Day 5: 1st day at Casa Esperanza

Poverty is everywhere. Poverty trangresses all bounds. Poverty afflicts itself upon the disadvantaged causing threat, pain, and suffering. Yet, is escapes into the depths of every society. Whether the third-world countries of Latin America, Africa, and Asia, or the richest countries in the world like the United States, the streets of poverty are inevitable.  The men and women of these impoverished areas of the world just barely 'make' it on thier employed manual labor. But it is the children that suffer the most. It is the children 

that are tortured by the vices of poverty. Thier past scarred, their present threatened, their future risked. From the poorest regions of Panama, from the slums of the unfortunate--these are the homes of the children we worked with. Casa Esperanza is a non-governmental organization that provides day care facilities to children who are victims to child labor. These children belong to the poorest families who utilize thier children as a resource for financial gain. Casa Esperanza, or House of Hope provides these children a safe haven so that they may enjoy their childhood. From feeding to teaching, the organization is focused on the betterment of these children of impoverished families. 

Today, we came into the House anticipating the excitement of the children. That emotion was fully expressed once we got to the park. So many children running around, some playing baseball, some playing on the playground, and a lot playing soccer, or more appropriately: futbol. Four of us guys challenged them to a soccer game. And yes, we lost. These kids are good! I was the goalie and I will be honest, I was a bit intimidated when these kids cranked back their feet to kick a goal. The other goalie was using his resources: he took off his flip flops and put his hands in them and used them as hand gaurds. Now, if I had that, maybe we would not have lost :) Anyways, once we realized soccor was not our game, we tried to encourage them to play basketball with the soccer ball. But that didn't go as well. They had too many impulses to kick the ball, and a game of dribbling quickly converted back to kicking into goals. These kids, boys and girls, were so energetic that they tired me out fast. In the end, we all had fun playing outside with the kids. We got the chance to reminisce about our own children, when we used to look forward to playing outside with the neighborhood kids. But this experience was different. These children did not represent the regular 'neighborhood.' Different ages, different backgrounds, come together to Casa Esperanza for their own good. And they realize it, they defend it, they love the place. Many walk themselves to the House, one individual lives an hour and a half away from the House. Dedicated to their own futures, we were inspired. 

That night, our dinner event really topped the day. We went to "Tijanas," a fancy restaurant that focuses its theme around traditional Panamanian culture. We had some amazing food and desert, all financed by our USF Health liaison. We also enjoyed a wide variety of traditional dances representing different indigenous groups. One famous dance consisted women in beautiful traditional dresses called polleras. I will let the video explain that... 

(After dinner, when we came back to the hostel, we had a photo-opportunity. Here's the three musketeers with of course master sensei Mejias.)

The Three Musketeers 

Hostel Group

Sayeef Mirza

Richard Slamas

Jonathan Casanas

Billy Halaby