Familia
Junio 17 Día de la lucha contra la Desertificación y la
Sequía
Junio 26 Día Internacional de la Preservación de los
Bosques Tropicales
Julio 1 Aniversario de ANAM
Julio 11 Día Mundial de la Población
(Editors’ Note: Remember that International Eat An
Endangered Species Week is always the last week of
June.)
[email protected]
13
La Vaina
Cuerpo de Paz en Kirbati
Por Greta Méndez
MAURI es la palabra usada en Kiribati
para decir HOLA así que Mauri para
todos ustedes que trabajan a diario en mi querida patria:
Panamá. Deseo compartir con ustedes una hermosa
experiencia que gracias a mi trabajo en Cuerpo de Paz
pude realizar. El año pasado estuve en Kiribati trabajando
en la oficina de Cuerpo de Paz como Administradora por
seis semanas ya que la esposa del Administrador de ese
Post iba a tener su primer bebé y yo llegue justo a tiempo
ya que al día siguiente de mi llegada nació el bebé!! Toma
3 días llegar a ese lugar.
La isla principal se llama Tarawa. Es allí donde esta la
oficina de Cuerpo de Paz, el aeropuerto y el único banco
que existe. También hay solo un hotel que se llama Ottin
tai (Sun rise). Hay sólo un cine en un lugar llamado Betio.
Y eso si le quieres llamar cine. Betio es un lugar histórico
ya que fue allí donde se dio parte de la segunda guerra
mundial.
Kiribati es un Atolón ( ATOLL) de corales y son varias
islas que están en el Pacífico hacia el área donde esta
Hawaii. Kiribati está a 3 horas hacia el norte de FIJI.
Es realmente un lugar muy hermoso y sus playas son
espectaculares. Pero lo más hermoso de ese lugar es la
alegría de su gente.
En este lugar también hay problemas de agua. El agua
se obtiene de la lluvia. Las casas tienen tanque de 6 mil
litros para recoger el agua de lluvia. Para tomar debes
comprar agua embotellada que viene de Fiji.
La gente de allá son color trigueño y de cabellos y ojos
negros. Sus cabellos son largos y hermosos. Los
hombres suelen tener tatuajes en su cuerpo. La cultura
es muy conservadora. Las mujeres utilizan una falda
que cubre sus piernas y se llama LAVA LAVA. Y usan
una clase de top que se llama Sebuta.
Los voluntarios allá han ganado mucha paciencia. Ellos
siempre dicen que las cosas allá son más lentas que en el
resto del mundo y siempre hablan del Kiribati Time. Si
pides un reembolso de caja puede ser que este en esa
oficina por casi 3 meses. Pero eso no es nada. Un grupo
de nuevos trainees se acaba de juramentar el 26 de agosto
y para Septiembre 16 todavía muchos de ellos no habían
llegado a sus islas. El transporte aéreo es muy lento y
puede ser que tengas programado salir en un vuelo pero
el avión aún no ha llegado para recogerte. Así es que
mejor es llenarse de paciencia y esperar. El sistema de
mail es un gran problema allá. Y la comida , ni hablar.
Solo hay un barco que viene de Australia con algunas
frutas y productos enlatados. La comida principal es
arroz (steamed rice with fish) con pescado. El pescado
que comen es tuna y Morikoi. Morikoi es un pescado de
carne blanca con menos grasa que la tuna. Los
restaurantes que hay son todos chinos. Asi que no hay
McDonalds, Kentucky, TGIF, No hay nada.
14
El aeropuerto internacional es sumamente arcaico. Las
puertas son de madera y definitivamente no hay aire
acondicionado.
Hay algunos voluntarios en la isla de Tarawa que es la
más grande. La mayoría de los voluntarios están en las
islas. Y allí si que no hay nada. En estas islas cada
voluntario tiene un teléfono satelital.
Para ir al dentista tienes que tomar el avión a Fiji. Para
ciertas emergencias medicas puede que te envien a
Australia. Y cuando estas muy mal te mandan de
MEDEVAC a Washington. Para llegar a Washington
tienes que tomar el avión de Kiribati a Fiji que toma 3
horas. Luego el de Fiji a Los Angeles que toma 10 horas
de viaje. Y luego de Los Angeles a DC que son alrededor
de 5 horas.
Pero entonces qué hace que los voluntarios se queden
allí? Como les dije la gente que siempre esta alegre, con
una sonrisa, que nunca te dirán algo que te haga sentir
mal, y cantan y bailan divino.
Realmente este lugar es sumamente duro para ser
voluntario de Cuerpo de Paz . No es para todo el mundo.
Pero ya el post tiene 30 años y solamente tiene alrededor
de 40 voluntarios con sólo dos programas: Educación y
Salud.
Tengo algunas fotos y aquellos que deseen saber un poco
más pueden venir a mi oficina y allí puedo contarles más
de mi experiencia en Kiribati. Asi que me despido con
un TIABO (see you!).
April - June 2005
La Vaina
8 Step Behavior Change Intervention Planning Tool
por Barbara
How is it that sales of Frito-Lay’s Wow! Brand potato chips continue to rise even though each bag features the
warning “May cause anal leakage” printed on its back? Development workers, however, struggle to get mothers to
adopt good hygiene methods, or to convince youth to adopt healthy sexual behaviors that will improve their children’s
health. Community development professionals can learn a lot from marketing firms about promoting basic changes
in behavior.
At the core of most development in our communities is the challenge of helping key populations modify their behaviors
to adopt practices that improve their health, agricultural and conservation practices as well as their economic wellbeing. Behavior Change Intervention (BCI) is a key strategy that uses behavioral, communication, and social
marketing theory and research to provide a systematic framework for efforts to influence individual behaviors and
the social contexts in which they occur. Key elements of BCI include identifying and segmenting target audiences,
involving those audiences in developing materials and key messages, and using multiple communication channels to
transfer those messages.
The goal is to bring about a “Tipping Point” where the behavior change that your group is promoting (condoms, water
treatment, hygiene, care of environment, use of IT labs, etc) becomes a “social epidemic” that spreads quickly to a
larger population. The tipping point of social change is the moment of critical mass or boiling point where the people
make the socially beneficial behavior the norm. This change usually comes about because of the influence of a few
select messengers that, through their contagiousness, convince early adapters, and then reach the tipping point of
affecting many others’ behaviors. The key is to find the few key messengers, a sticky message, and ways to help
people put into practice their new knowledge/behavior. These techniques work not only to sell Gap blue jeans, but
also to “sell” positive social behaviors.
The following tool is meant to help Volunteers and their project partners develop Behavior Change Intervention
strategies for their organizations and communities. Some of the key strategies in this article are based on the book
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Please be sure to share your efforts with PC-Panama to let us know about
your strategies and results.
Step 1: Defining What the Current Normative Behaviors Are
The starting point for good Behavior Change Intervention is identifying the current beliefs and behaviors related to
the topic around which you want to provoke change. This requires doing individual interviews and focus groups to
ask about their current behaviors and what might lead them to change those behaviors. Below is an example of a
chart that can be used to record initial behaviors.
[email protected]
15
La Vaina
Step 2: Identifying the Key Actors
Starting social epidemics requires concentrating resources on a few key areas and persons. With an epidemic, a tiny
majority of the people do much of the work of spreading the word to other key actors through their particular skills
that get the attention of the rest of us. Volunteers resources ought to be concentrated on three types of community
actors: Connectors, Salesmen, and Early Adapters. The important step in a BCI campaign is to identify these three
groups of actors and their key interests. Once these actors are convinced, it is much easier to reach the tipping point
through your messages.
Connectors are the people that bring the community together through their ability to influence others. They are
comfortable with having acquaintances in many different circles and stay in touch with them. They may be a
political figure such as the town mayor, or they may draw their connections from their job such as the “tienda”
owner. For example, Doña Josefina, the president of Padres de la Familia that lived in the center of a small village,
was selected to build the first latrine in the town. As a result many others asked how they could sign up to build their
own through the Volunteers project. Thus the Connector helped build meaningful interest and commitment.
Salesmen have the skills to persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we are seeing/hearing. Their energy,
enthusiasm, verbal and nonverbal clues are all key for a “social” salesman to persuade from the outside in an
external gesture that can affect an internal decision. While not the head of his youth club, Ramon was targeted by
a Volunteer to talk about the importance of abstinence, fidelity, and condom use, because of his energy and “cool”
appeal to other youth.
Early Adapters are people who most closely take their cues from connectors and salesmen and are more easily
influenced. They may be those who show up consistently to meetings of the community group, or are present at a
number of other community activities. In identifying the key actors, the following chart is helpful:
Step 3: Developing your Sticky Message
Each target group must have a key message that directly links to the interests/benefits perceived by that specific
group. Components of a sticky message include that it:
‘Mucho trabajo
-
Responds to listeners’ most pressing needs, concerns or aspirations
Is easy to remember
Is easy to implement
Is fun
Satifacción total
Gracias Dios’
Por Erubey Calvo
Messages must be tested, tinkered with, and retested until you find that your target test groups are truly able to
retain the message and seem willing to act on them.
16
April - June 2005
La Vaina
Name of campaign: “Earning money by improving our accounting.”
Step 4: Disseminating the Message through Active Learning Methods
Just as important as the message, is the means by which it is disseminated. Too often we try and use traditional
formal means for conveying our messages such as through “charla/discussions” which often have very low rates of
learning retention. It is important to develop innovative forms of promoting education and planning through hands-on
action and inter-active presentations. This could include: discussing the importance of nutrition with mothers while
building an organic vegetable garden or rabbit cages; or teaching about the environment during a reforestation
project; or having youth talk about making healthy decisions in small groups as they develop role plays to present to
their communities. Also, consider other activities to help overcome initial barriers to these behaviors such as:
improving
access,
formation
of
support
groups,
etc.
Examples:
Step 5: Leveraging your Context
Sometimes linking your message and messengers to current changes in the community’s context allows for much
more “stickiness” and adaptability by others to the BCI messages. Social epidemics are sensitive to the conditions
and circumstances of the times and places in which they occur. For example, the closing of the local Banco Nacional
creates an atmosphere for a women’s group to discuss more energetically the possibility of them creating their own
community bank to protect and grow their savings and to access needed loans. Or a drought in the Azuero may
allow a group of farmers to be more open to forming a coop to pool resources for a new irrigation or water system.
[email protected]
17
La Vaina
Step 6: Creating Change through Reflection
Internal and group reflection is a core component of behavior change because it allows information to be converted
from simple data in the mind, to a change of attitude, and eventually to an impulse for changing one’s behavior. To
be effective, reflection should be facilitated through means such as: organized group discussions before, during, and/
or after a project activity or training; having participants write down lessons learned; presenting socio-dramas based
on reflections; poems; etc.
Step 7: Maintaining Motivation
Two of the hardest parts of development are building the motivation for participants to take the initial step to become
involved with a community activity and then maintaining their participation or their desired behavior. Various forms
of maintaining motivation might include: individual/group progress charts that are then linked to incentive recognition
awards; participant certificates or ribbons (you know they love certificates!); showing a t-shirt that participants who
are regularly involved receive after a certain period; visits by public or other leaders; presentations by the participants
to other potential participants; parties, picnics, or outings; recognition in the local media or other means.
Step 8: Measuring Impact and Change of Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior
Especially at the start and end of your Intervention, it is important to measure progress toward your key indicators of
change through individual interviews and focus groups. It is also important to disseminate these findings and celebrate
progress through community or group meetings.
Remember what brings about social change epidemics is the hard work of a few key people, with a contagious
message and sense of hope. With the right effort applied in the right place you can create the tipping point of change
in your community’s development.
Recommendations for Implementation:
1. Create your own worksheet for planning. Copy the headings from the previous charts found in
each of the 8 steps.
2. In collaboration with your counterpart and other community members, begin to fill out the charts.
You can ask them one question at a time over several days/weeks/months during informal
conversations, so as not to overwhelm them.
3. Give the Behavior Change Intervention a try and let us know how it goes.
18
April - June 2005
From the Training
Director’s Desk
Peace Corps Blog Helps
Volunteers Share Stories
Por Raul
iNewswire 2005-03-28 - When
President John F. Kennedy
established the Peace Corps in
1961, he created three simple
goals for the organization. The
third goal was ( and still is ) to
“Help promote a better
understanding of other peoples on
the part of all Americans.”
Training Calendar
April
11-15 – Group #54 PDM – CEDESO
19-21 – Group #51 COS conference – Hotel
Campestre, El Valle, Coclé
21-22 – Regional Leader Training – Hotel Campestre,
El Valle, Coclé
26-27 – Ngäbe Language Training – Hotel Toledo,
David, Chiriquí
May 19-July 28
Group #55 PST – CEC & SAS
August
2-4 – Group #52 COS conference – Place to be
announced
August 11-October 20
Group #56 PST – EH & CED
Ben has crabs, por Clarissa
La Vaina
In February 2005, Third Goal was created out of a need
to provide Peace Corps volunteers a free, easy, and
independent way to share their stories with the rest of
the world.
”Third Goal helps others
understand the joys and
difficulties Peace Corps
volunteers experience in
cultures very different than
our own,” says Jason
Pearce, Third Goal’s founder. “By offering volunteers an
independent community and anonymity, they may more
freely and accurately help everyone understand distant
cultures.”
By providing a consolidated venue for all Peace Corps
volunteers, the public receives a concentrated resource
of first-person experiences from worlds very different
than their own.
Third Goal offers volunteers a free and anonymous place
to log their experiences for others to read in real time.
More so, their real-life stories will help shape Americans’
understanding of other peoples.
Pearce was kicked out of the Peace Corps for blogging
about his experiences as a Peace Corps trainee while
serving in Guyana in 2002.
Third Goal (www.thirdgoal.com)
Jason Pearce – Third Goal Founder
( 317 ) 809-5256 cell
[email protected]
[email protected]
19
La Vaina
WID/GAD Update
Por Katie Skaar
This month I’ve got one word for
you: purgatory. That is where your
WID/GAD directiva has been put
after being refused funding for the
adult conference that has gone on for years. I won’t
discuss what happened to the money, just know that it
never materialized and therefore neither can the Adult
Conference. We are putting our efforts into the Children’s
Conference that (fingers-crossed) should be held during
vacation in August.
- The best devices used to demonstrate how to put on a
condom have been bananas, yucca, and WID/GAD
President John Nangle. Other suggestions are welcome,
be creative.
- When inviting people to give charlas at your site
ALWAYS: write a formal invitation, call to confirm, and
deliver a thank you letter.
Also
backrubs and gift
‘Last year budget squeeze
baskets have been
making training struggle but
appreciated.
survived stronger now.’
Currently, we are looking for funding through a
Partnership Grant in which we indirectly ask for money
from family and friends. The Partnership Grant has been
set up so volunteers can get donations from family and
friends in the United States (or elsewhere for that matter)
but not receive them directly, if volunteers could receive
them directly, well, the directiva could be vacationing in
Belize, and if sex came up it wouldn’t be in the educational
sense.
We also learned (or
-Raul Ramirez
relearned), The Chain
of AIDS game that Dan Hopkins invented to explain the
‘chain’ of AIDS to emphasize the fact that you can also
get AIDS without having sex (its just less fun that way).
But seriously folks, you can look on the
www.peacecorps.org website in probably about a month
and see our plea for money, and then when all those
friends and family members ask what they can do for
you, you can tell them something besides ‘Send beer’.
On a good note, our last meeting at AVC was pretty
groovy, so those who decided to go swimming, salsa
dancing, or whatever else, well - you missed out.
Volunteers Johanna Abbinante,
Kersten Appler, and Daniel Hopkins
talk about their experiences discussing
AIDS, health, gender and other WID/
GAD related topics in their
community. Here are the tops of the
tips they shared:
- Beware of giving TOO much
information; instead try using a few
charlas in a sort of continuum… with
more info to be done in successive
presentations.
- Bring food and chicha (then shame
and ridicule anyone who drinks
seconds).
- Keep it real, don’t lie to yourself.
20
foto por Norma
Here’s how to play:
Take some pieces of paper and label them 0, 2, 3, 4 or M
for monogamous. If your paper is the number 3 you
have to get three people to sign it (put little rayas on
them to show where to sign). The people with the M
only need to find one other person (indicated by the single
________ in the papel). To symbolize the transmission
of AIDS, you add a red dot to just a few of the papelitos,
as well to one of the M’s. These signify people with
AIDS.
To make it more dramatic have the people with the red
dot stand up in the front of the room, have them call out
whose signatures are on their papers.
Then have them line up behind the first
person. You will see eventually there is
quite a chain… Then announce that they
all contracted AIDS.
Oh, you thought that it couldn’t get more
interesting? Because you added a C
(signifies condom) on one of the
numbered papers you can show that
because this one person used a condom,
all the others were saved. If you have
any questions about how these charlas
were delivered in the volunteers’
community you can email anyone in the
directiva
or
[email protected].
April - June 2005
La Vaina
Nuevas de Panama Verde
por Lauren Fitzgerald
Buenos días a
todos y todas.
Como la enlace
entre Cuerpo de
Paz y Panamá
Verde,
mi
responsabilidad
es fortalecer la
comunicación
entre las dos
organizaciones.
Por eso he decidido iniciar una columna aquí en La Vaina,
en español no para ser pifiosa pero para compartir lo que
escribo con Panamá Verde e incluir las ideas de ellos
también.
foto por Norma
En la sesión con Panamá Verde durante la conferencia
de Conservación Ambiental, Ennio Arcia compartió con
nosotros muchas ideas para mantener los grupos y
solucionar los problemas que a veces tenemos. Una de
las ideas que merece mas atención es la importancia de
buscar a alguien en la comunidad que pueda prepararse
para guiar el grupo cuando tu, el voluntario, te vayas.
Esta persona debe ser alguien que los jóvenes y los demás
adultos respeten, y alguien que esté dispuesta a dar su
tiempo durante las reuniones, actividades, y eventos
nacionales y regionales, o sea, alguien que entienda el
compromiso necesitado. Sería bueno empezar a involucrar
a esta persona desde ya, invitándola a todas sus
actividades, incluso a los eventos nacionales, para que
conozca el staff de Panamá Verde y su forma de trabajar,
y también para que esta persona
comunique al resto de la comunidad
que el grupo es serio, y los padres pueden dejar que sus
hijos participen con confianza.
Otra cosa: para aclarar un poco de confusión que algunos
voluntarios han expresado, hablé con Panamá Verde sobre
el asunto del transporte a los eventos nacionales. Para el
Encuentro Nacional en Abril y los Seminarios de
Liderazgo en las vacaciones de medio año, donde asisten
menos jóvenes, Panamá Verde trabaja para agrupar y
coordinar los grupos de cada región, buscando la opción
mas económico con menos buses y menos gastos. Para
los campamentos de verano, cada grupo debe recoger
fondos para lograr la meta de pagar su pasaje, pero
Panamá Verde está dispuesto a ayudar a aquellos grupos
que vengan de
muy lejos. En
general, cada
grupo debe tener
un fondo para
aportar algo para
ir a un evento,
pero también
debe mantener
foto por John Sturm u
n
a
comunicación
abierta con Panamá Verde para que ellos sepan su
capacidad de pagar; el no tener dinero no debe ser la
cosa que impida que el grupo asista al evento.
Si no tienes grupo de Panamá Verde pero te gustaría
formar uno, solo hay que contactar a Panamá Verde o a
mí y podemos ayudarte con eso con mucho gusto.
Contactos
Oficina
de
Panamá
Verde:
236-5619,
[email protected]
Vidal Castillo, celular: 626-2621
Ennio Arcia, celular: 620-1965, [email protected]
Lauren Fitzgerald: [email protected]
foto por Julia
Calendario
21-24 de abril: III Encuentro Nacional, Santa Clara, Coclé
Vacaciones de medio año: Seminario de Liderazgo
¿? Día Internacional de Limpieza de Playas
[email protected]
21
La Vaina
22
April - June 2005
[email protected]
La Vaina
23
La Vaina
More than you Give
por Pablo Kingsbury
One of the lamest clichés used by
returning volunteers is: “I got so
much more than I gave.” While
lame, I do agree that this should
be the case and, as a card-carrying member of la jefa’s
bottom 10%, I think I’m beginning to figure out how to
make sure I get more than I give. Let me explain how:
The first thing you have to do is a community analysis.
Although this won’t help at all with any actual work, it’ll
let you know who in your community has what. Who’s
got chickens that are laying, cucumber ready to harvest,
etc.
Second, quit drinking coffee. I don’t mean completely, I
just mean when you’re pasearing around your site. It’s
inevitable, everybody is going to offer a cup of coffee.
But if you don’t drink it, that confuses the hell out of the
locals. They will, literally, scour the house, the garden,
and the monte, looking for something to give you. And
usually it ends up being a lot better than coffee. I tell
you, I’ve mooched more pounds of cucumber than I’ve
produced in my garden, more eggs than a ponedora
project, and enough oranges to keep a thousand men free
of scurvy into well into their old age.
The key to doing this successfully is staying in your house
until you’re sure that people have something to give you.
You don’t want your strenuous pasearing to lead to you
ending up with a bunch of yuca. When they do have
something to give, go just about every day, even pretend
you want to do a project with them. If their hens are
laying, they will give you eggs every single day for a
week. As long as you don’t drink any of their coffee.
So with these simple methods in mind, you are well
equipped to make sure that when you leave, you can say
“I got more than I gave” and mean it.
‘The safety system
is better in the office
and doors are open’
-Maria Elena Ortiz
24
Grad School Applicants
por Lorena Koller
For those of you planning on applying to graduate
programs while you are still a PCV here, you may
not have to pay those $40+ application fees. Some
universities will waive your application fee due to
your Peace Corps status, or given that you live at
“subsistence” level (which our monthly living
allowance certainly confirms). Often, this
information is not provided on the school’s web page,
but can be checked by contacting someone in
Admissions, or the head of the Graduate
Department/Program you are applying to.
PCVS have been granted application fee waivers
for Masters, JD, and MBA programs in both private
and public schools. It is worth a try, and can save
you big bucks.
Just remember:
- Be sure to have your most recent W-2 available
to confirm your salary.
- Some schools explicitly state that the fee is “nonwaivable”, so read the fine print before sending them
an email.
News Flash!!!
As of April 1st (no foolin’)
Panama is Peace Corps’ official Medevac
post for the Caribbean, and Central and
South Americas.
What’s this mean to us? Time to up our
PSN (not BSN) capabilities.
The Peer Support Network: An elite group
of PC Panama volunteers trained and
dedicated to helping fellow volunteers
through tough times.
Interested in receiving training? Let it be
known.
E-mail y+o at [email protected] with
statements of intent or interest or just plain
queries.
April - June 2005
La Vaina
The Zach Attack or 1+1 = 4
por Vickie Fields
After about twenty days of running, the first day of rest
is finally in sight. I haven’t felt so busy since training. In
midst of all of the chaos—Spanish classes, community
fundraising discotecas, AVC, an in-site Panama Verde
encuentro, and finally a day to do my laundry—there
were times when I just longed for the hammock and days
of having absolutely nothing to do. The tension of
opposites as the scientific world calls it, which boils down
used to succeeding in just about
everything, but when I was
benched most of the season I became disheartened, lost
my passion for the sport, and gave up. The second time
was my experience at the University of Pennsylvania,
and for the first time encountering academic a level of
competiveness that surpassed my expectations. This time
I took the challenge very seriously, and somehow survived.
What is different now? Two seemingly contradictory
messages that Jean shared come to mind—again with
the tension of opposites.
The 10-80-10 policy, at the time I remember thinking,
a little sadly, “well I suppose that puts me in the 80
category”. Like others, I was disillusioned by the idea
of being placed in a percentile as if taking an exam. I
personally think that some of the most important work
we do cant be put on an informe. The message Jean
gave me, is that Peace Corps is an individual challenge,
and fits in with our American ideal of competiveness.
foto por Jake McCleland
But just a few weeks ago at AVC (or whatever it is
called), Jean concluded the seminar by saying something
that I found even more useful and encouraging. She
Before I started Peace Corps I used to live high off of concluded the seminar by quoting a theorem of physics,
having too much to do. I had to study for an exam, go to We are the integrated sum of our individual parts. We
work, go to soccer practice. My calendar was stacked, came here to challenge ourselves individually, but I think
our work stands out the most when
these were my activities, my
“I hope they play Enter Sandman”
we think of Peace Corps Panama
accomplishments. I joined the Peace
as a team working together to
Corps; to challenge myself as an
better the country.
individual, to see what I could
accomplish.
Wow! The idea certainly impresses
me. Maybe we came here thinking
While this still holds true, for me, one
“I can move mountains, I can
of the most important lessons that I
change the world” but what I have
have learned here in Panama is that
discovered is that I cannot do these
in terms of personal successes, the
things alone, but together, as a
group is more important than the
Peace Corps, we can move
individual. This is the third time in my
mountains and we can change the
life that I have felt this way, but I think
world. Our program is a globally
that this time it has hit me harder and
recognized entity of social
has humbled me in a way that it didn’t
progress, and it continues strongly
before.
because there are those of us who
The first time was when I played
see the potential for change from
Varsity soccer in high school. I was
to the fact that Sunday is meant to be a day of rest.
[email protected]
25
La Vaina
working together.
‘Shared good times and bad
Shared vision, mission, values
Friends across cultures’
I was amazed at
AVC this year,
remembering how
overwhelmed and
-Jean Lujan
discouraged I felt by
last years’ CEC sector
conferences. I can see how far the CEC program has
come in just the last year, under the leadership of
Francisco and Carlos. We may
have
been
frustrated
redefining our sector goals last
year, but because of that
effort, we have come out this
year with more optimistic,
energetic volunteers dedicated
to their mission and knowing
what their goals are. It is a
huge accomplishment that has
helped guide me, especially in
the push toward working more
with school and youth
(Panama Verde), and in
recognizing the importance of
youth development as a
primary sector goal.
‘Uriahmaniasis’ por Goodriend
I also saw in Peter´s summary
of the surveys, in Jean´s concluding speech, and in the
greater participation of the Peace Corps staff, that we
have come far in this last year overall, and we continually
are moving towards becoming that integrated whole,
which Jean spoke about.
I would like to conclude with an example I think most
people from
the Saved by
The Bell
generation\cult
following
w i l l
recognize.
The episode
I
was
thinking
about is the
“ Z a c h
Attack”
where the
gang decides
26
Brownies del Campo
por Bego
I have had many requests to put this brownie recipe
in La Vaina, so here it is. If you are unlucky enough
to live in a place where they don’t grow cacao, then
I guess you could use the unsweetened Hershey’s
chocolate.... but it’s not guaranteed. On that note,
this recipe is also not guaranteed, I just guess on the
ingredients and I encourage you to do
the same, they always come out
different, but here is my best estimate:
¼ cup oil or butter
¼ cup grated or smashed cacao
¾ cup sugar (the white kind works the
best, but whatever you’ve got)
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla (you can never have too
much vanilla)
½ tsp royal (baking powder)
1 egg
2 T water or milk
½ cup flour
Heat the butter or oil and then add the
cacao so it melts nicely, add the sugar,
vanilla, egg and salt and mix it up. Add
the rest of the stuff and see how the consistency
looks.
Here are the general rules:
-If you add more flour they will be more cakey
instead of fudgey
-If you add more flour you should also add more royal
-Other tasty additions are coffee (just the grounds)
and peanut butter
-The cacao they make in your sites has the natural
oils in it, if you use store bought stuff you should add
some more oil.
-On that same note, when using cacao, don’t put too
much oil or your brownies will be really greasy
to form a band. Zack, the slacker, falls asleep and dreams
that they make it big. But then fights within the group
start and he breaks off on his own, leaving everyone
behind. In the end, no one succeeds, not even Zack. The
point is, we may be out working individually, but we form
a network, and we function because of different
strengths that each person brings to the program. In other
words, as the Jefa said: 1+1=4.
La Vaina
April - June 2005
Peace Corps and Infoplazas
Por Pablo
In a meeting between the Director of Infoplazas at SENACYT’s and myself, SENACYT agreed
to our request that PCVs be authorized to plan activities and run training sessions at all SENACYT
Infoplazas. SENACYT is sending your names to the nearest Infoplaza to inform the Infoplaza’s
Administrators about this new agreement, so please take some time to visit your nearest Infoplaza. Any activities
should be planned in coordination with the administrators of the Infoplaza. The use of the Internet is only 25 cents
per hour for the PCVs in an Infoplaza. I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to help train people in the
IT skills. Here is a list of the Infoplazas and the closest Volunteers.
[email protected]
27
There
La Vaina
Culture Clash
Por Franny White
hopefully reverse harms
that have already been
done. I can’t help but
wonder if maybe some of
Old timers smile through their wrinkled eyes and chat my work here has sent
under the shade of the tienda’s roof. The sounds of Malena further down a
young people playing football come from down the dirt destructive path. That
road. Meanwhile, kids too young to play football engage may be a bit too strong,
in an equally competitive round of jacks on their aunt’s but the outside forces –
namely the people’s drive
porch.
to earn money
“there
hasn’t
been
as
for an easier,
The old men in their straw
m o r e
sombreros, the young women much daily work to
sifting through platones of dry force everyone into comfortable life
– seem far too
rice, the even younger men
constant labor.”
powerful.
hauling fishing nets toward the
beach for another night on the Golfo de Montijo. These
are all things that I never want to change. These are the It’s not the environment that I’m talking about here. That’s
daily, routine things I cherish most about Malena, my relatively easy for me to convince my residents to protect
– there are clear, cause-and-effect scientific explanations
community on the Pacific coast of Veraguas.
for that. What about my town’s way of life, its native
With increasing tourist interest in the area and the locals’ spirit, its culture? I see Malena’s people, their personalities
growing hunger for financial resources, I worry that much and their manner of being, and I see truly humble, downof Malena’s rural charm will disappear in the name of to-earth people living life as it seems we were intended
to live. Malenans don’t necessarily see this – it’s just the
development.
way that they are. I worry Malenans won’t be able to
In the 50-some years since Herrerano emigrants founded see how such ‘advancements’ could actually be causing
Malena, the town has changed. It grew from two families irrevocable harm.
living in penca huts to 124 habitants living in mostly
concrete block homes. In the beginning, residents had to Several residents recently received extensive business
and tourism training by an NGO. Now that many have
walk hours to the nearest for the daily boat taxi.
seen the latent economic potential of our picturesque,
oceanside town, people are
Now buses come straight through the middle of foto por Goodfriend
beginning to scheme ways to
our dirt road at least nine times a day. The land
make a profit. From fishermen
was wild then, covered with dense foliage and a
offering boat tours to
variety of wildlife. Now all the surrounding
homeowners renting out rooms to
terrain has been parceled off, the trees chopped
visitors, everyone is imagining
down, the soil too scorched to reliably produce
ways to get a piece of the action.
anything but cattle pastures, and the wildlife has
I initially viewed this is as a good
fled.
thing. Malena was diversifying
its income base and preparing for
Malenans themselves have seen these changes
the future. I eagerly helped
occur in their own lifetimes. I wonder if they
locals put together basic business
can see what calamities the next 50 years may
proposals and encouraged their
bring if they’re not careful. Sure, I’m here to
entrepreneurial zeal. But as
help my town plan wisely for its future and
I overlook the burning summer sun
from the cool of my front porch and
take in the scene of another Malenan afternoon.
28
La Vaina
April - June 2005
foto por Christel
S a n t i a g o
residents begin
to flock to our
beach in the
beginning of the
summer season,
I now see how
adversely
a f f e c t e d
Malenans are by
the
big-city
visitors.
The youth, in particular, have begun to imitate the pop
culture driven ideals of designer clothes, hit music and
partying. Already, the kids of the few families who still
live and work in the hills surrounding Malena have
commented on how Malena youth seem to do nothing,
while they are out caring for their families’ fields nearly
every day. Malena’s older residents have told me it didn’t
use to be this way. But since people started raising cows
and buying their food instead of growing it, there hasn’t
been as much daily work to force everyone into constant
labor.
In their idle time, Malena’s youth sit along the road and
observe the flashy cars and the demeanor of the Santiago
weekenders and the foreign tourists who drive them.
Malena has traditionally been a close-knit,
religious community that did not drink. But
more and more now, youth visit the
cantinas of neighboring towns. They are
no longer interested in learning the
traditional agrarian practices of their
parents. Instead, they seem to prefer the
quick, less laborious buck … and spending
it on extravagant clothing or nighttime
entertainment.
If the drive for money and material things
succeeds in Malena, I can easily see how
lifestyles could change and end what I love
about. Instead of playing football, I
imagine the youth would sit in their own
homes to watch satellite MTV on
television sets. Consumed by the desire
to buy more “necessary” goods, Malenan
adults wouldn’t have time for the relaxed,
intimate chats between neighbors. The
local tiendas would cease to offer the
town’s former mainstay of home-cooked
chicheme and instead
succumb to the selling
power of the tourist’s
popular
“Latin”
beverage, Corona. The
town’s few remaining
fisherman would no
longer independently
practice traditional
fishing in their small
lanchas. The fisherman’s practice of bringing home a
fresh-caught meal for their families would become
obsolete.
I suppose Malena’s story is much like the gradual
urbanization of any other rural town. But living here now,
enjoying Malena’s current bliss and seeing the changes
take place first hand makes it difficult to accept the
changes. I’ve only lived here seven months and already
I’m incredibly attached and protective of all that makes
this town wonderful. No doubt Malena’s own residents,
most of whom have lived here their entire lives, are far
prouder and more defensive of their own pueblo. But I
worry that increasing pressure to make money and to
participate in a growing, commercial society will eventually
take precedence over preserving the ideals and qualities
that make up Malena’s culture. I usually fight to make
change and to advance the world. But
now I find myself firmly against it,
wanting to keep things exactly the way
they are. Malena isn’t perfect, but the
commercialized version I picture it
becoming is far worse.
foto por Ben Clark
[email protected]
As Peace Corps volunteers, we’re
trained to teach defined areas like organic
agriculture, latrine and aqueduct
construction, small businesses basics and
environmental protection. But how can
I convince my town that something as
intangible, but essential, as its culture and
soul are far more valuable than a bag of
Balboas?
Franny White is a nationally syndicated
columnist whose columns are printed in
over 24,000 newspapers, magazines and
bathroom walls worldwide.
She can be reached at:
[email protected].
29
La Vaina
Damn Peace Corps Hippies
foto por Johanna
por Brian Fisher
“Everyone should boycott Barnes and
Noble” assuredly comments a fellow
volunteer as we sit down with a beer
after our last regional meeting. After
the All Volunteer Conference I overheard a friend rant
against the US economic and cultural hegemony abroad.
The Peace Corps crowd is one of the most dynamic and
interesting groups that I have been part of, but the lack of
diversity of perspective, and abundance of criticism of big
business and big government often surprises me.
It seems to me that we are too quick to play David taking
on Goliath. Does our skepticism of size and power blind us
to his benefits and value? Volunteers never seem to think
twice about boycotting companies without considering that
they are instruments created, demanded and controlled by
the general public. Barnes and Noble exists because
Americans LOVE to pay too much for coffee while
browsing for books they don’t intend to buy.
f l a w e d .
McDonalds will
never be ‘the
Enron of the
foodservice
industry’ its not
going to happen.
They argue that a business like Barnes and Noble
consolidates market share, and thus dictates what
consumers read. It is a justifiable threat as big name
publishers may have undue influence in winning shelf
space, but it also caters a little too much to the conspiracy
theory crowd, who believe that businesses dictate to
consumers on a one-way street. They lose sight of the
fact that this market influence stems from the desires
of the people and prevailing public opinion. The small
private book store owner could be more prone to allow
his subjectivity and personal taste influence the books
he carries, where as the corporate retailer would make
decisions collectively based on nation-wide reviews and
demand.
No system is without drawbacks, and big business causes
its share of problems. But to be so aggressive with your
opinion often forces you to work backwards, you decide
that you don’t like something, and then come up with Their other grievance was that a Board of Directors
reasons to support that opinion; this reasoning in inherently doesn’t care about the quality of reading material, but
concerns itself solely with turning a profit. The jefe´s
first priority is, and should be, his fiscal responsibility to
share holders, but this economic motivation benefits the
public as well, and does not warrant David´s stone. A
corporation’s financial success is contingent upon
effectively providing consumers with what they need
and want, so a CEO´s success hinges on public welfare
and contentment. In the “Wealth of Nations” Adam
Smith demonstrated how this private search for profit
advances public interests, and how a corporations’
success indicates its value to society.
Homogenous corporate retailers scattered across the
country do detract from a town’s individuality. I too
like the romantic idea of living in a small town devoid of
chain vendors, but I also enjoy their convenience, lower
cost, and accessibility; Starbucks serves good coffee,
and Outback makes a good steak. Before slaying this
perceived cultural menace, it is important to recognize
that it is a menace with proven value that society
benefits from the unprecedented access and availability
offered to them.
30
April - June 2005
La Vaina
Panama In The News...
The Houston Chronicle
February 27, 2005
JOHN OTIS
Colombia says it’s time to close
the gap
PUERTO MELUK, COLOMBIA In an era of space travel and
spreading global trade, the lack of a
road connection between North
America and South America baffles
many drivers.
But builders of foto por Shanna
the 16,000mile-long PanAmerican
Highway
system, which
stretches from
Fairbanks,
Alaska, to the
southern tip of
Chile, never
bridged the
Darien Jungle in Panama and the
Colombian province of Choco. The
60-mile chasm, which is known as
the Darien Gap, can only be crossed
by foot or dugout canoe.
Now, President Alvaro Uribe of
Colombia wants to complete the
highway system.
”Future generations will wonder why
there is a highway from Panama to
Alaska and from Colombia to
Patagonia but no route uniting the two
Americas,” Uribe said at a
November summit of Latin American
presidents in Costa Rica.
Uribe’s proposal to build a road to
finish the network would require the
cooperation of Panama and cost the
two governments up to $ 500 million.
In the United foto por Rebecca Schram
States, the
e n t i r e could devastate livestock.
interstate
h i g h w a y Indians in both Panama and Colombia
system is pointed out that the highway had
considered already lured thousands of farmers
part of the and loggers to the Darien Jungle,
P a n - where they had razed huge patches
A m e r i c a n of rain forest considered one of the
world’s most important ecosystems.
route.
U.S. and Panamanian authorities, in
Washington became convinced of the turn, feared that Colombian
need for a road network linking the traffickers could drive truckloads of
Americas during World War II and cocaine across the border.
agreed to pick up some of the
construction costs, with the rest Today, Uribe argues that his hard-line
coming from nations along the route. security policies have drug smugglers
on the run and that completion of the
By the 1980s, the highway system highway network would bring
was in place except for the so-called economic growth to poor areas.
Darien Gap, and Washington had cut
off funding But Panamanian officials seem
because of unconvinced. Ligia Castro, director of
c o n c e r n s Panama’s Darien National Authority,
about foot- recently suggested that a ferry link to
and-mouth Colombia would be cheaper and
d i s e a s e , predicted that her government would
which if it be lambasted by environmentalists if
w
a
s it green-lighted the road.
transported
from south ”A road across Darien could make
a m e r i c a Panama look very bad in the eyes of
the world,” Castro said.
foto por Andrew
[email protected]
31
La Vaina
New York Times
February 13, 2005
ALEX MARKELS
Beauty and Tax Breaks Lure
Buyers to Panama
WHEN Larry and Honey Dodge of
Jackson, Wyo., first visited this
fledgling eco-tourist destination two
years ago, they were thinking about
retiring abroad and decided to take a
vacation here to check it out. They
had read about Panama’s diverse
climate of tropical beaches and
mountain cloud forests, as well as its
recent efforts to lure foreigners with
residential visas for anyone with just
$500 a month in personal income and
generous breaks on property and
income taxes.
‘’Almost from the minute
we got there, we were, like,
‘This is the place,’’’ Mrs.
Dodge said of the creek-side
building site with a view of
the surrounding mountains.
‘’It was perfect.’’
Little wonder that Panama
is increasingly lighting up the
radar screens of those
searching for an affordable
alternative
to
more
traditional south-of-the-border
retreats in Mexico, Costa Rica and
the Caribbean, where escalating
prices increasingly rival those along
America’s own beachfronts.
Touted as the
‘’next Costa
Rica’’ by travel
magazines and
newsletters like
International
Living, Panama
is undergoing a
land rush as its
To c u m e n
Airport fills with
planeloads of
eager foreigners
with cash in
hand.
Committed libertarians,
Mrs. Dodge, 58, and
Mr. Dodge, 63, both
retired, also liked the
country’s laissez-faire
stance on private
property rights and
entrepreneurship. Best
of all, land prices as
low as a few thousand
dollars an acre and
building costs starting
around $40 a square
foot meant the two foto por John Sturm
could afford to sell their
house, build a new one in Panama Since 2001, once sleepy rural towns
and still have plenty of money left over like Boquete, which AARP’s Modern
Maturity magazine named one of the
to cover their living expenses.
world’s best places to retire, have
Their trip to Panama, an S-shaped seen real estate prices rise as much
isthmus with 1,600 miles of combined as fivefold as developers transform
coastline on the Atlantic and Pacific farmland into high-end developments
Oceans, was a success. Before they like Valle Escondido, a gated golfreturned home to Wyoming, they put course community where half-acre
down $27,000 for a small plot of land lots now sell for $100,000 and more.
in Altos Del Maria, a mountainside Prices in coastal areas like Bocas Del
real estate development an hour and Toro, on the Caribbean Sea, have
a half drive from Panama City. also skyrocketed, and a restoration
under way in Panama City’s historic
32
Casco Viejo neighborhood has drawn
foreigners eager to get a piece of its
330-year-old history.
Yet despite the price increases,
property here remains a fraction of
what one would pay for similar real
estate in the United States. And with
enticements like a 20-year suspension
of property taxes to those who build
houses or renovate in a historic
district, and an income tax hiatus for
those starting some small businesses,
the opportunities are appealing not
only for those seeking a place to retire
but also for entrepreneurs.
At least that is what Douglas
Lonneker, 39, and Gloria Esguerra, 28,
are counting on. Eager to spend a few
years in a foreign country before their
2-year-old child is old enough to go
to school, the couple recently bought,
as an investment, development
property in the western highlands near
Boquete and in Bocas Del Toro along
the Caribbean Coast, as well as an
apartment in downtown Panama City,
where they plan to live full-time. A
real estate investor and stock market
trader, Mr. Lonneker was attracted
by Panama City’s thriving business
community, including more than 100
international banks and a tax-free
manufacturing zone, as well as a
technological sophistication, including
April - June 2005
high-speed Internet service in his new
apartment. ‘’Everything works,’’ he
said. ‘’And because it’s a financial
center for Latin America, it’s easy to
establish banking relationships and
locate money managers and
accountants. You don’t get that in
places like Costa Rica.’’
Then, of course, there is the lure of
Panama City’s urban lifestyle,
including a young, hip population and
a bevy of good restaurants, bars and
nightlife. Ms. Esguerra, a dog
groomer, is especially taken with
Casco Viejo, where high-profile
residents have renovated oncecrumbling buildings, like the
waterfront three-story home of the
musician-turned-politician Ruben
Blades, who is now the country’s
minister of tourism.
Resembling a cross between the
French Quarter of New Orleans and
Old Havana in Cuba, the
neighborhood is situated on a small
peninsula that juts out into Panama
Bay on the Pacific Coast. Its ornate
Spanish colonial and neo-Classical
architecture offers a stunning
counterpoint to downtown Panama
City’s glass-enclosed
high-rise buildings poking
up across the water.
Largely abandoned by
the city’s wealthy
beginning in the late
1950’s, many of Casco
Viejo’s buildings fell into
disrepair as squatters
moved in and growing
drug use gave it a
reputation as the city’s
most
dangerous
neighborhood. Yet the
United Nations declared
the neighborhood — one of the oldest
settlements in the Americas — a
World Heritage site in 1997 (the
Panama Canal didn’t even make the
La Vaina
list), and the government has since
poured millions into infrastructure
improvements, building restorations
and additional policing.
of the highland and Caribbean coastal
areas near the country’s border with
Costa Rica.
foto por John Sturm
There is also the
problem
of
u n t i t l e d
property,
especially in the
coastal areas
around Bocas
Del
Toro,
where several
lawsuits are
now pending
over
land
illegally sold to
foreign buyers
by the former
municipal
government.
’’It’s like walking
through one of the
old cities of
Europe,’’
Ms.
Esguerra said of the
neighborhood,
where she and Mr.
Lonneker hope to
find a building to
renovate. ‘’It’s
absolutely where
we want to be.’’
While property
prices
have
approximately
doubled in the last
five years, ‘’there’s still a ton of
upside potential in Casco,’’ said
Kathleen Peddicord, publisher of
International Living, which recently
renovated a building there to house
its local office. ‘’Every time I visit, it
gets more cleaned up, and these
grand old buildings are being
resurrected. The more that happens,
the more people will want to come.’’
foto por Shanna
She is less
sanguine,
however, about
some other
areas
on
buyers’ radar
screens. For
example, she
does
not
recommend
buying
in
Boquete or
Bocas
Del
Toro, two of
the
most
popular places for foreign buyers in
recent years. ‘’It’s really beautiful, but
there’s been a buying frenzy in that
little pocket of the country,’’ she said
[email protected]
’’It’s definitely a place where you
need to be very careful about what
you’re buying,’’ said Michael
Manville, a real estate consultant who
leads buying trips to Panama. As for
Boquete, he, too, is wary of rising
prices, and instead recommends
areas closer to Panama City, such as
Sora, where the Altos Del Maria
development is located.
The Dodges heartily agree. They
consider towns like Boquete and
Volcan too far from Panama City. So
enamored were they with Altos Del
Maria that they recently decided to
trade up to a larger lot nearby to build
their dream house, part of which they
plan to open as a bed-and-breakfast
business. At $105,000 just for the
land, ‘’it wasn’t cheap,’’ she said.
’’But it’s got 50 papaya trees, 100
banana trees and a dam on the creek
that makes a little pool where you can
swim,’’ she added. ‘’And if the B&B
thing doesn’t work out, we’ll have
extra bedrooms for everyone to come
and visit.’’
33
La Vaina
Los Angeles Times
workers, one canal official said. The
project probably would include a fivemile bypass of the current canal route
on its Pacific side, a feature designed
for the larger ships.
January 22, 2005
Chris Kraul
$5 Billion Expansion of Panama
Canal is Considered
Prodded by possible competition, the
Panama Canal’s board of directors will
probably propose a $5-billion expansion
that would add a parallel set of locks
so the waterway could accommodate
giant container cargo ships.
The expanded canal would
accommodate not only bigger ships but
also more of them. As it is, traffic is
expected to top out at 42 ships a day
in
the
next
decade.
‘The branch bends, rebounds
With challenge comes growth, little
One – search for the core’
-Barbara Gulick
about 60 miles south of Ensenada. The
port would be connected to the U.S.
rail grid by a new 125-mile railroad to
the U.S.-Mexico border.
Officially, the canal authority has kept
Top executives of the Panama Canal The project would be financed mostly mum on details of a possible expansion,
Authority said in interviews that the with revenue from the canal’s shipping
which has been the subject
of $50 million in studies
administration saw a real threat that
a competing project might be built
initiated in 2000. And that
in Central America or Mexico. As a
has drawn fire from critics
defensive measure, they said, the 90—
such
as
Jorge
year-old waterway must be
Giannareas,
former
newspaper editor and now
expanded or eventually it will
become just a “regional canal.”
university professor — who
say the process should be
The expansion would enhance the
more transparent.
canal as a major transit route for
Environmentalists worry that
Asian cargo destined for southern
foto por Shanna
and eastern U.S. ports such as New
the expansion would harm
Orleans, Houston, Tampa, Fla., customers, who would pay a surcharge ecosystems, displace thousands of
Savannah, Ga., and Norfolk, Va., the that would pay off bonds issued to peasant farmers and require too much
officials said. The elimination of the underwrite the cost of the construction, water.
global textile quota system this year is an official said.
likely to increase Chinese cargo traffic
One of the officials speaking off the
to the United States, canal officials Canal executives are concerned about record said the authority was leaning
proposals to build canals or toward using a system that would
believe.
“multimodal” systems, which include recycle water used to fill up the locks,
The expansion would increase the both canals and other means of moving similar to systems used in some
maximum ship length to 1,265 feet and cargo, in Mexico’s Tehuantepec European ports.
the ship draft — the depth of water isthmus or through Nicaragua, El
the vessel needs in order to float — to Salvador or Honduras.
Some critics say a lack of transparency
50 feet from 39 feet, the officials said.
is hurting the Torrijos government,
The 51-mile-long canal system was Pressure for an alternative route is which recently proposed a broad fiscal
completed in 1914 by the United rising because the Long Beach and Los reform to raise up to $500 million in
States, which retained control until it Angeles ports, which receive much of additional taxes.
turned over the facility to Panama in Asia’s U.S.-bound container cargo,
are approaching capacity.
December 1999.
Finance Minister Ricaurte Vasquez
was quoted in the local media as saying
The expansion project would be a Another mega-project being discussed the reforms were crucial to the
massive undertaking requiring 10 is the construction of a new Mexican feasibility of the canal expansion, but
years of labor and about 10,000 port facility near the town of Colonet, he did not provide details.
34
April - June 2005
La Vaina
Chicago Tribune
March 6, 2005
HOWARDREICH
A Culture With A Lost Past
PANAMA CITY — A young woman swathed in a
luminous green gown twists and turns onstage, as if
possessed.
As she sways across the proscenium, bending her body
in sinuous and hypnotic ways, a small army of
percussionists fires off a flurry of backbeats, their tempo
accelerating as the tribal dance unfolds.
Thousands in the audience, watching beneath a scorching
afternoon sun, cheer loudly, their chants almost drowning
out the accompanying jazz band, while the dancer
continues to gyrate before them, her gestures inspiring
further waves of adulation and exultation.
But the Panamanians egging on the performer aren’t
merely whiling away an afternoon at the Panama Jazz
Festival, where the Bannaba Project — which merges
ritual dance with modern jazz — is proving a certifiable
sensation.
More important, the locals are beholding their ancient past,
attempting to connect with the origins of a Panamanian
culture they’re only beginning to rediscover and
understand.
of conquest by armies
near and far, thanks to
the often overweening
cultural influence of the
United States — which
controlled the Panama
Canal through most of
the 20th Century —
Panamanians have
almost no record of a
musical scene that may
have rivaled New
Orleans as a nexus of
early jazz.
By trying to retrieve
their musical heritage,
through performance
ensembles such as the
Bannaba Project and
through the fledgling foto por Gil
Panama Jazz Festival
itself, Panamanians are not only attempting to reconstruct
their cultural legacy. Equally important, they’re trying to
find — through music — a sense of self-worth that has
been battered through centuries of domination by foreign
powers.
”We need to bring our self-esteem up, after all the stuff
that has happened here,” says Panamanian salsa star and
movie actor Ruben Blades, who last year left Hollywood
to become Panama’s minister of tourism.
Speaking passionately about his country during lunch at
Their quest carries implications for the rest of the musical Restaurante Martin Fierro, a short drive from his office
in the capital’s architecturally majestic but
world, for it speaks to the origins of jazz and
partly crumbling Old City, Blades believes
its precursors.
‘Entrenar mucho
that his compatriots are on a mission.
Más conocimiento
That’s because Panama — like Havana
Panamanians, he says, are trying to
Aprendizaje’
“understand our own music.”
and New Orleans — once stood at the
-Erubey Calvo
crossroads of the slave trade, the Africans
Adds Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez, chatting
who forcibly were brought here, and elsewhere
across the Americas, carrying with them the rhythms and between sets at the jazz festival he created, “We have to
techniques that eventually blossomed into jazz and its many help our self-image, and I think music does that.
offshoots.
”We have to erase the stereotype, the idea that Panama
But while the sounds of Havana and New Orleans have is mangos and bananas, that whole mentality.
been celebrated around the world, the historic music of ”We have a lot of great talent here. The one thing we
Panama practically has disappeared. Thanks to centuries have is culture — but we don’t know it.”
[email protected]
35
La Vaina
foto por Gil
Moreover, the history of this country — which didn’t
become an independent nation until 1903 — hauntingly
echoes the origins of America’s first city of jazz, New
Orleans. Just as the cultures of Spain, France, Africa and
North America shaped the music of Louisiana, so too did
these same influences converge in Panama.
The Spanish conquerors of centuries ago left behind their
language, architecture and European musical traditions,
while the English traders who brought slaves here
provided a critical element in the emergence of a distinct
Panamanian music: the mystical, ancient sounds of Africa,
borne by men and women in chains.
The arrival of the French, in the 1880s, to attempt to build
a canal (a failed venture that cost 22,000 lives and nearly
bankrupted France) and the Americans in 1904, to
construct the Panama Canal, completed the picture. Like
Louisiana, Panama at the dawn of the 20th Century was
poised to create a nascent jazz.
Gil
Panama today indeed stands at a kind of crossroads.
Having received control of its primary economic engine
— the Panama Canal — from the U.S. on the last day of
1999 and having elected Pres. Martin Torrijos last fall,
the country finally stands poised to fully take hold of its
future. Yet after centuries of living under the influence of
Colombia, Spain, France, the United States and other
external forces, Panama has yet to find its own voice
and identity, its sense of its cultural worth.
Musical roots
To do so, it has begun looking to a musical past that barely
has survived. Only a few tantalizing fragments of
Panama’s sprawling musical history endures, in fact, to
suggest that this isthmus — where the sun seems to rise
over the Pacific and set over the Atlantic — once
flourished as a cultural powerhouse. From the ancient
chants and ritualized dances of the indigenous Kuna people
(including the aforementioned dancer of the Bannaba
Project) to the American-made recordings of Panama’s
first bona fide jazz star, pianist Luis Russell (who powered
Louis Armstrong’s great bands of the 1930s), Panama’s
musical roots run deep.
But with the exception of the music of Luis Russell, a
Panamanian jazz genius who moved to New Orleans in
1919, at age 17, the first chapter of Panama jazz may
totally have escaped documentation. If we are to judge
by the accomplishments of Russell — who famously
collaborated with such first-generation New Orleans
jazzmen as clarinetist Albert Nicholas, drummer Paul
Barbarin and the great Satchmo himself — the initial wave
of Panamanian jazz artists was formidable.
That a Panamatrained musician
such as Russell,
one of many
Panamanian
jazz pioneers,
could hold his
own alongside
the first great
jazzmen of New
O r l e a n s
suggests that the
C e n t r a l
American
country may
have been at the
forefront of the
music.
foto por Gil
36
April - June 2005
Unfortunately, Panamanians of Russell’s vintage “had a
chance to listen to the jazz but
never the technology to record
jazz groups here in Panama,”
says Ernesto Crouch, a
Panamanian music historian
and drummer who has been
researching the subject for
decades.
Orleans jazz pianist named Jelly Roll Morton began
composing “King Porter Stomp,” which would become a
theme song for the new music.
Poor country
From the late 19th Century to
the early 20th, when attempts
to build the canal brought a wide
swath of cultural influences
here, Panama “was slums,”
adds Crouch, the country too
poor and technologically
undeveloped to try to document
its own art.
”Even by the ’30s, there were
no recordings,” says Francisco
Buckley, a Panamanian music
scholar who stands under a tent
throughout the festival, in the Old City, selling copies of
his recent book “The Salsa Music of Panama and Other
Matters” (available only in Panama).
La Vaina
The influx of American servicemen
and civilians, as well as workers from
across the Western Hemisphere,
practically ignited Colon with the
sound of jazz. The city became a kind
of New Orleans of the Caribbean, its
all-night bars, rowdy dance bands and
24-hour carnival atmosphere
providing an ambience parallel to the
Crescent City to the north.
Nearly forgotten musicians such as
Samuel “Sam” Gooding, who led an
eponymous band, and Professor
Reginald Prescott, who fronted The
Ambassadors of Jazz, thrived in
Panama throughout the Roaring ’20s.
They played rooms such as the Blue
Moon and the Cotton Club, creating
a music designed to entertain the
American visitors, and others.
”Colon was a crazy place, because
that was where most of the ships
came in,” says Buckley, who enthusiastically discusses
the history of Panamanian music with passersby
throughout the festival.
”The sailors would go around the
clubs, and they brought music, they
sometimes brought their instruments
to
play.
”But the people who heard this
music, they remember,” adds
Buckley, who interviewed
scores of musicians and
listeners for his volume. In
addition, he cites yellowed
newspaper clippings that
reference a jazz scene that
thrived in the Panamanian
provinces of Colon and Boca
del Toros. For centuries,
Africans concentrated here,
on the side of Panama facing
the Atlantic and the U.S., the
city of Colon emerging as the
capital of a recognizably
Central American brand of jazz.
”If 1904 was the beginning of the
American influence, by 1914, when
the canal was completed, American
servicemen were all over Colon.
”If the Panamanian musicians
wanted to make money, they had to
play what the Americans wanted to
h
e
a
r
.
”
foto por Gil
The scene blossomed as Americans and others began
work on the Panama Canal, in 1904 — just when a New
Moreover, only American armed
services radio broadcast in Panama until 1937, when the
country’s first independent station went on the air, which
meant that American big-band and small-ensemble music
[email protected]
37
La Vaina
held sway throughout Panama during
nearly the first four decades of the 20th
Century.
foto por Aaron Ball
Rare recording
But Luis Russell may be the only earlygeneration Panamanian jazz star whose
music survives on recording, thanks
wholly to his move to the States. The
entire world that produced him seems to
have disappeared, having never been
recorded in any form. Though Fred
Ramdeen’s and Henry Barlow’s bands
in the 1930s, Victor Reid’s Aristocrats
of Jazz and Eduardo Ralston’s Royal
Sultans in the 1940s are mentioned in old
concert flyers and news reports, their
music vanished with their era.
Though these LPs are difficult to find, pianist Perez —
Not until the late 1950s and ’60s did Panama begin
who has been collecting this music for a
recording its own artists, yet even these historic
lifetime — spends an afternoon playing
discs are difficult to find, because the
It’s all the same
cassette tapes for a visitor in the
country did not have the wherewithal to
The cycle repeats – fortify
Panama City apartment of his father,
collate and archive its popular music.
and change, that’s the way
the singer and educator Danilo Perez
Sr.
Yet the occasional recording that has
-Barbara Gulick
surfaced reveals a musical culture of
As the music booms through a couple of small
extraordinary power, originality and
speakers, Perez smiles, dances and occasionally narrates,
sophistication.
pointing out key passages in music that most of the world
foto por Gil
never has heard.
The sounds easily justify his enthusiasm. Listen to the
roaring swing band of Armando Boza, the brilliant jazzorgan virtuosity of Avelino Munoz, the calypso-meetsjazz vocals of Sylvia De Grasse, the Cuban-Panamanian
melange of pianist Papo Lucca’s big band, and it’s clear
that music of this caliber only could have emerged in a
culture in which jazz had thrived for decades.
Like its American counterpart, Panamanian jazz churned
out hard-swinging rhythms, brilliant instrumental solos and,
sometimes, musical quotations from U.S. stars such as
Charlie Parker, James Moody and Ella Fitzgerald.
But Panamanian jazz also distinguished itself from the
music of the States, offering a particularly Caribbean
perspective on the art form. Generally more lyrical, more
folkloric and less rhythmically agitated than its American
counterpart, Panamanian jazz — at least judging by those
38
April - June 2005
rare recordings of the ’50s — offered a hauntingly
melodic approach to the art of jazz improvisation.
And though there’s no mistaking in this music the sway
of Cuba — its dance rhythms and song forms to this
day influencing music across the Americas — the
foto or Ben Clark
La Vaina
growing up, in the ’40s and ’50s,” remembers Victor
“Vitin” Paz, a legendary Panamanian trumpeter who
eventually moved to New York before returning to
Panama City, five years ago.
Sitting on a bench in a Panama City park, occasionally
noodling on his trumpet, Paz thinks back on music he
heard more than half a century ago, its cadences clearly
playing in his inner ear as he speaks.
”We listened to the Armed Forces radio, where we heard
the American music — Harry James, Glenn Miller,
Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway.
”And then, from my house, I could hear the music coming
out of the bars — Spanish music, Cuban music,
Panamanian jazz. It was thrilling, like the whole world
was coming together in Panama.”
Panamanians in some ways even withstood the impact
of Havana. By building performances on Panamanian
folk tunes, invoking Panama’s signature tamborito rhythm
and employing instruments such as the bocona — a small,
five-string guitar probably invented in Panama — as
well as various indigenous drums, the Panamanians
created a self-styled music that stands apart from
anything else in Central America (or anywhere else).
Where the jazz ends and the folkloric tradition begins
varies from one recording and one performance to
another, just as it does in Cuba.
Yet the Panamanians have a cultural legacy to be proud
of — if only they could flesh it out.
”One of the problems that we have in Panama is that
we have no institution that keeps order or documentation
of our music,” says Ricaurte Villarreal, a virtuoso
percussionist and folklorist who teaches at the University
of Panama. As he speaks, he illustrates particular
rhythms and pitch patterns on the traditional Panamanian
drum he carries wherever he goes.
Inside the clubs, the Panamanian players were
combining the fire and fury of American jazz with the
smoldering melodicism and unhurried rhythms of the
Caribbean.
”You could hear on alto saxophone Bat Gordon, who
could blow like crazy in those days,” recalls Carlos
Garnett, who was born in the U.S.-controlled Canal Zone
in 1938, moved to the States in 1962, where he earned a
sterling reputation, before returning home a few years
ago. At the Panama Jazz Festival, he galvanizes the
crowd with the sheer sonic heft and musical complexity
of his solos.
”And on trumpet there was Gene White, and on piano
Victor Boa,” adds Garnett, the latter having championed
Panama’s “tambo jazz,” which embraces uniquely
Panamanian rhythms. “All killer musicians.”
foto por Shanna
”So even the recordings from the ’50s and ’60s that do
exist are very hard to find,” adds Villarreal. “They are
in private collections, not public.”
Yet to those who heard this music as it was being forged,
it left an indelible impression.
”It was a fascinating time to be in Panama when I was
[email protected]
39
La Vaina
Indeed, Gordon and White often were referred to as the
Parker and Gillespie of Panama, while Boa’s all-overthe-keyboard virtuosity evoked comparisons to no less
than Art Tatum. Singer Barbara Wilson, meanwhile, was
dubbed Panama’s Ella Fitzgerald.
hear it, when you hear this stuff, you go, `My God, the
chords, what they’re doing!’
”And the songs have very poetic names, like, `The Song
About the Dance of the Long-Beaked Bird’ — really
complicated.”
Complex folkloric music
But that was only one foto por Gil
facet of Panama’s musical
riches. Another was its
extraordinarily complex
and subtle folkloric music.
It developed as blacks,
Hispanics and indigenous
Panamanians intermingled,
creating a huge but
unwritten lexicon of
intricate rhythmic patterns
and motifs, as well as
distinctly Panamanian
drums (such as the pujador,
the repicador and the caja
santena) and other
indigenous musical instruments. The music of Panamanian
antiquity still flourishes in the country’s interior, where
more than half a dozen tribes with roots in Africa have
developed a seemingly infinite array of rhythms and
improvisational forms.
But this music does not exist on recordings or in notation
— it survives entirely in the hands and hearts of the men
and women who perform it. If it were ever properly and
systematically documented, it could offer a window on
the roots of jazz and, perhaps, all African-derived music.
”The sadness is that not only does the world not know
the beauty of Panamanian music — even we
Panamanians do not,” says the folklorist Villarreal, who
has been spending his own time, buying his own recording
equipment and otherwise digging into his own pocket to
try to capture the music of Panama’s tribes before it
disappears or transforms itself.
Since Blades became minister of tourism, last September,
“I’ve been traveling through all the country, trying to
understand what it is that we have,” Blades says.
”I was stunned by the quality of what I was listening to.
. . . I’m telling you, man, the thing is — it’s hypnotic, it’s
got something that I thought was Haitian. But when you
40
Though casual observers might say, “So what?” — who
cares what Panama’s jazz
musicians invented in 1904
or their African tribes have
been playing for centuries?
— the answers mean a great
deal to many people, starting
with Panamanians.
An
oft-tempestuous
relationship with the United
States may help explain why
many Panamanians long to
find a cultural profile of their
own. The tensions date
back to Panama’s first day
as sovereign country, in
1903, when many Panamanians felt that they had been
forced to pay too high a price for U.S. support of their
bid for independence — American control of the canal,
in perpetuity.
The presence of American military in and outside the
Canal Zone, where American soldiers enjoyed a higher
standard of living than Panamanians, predictably did not
sit well with locals. And a riot in 1964, when American
troops killed and injured Panamanians protesting the
removal of their flag from the Canal Zone, embittered
many.
The U.S. invasion to oust Panamanian dictator Manuel
Noriega, in 1989, also nurtured tensions.
”It’s very hard to be invaded by a foreign country and
see people getting killed,” says Javier Carrizo, president
of Fundacion Violete por el Arte, an organization that has
been championing Panamanian music for nearly two
decades.
”There was too much killing, too much suffering.
”Music brings us back to life,” adds Carrizo. “It tells us
who we are.
April - June 2005
La Vaina
Paris, Milan, New York…and Panama
Por Lorena Kolla
Always on the pulse of the
newest runway trends, I am
often disappointed when
Panama is not mentioned as
one of the world’s fashion
leaders. For two years I have
been faithfully toting my
Sponge Bob saco and plastic
jewelery, waiting for a similar
look to show up on the pages of Vogue. Will toilet paper
hair rollers ever be the rage?
slew of Panamanian cousins that also got into the apparel
industry.
Never Legal: This jean brand is by far my favorite. A
knock-off of the Ralph Lauren logo, it is especially
popular among the prepubescent girls I see strutting their
stuff in the Discotecas.
Well my friends, we must accept reality. You can not
find classy clothes on Avenida Central. And our living
allowances do not grant us access to the ShanGri La
that is the Multicentro. They don’t want us hairy/stinky/
skin-infected volunteers crashing the model searches
that they have going on there. So what is a volunteer to
do? One must look for the best of the worst.
The following is a list of the best cheap-o brands that
merit consideration- either for quality or creative names.
Look for them in an Almacén nearest you:
BR/Nanna Republic: This is presumably owned by
the same parent company of knock-off The Gup, and
All Navy.
D.E.I. (Derrieres International) : Girls who may be
familiar with l.e.i. jeans will be happy to know that
these are the the second best thing, at half the price.
Complete with butt-hugging strech
Añil Spum: Jacobo found this soap brand, which he
claims is pronounced “anal spum”. Añil is the non-clorox
whitening agent that works wonders on clothes.
Tamy/Tony/Toby Sport: I know everyone has at least
one of their shirts. Apparently Tommy Hilfiger has a
N/X (Natural Exchange): One step down from the
Armani Exchange clothing line, they boast “natural style”
in synthetic fabrics and loud colors.
Joysport/Juansport: Who knew that they would give
Jansport back packs a run for their money? Veraguas
celeb Kevin Stevens was seen sporting one of these
on his way to truck through the central Americas.
Cozzi: Although these women’s jeans also have a
high spandex content, how “cozy” can they be if the
seams are bursting at the thighs and booty?
Addidam: Just as fashionable as Addidas sneakers,
but they have an extra stripe down the side for good
luck.
[email protected]
41
La Vaina
Volunteers Speak Out
What do you think of the office move to
Ciudad de Saber in Miraflores?
“Well, we’re 273 blocks further from Elite
II, but I’m sure there are some advantages
to the new location.”
-Jonathon Fazzola, Meteti, Darién
“Well at least we’ll be closer to the new
Country Director’s house.”
- Peter Redmond, PTO
“I go there to shop, dine, and hang out
anyway so this will be super convenient
for me. Oh wait, I’m thinking of the
current office location.”
~
“What? Are you saying that I can’t blow?
My cheeks are sore from all the blowing
I’ve done.”
-Katie Skaar, while inflating ballons for a
party
“I hate the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
Edition because there are no articles.”
- John Nangle
“I became a La Vaina Editor so none of the
stupid things I say would get into the
Quotes section.”
- Dave Belt
A Letter to the
Editors
- Loretta Collins, Pal Mar Coclé
“I call top bunk.!”
por Anonymous
- Manuela McDonougha, Escobal, Colon
“What? I thought Jean said “Ciudad
de Tomar”.”
- Patricia Greenberg, San Pedro, Coclé
42
~
A helpful tip about attributing photo credits: If
somebody appears in a photo, that means
they most likely didn’t take it. For instance,
in the last issue of La Vaina, I found at least
seven instances of photo credits given to people
that appear in the picture, including one of
myself. Let’s face it, there are well over 5
billion people in the world, and I am the only
one that could not have taken that photo (and
then submit such a nasty picture of myself, as
well). I would expect so much from Dave;
he’s the guy that unplugged my fridge when I
was on vacation and everything rotted. But
Joel? That must have been a criminal case of
senioritis. Sloppy work, boys. I’m disappointed
to see that two years after I drug La Vaina out
of the mire and helped turn it from third-rate
toilet paper into a somewhat readable
publication that its main service may once again
be in a latrine.
April - June 2005
La Vaina
Richard Hall
Editor La Vaina newsletter
Peace Corps/Panama
2004-2005
[email protected]
43
La Vaina
La Vaina
44

April - Peace Corps Panama Friends

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