Final Reflection – Michelle

Final Reflection – Michelle

From beginning to end, our trip was amazing. The term service-learning perfectly reflects our time in Panama, though I believe it was the learning portion of our trip that greatly exceeded my expectations. Working with children is always a learning experience, and I have volunteered with kids before on several different occasions. But working with children in poverty was a completely difference experience for me altogether.

I found our first two days volunteering at Nutre-Hogar to be very emotional. The ratio of staff to babies was no where near enough, with about 4 staff for 30 babies. Many of the babies had bloated bellies, and skinny legs as a result of their malnutrition. Rotted teeth and skin infections were also common. Most of the babies looked at least a year younger than they really were, and had underdeveloped walking and speaking skills. Each of us chose a baby to play with, but it didn’t take long to realize that these babies didn’t interact normally. It was unsettling to see the blank faces on most of the babies, many of them didn’t like to make eye contact at first and it took a lot of effort to make them smile or laugh. Still, holding these babies was a very intimate experience, and by the end of our first day we all felt like we had made progress and made a connection with our babies. In fact, we all referred to baby we were taking care of as “my baby.” My baby’s name was Elsa and she was two years old, although she looked one. She couldn’t walk, and the first day I played with her I couldn’t get her to smile no matter what I did. After we fed the babies it was time for us to go, but when we went to put the babies in their cribs they all started to cry to be picked up and it was very heartbreaking. I think the reason it was so sad, is that we knew that our babies probably wouldn’t get held much after we left because there just wasn’t enough staff to get around to all the babies. The second day at Nutre-Hogar was much more rewarding, many of the babies recognized us from the day before and I was able to make Elsa laugh. We were also able to help with yard work, and cleaned up the play area for the children. Our babies didn’t cry as much when we left that day, and we were able to tell the Villa group about each baby so that when they took their turn they already had a heads up. I think the hardest part of volunteering at Nutre-Hogar was knowing that they needed so much more help than we were able to offer. One of the little girls, Adeliada, was staying at Nutre-Hogar with her mother, waiting for the funds to travel to the US where Shriners Children’s Hospital would perform corrective surgery on her leg. I hope that even though we have already left Panama, we can continue to do some volunteer work to help Adelaida’s mother raise the money she needs to accompany her daughter to the U.S.

Our second two days of service were at Casa Esperanza. Both days were spent at a nearby park, playing and talking to the children (there were about 60). We played soccer, red light green light (“semaforos”), jump rope, basketball, tag, and on the jungle gym and swings. It was definitely a different experience than that of Nutre-Hogar, I felt that the connection wasn’t as intimate and it was a little harder to establish a relationship with the communication barrier. Still, with what Spanish we knew a few of us where able to talk to a group of older girls (12yrs-14yrs) about their lives, and the U.S. which they were very interested in. they wanted to know if everyone was rich in the U.S. and were surprised that many of us students had nice homes and cars but still worked in places such as McDonalds or babysitting. Another thing that they found surprising was that at 19-21 years old, none of us students were married or had children. The girls told us that they walked about half an hour every morning to Casa Esperanza to make it in time for breakfast, and that in their neighborhoods there were many gangs and gun fights which scared them. Despite the horrible things they have seen or suffered through, it was amazing how resilient these kids were and that they still found it within themselves to laugh, play and make friends.

One of the most interesting parts of our trip was visiting the Hospitals and Policlinics. While everyone in Panama supposedly has access to healthcare, I personally would not have felt comfortable receiving treatment in any of the facilities that we visited. While it is true that the Hospital for social security populations was better than the Policlinics we visited, I still thought Mall was cleaner than any of the health centers I saw. While the treatment was very affordable or free, the waiting lines were incredibly long and in the Policlinics there was no were near enough equipment or supplies. The physical therapy clinic we visited was on the second floor (in a building with no elevator) and had no refrigerator, thus no ice packs or cold compresses. The staff however, was all very friendly and eager to help. I hope that with the new elections in Panama the funding and organization of the health system will be remodeled in a way that will update health facilities, and reduce the waiting times. Some thing I found interesting was that children, pregnant women, and those living in poverty could receive free health care form the government yet those same people who could not afford to buy food and were suffering from malnutrition did not receive aid as far as getting food. The schools do not have free or reduced lunch for children who can’t afford to buy food, and there is no such thing as food stamps. While I think the idea of free healthcare for those who need it is great, I think the Panamanian government first needs to focus on feeding its children and other preventative health measures.

Something else I noticed was that religious influences were found everywhere. From quotes on the menu screens at the restaurants, and Saints on the hospital walls, to the non-profit organizations we volunteered at which were founded or helped by the church.

I had a wonderful time in Panama and loved learning about their culture, health systems, research, people, and canal. The hostel (not hostile =) ) was a great experience, and provided a great opportunity to make great friends and have lots of fun. What I learned this past week will influence my ideas and choices forever, and I only hope that I will one day be able to give back and make a significant difference in places such as Nutre-Hogar and Casa Esperanza.