Janine, Kristen, Robyn, Kathleen, and Linnea: Panama Day 6

Group Blog for Room 1
Written by Janine Villot
Contributors include Janine Villot, Kristen Corpion, Robyn Sagal, Kathleen Pombier, and Linnea Eberhart


Thursday was our last day at Casa Esperanza and volunteering in general. We arrived first thing in the morning and dropped off the donations. Following this, we took the kids to the park (and some of us went to buy the ice cream for a special treat we wanted to give the kids). We played with them, and those that could converse with the children did their best. When we passed out the ice cream, the children´s faces lit up, and we were happy to offer them these treats. The gift bags had mixed reception, as these included soap or lotion--some of the children did not know what it was for and seemed confused as to why they received it. One boy poured the lotion on his hair as we left on the bus, apparently thinking it was hair gel--an amusing sight that made us think that in the future, we should just give the children more candy. Hopefully, they will enjoy the new equipment and games we brought them.

Thanks to Mr. Mejias, we learned a little more of the children´s situations. Some of them have to deal with shootings near their homes and say the police do nothing. A sixteen-year-old friend of Alaberto, one of the older Casa Esperanze boys, died just this past Tuesday from AIDS contracted from an older man. This confirms the worst of our fears, that these children are confronted with the same issues American children have and are exploited. Despite their happy faces and child-like behavior, these children have family and parental issues, and deal with crime and exploitation--something Panama doesn´t seem terribly interested in eradicating. As Mr. Mejias pointed out, it is surprising that not more of these children commit suicide or are kidnapped and/or preyed upon. All of their issues boiled beneath the surface, stemming from the society and their personal situations and communities--not something easily fixed in any culture. Due to the small period of time and less obvious problems of the older children, we did not experience the same sadness leaving, as the emotions were much less intense, though some connections were made.

Following Casa Esperanza, we had a wonderful lunch at Penca´s restaurant, generously paid for by USF Health. We toured the beautiful causeway and the Pacific Ocean from Panama City, before stopping by the Smithsonian Research Institute. We had a wonderful host named Rebecca, who showed us around, introducing us to the biodiversity of Panama through a zen-like video showing the flora and fauna around a small island off the coast of Panama. We took a tour around the area, admiring the incredible view and the iguanas, sloths, fish, baby stingray, starfish, sharks, and turtles they had. Panama truly offers a lot of species for such a small area. As our host pointed out, Panama formed and cut off the Atlantic from the Pacific, splitting species. So many critical splitting points seem to stem around Panama, from its wildlife, plants, culture, and even how it bridges Central America to South America. It is more than an abundance of fishes, but an abundance of life itself.

The history surrounding the place was startling. Part of the area was commandeered from Manuel Noreiga´s palace, and the small house with the aquariums was once his personal bar. The remnant pillars of a quarantine area for people suffering from yellow fever stood on the beach, and across the bay was a former retirement home that was once a leper colony. The Smithsonian conducts a lot of well-funded research around the area and offers unparalleled sights. We also admired the wealth of the area surrounding the causeway, including multi-million dollar yachts and a lamborghini. It seems the rich are very rich in Panama, just as the poor are very poor.

On a more personal note, Janine was quite sobered by how the Smithsonian´s buildings were cleaner and more presentable than any of the hospitals we visited, including Hospital de Nino. It seems it´s better to be a fish than a poor, sick person in Panama. Due to how little Spanish she speaks, she wasn´t able to form any meaningful connections or really interact with the children aside from pushing them on the swings and turning the jump rope while teaching them English numbers. She felt very frustrated that she could not do more, but at least thoroughly enjoyed the Smithsonian Institute, which was a refreshing experience.

Kristen was sad at the idea of half of the kids at Nutre-Hogar winding up in the same situation as the children at Casa Esperanza, since neglect is an issue amongst these babies. There´s a cycle of poverty going on, and while Casa Esperanza is doing the best they can, they´re still not doing everything--sexual education is left out, and they´re not improving the education of the children, since most of them seem more interested in television and games. She thinks it´s good, but it needs to take a step beyond this, as being poor also has a psychological factor.

Linnea was struck by how the differences between Nutre-Hogar and Casa Esperanza were health and physical issues with the babies and psychological and social issues with the older children. She also felt Casa Esperanza had a security issue, as there were not enough workers for sixty to seventy children, especially since the workers stay in one area while the children run amok--and there were a lot of people watching the children, and any of them could be a predator.

Kathleen felt it was very hard to form relationships with the children due to the language barrier, but she is glad they still seemed to enjoy our presence. She felt that we did not seem to make a big impact, but the kids are at an age where they´re tough and resilient, and it´s good that Casa Esperanza is there to help them out in thier difficult situations.

Robyn also found the language barrier very difficult and the connection with the kids hard to make. It made her sad to think about all the terrible things those children had been through--things we will never know about.

We are all very grateful to have had the opportunity to observe, volunteer, and offer donations to these two wonderful establishments in Panama and hope we have at least helped them in the smallest way make an impact on these Panamanian children.