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Issue: 10
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Quarter
2/ June 2009
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It's summertime! We are very excited about all the great
work PCPF continues accomplish. Our Bud Fund initiative has been
a success and with your continued support, we will be able to sustain
the support for blind Panamanians. Current volunteer
projects continue to be funded. Our Facebook presence is really
taking off - lots of interesting links, photos, wall post and
discussion groups - so be sure to join the PCPF group and meet other
RPCVs from Panama, including current volunteers!
PCPF expresses a warm welcome to Peter Redmond (article featured below)
and his family as they settle into Washington, DC. It's been a
pleasure to work closely with him and the Peace Corps Panama
office. We look forward to our continued relationship with the
Office and the incoming Country Director.
Please keep PCPF informed of your trips to Panama, any news that you
would like to share with fellow members, and as always, please continue
to support PCPF.
La Presidenta,
Jamie Thornberry
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 PC
Director Peter Redmond Bids Farewell to Panama
by
Hugh Smith
In a farewell message to his friends, Peter Redmond, Director of the
Peace Corps to Panama for the past six and a half years, stated that
"I am leaving paradise" to return to the U.S. to take a
position with the Peace Corps in Washington, D.C. According to
Peter, he was leaving paradise to take a career enhancing position with
the Peace Corps. He was offered a position to train new Peace
Corps Country Directors and managing a new initiative to improve
Overseas Staff Development.
While in Washington, Peter also plans to be actively involved with PCPF.
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PCPF Supported
Projects
by Hugh Smith
Super Small Project
Assistance (SPPA)
Thanks to your purchase of Voluntary Action Council's (VAC) calendars,
10 super small grants ($60 or less) were awarded from the proceeds of
the sale to finance projects submitted by Peace Corps Volunteers.
Financial assistance of $48.00 was provided to each Volunteer awarded.
Here is an update on some their programs:
PCV Jim Fraser
The $40 SSPA grant from the VAC enabled Jim to travel out to the
Peninsula Valiente and give classes on Family Planning, and prevention
of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases in the communities
of Guacamayo and Kusapin. A portion of the grant will also go
part of the way towards funding my transportation to 10 more
communities in the Bocas del Toro archiapelego to do the same classes
in communities affected by high rates of sexually transmitted
diseases.
PCV
Elena Pahl
The $48 SSPA grant was used to help fund an accounting and Excel
workshop, held February 16th in Parara Puru. Deborah Rockoff and
the Secretary of Tourism, Rigoberto, led the workshop. Attending the
workshop were the 2 secretary´s from tourism, as well as Emiliano
Mepaquito and Alex Guatico from Elena's community along with the
president of tourism, Erito Barrigon. The workshop was held in Parara
Puru´s tourism office and both Deborah´s computer and Elena's community
computer were utilized. The participants practiced in-putting
information, and learning how to use Excel as a tool for accounting.
They now have started using the computer for meeting notes and are on
the brink of starting to use it for payroll.
PCV CoCo Robinson
Last month CoCo taught Girl Scouts to use the Internet with the
help of a VAC SSPA Grant. The grant paid for the girls' travel to and
from the capital city and use of the Internet at an Internet cafe.
Girls learned basic Internet navigation and how to use google and
wikipedia to search for information online. Time was spent at the
Internet cafe looking up information and photos for the culture
presentations the Girl Scouts have been working on. Knowledge of how to
navigate the web is a valuable skill for these girls, as it will help
them complete school-related projects in the future and expand their
knowledge.
Click here to read a full
update from all PCPF SPPA recipients.
Peace
Corps Partnership Program
PCPF, through you, contributes to all Peace Corps
Partnership Panama projects. Thank you for your continued support!
Your donations sponsor 30% (up to $500) of funds needed by Panama
volunteers. Here are some of the projects your money has supported in
2009:
Maximize the Harvest
Business Practices for Small Farmers is a three part seminar designed
to provide small scale farmers with the theoretical tools they need to
make the conceptual leap from producing non value added national
consumption coffee and personal consumption coffee to green specialty
coffee producers and small scale roasters. Agriculture is the primary
income generating activity for rural Panamanians. Most small farmers
face poor access to markets, exploitative intermediaries, competitive
disadvantage against large scale producers, a lack of basic
understanding of market functions, and low levels of formal education.
The goal of the agribusiness initiative within Peace Corps Panama's
Sustainable Agriculture project is to make farming profitable enough
for farmers to keep their land, maintaining cultural practices and
keeping social structures intact. Volunteer: O'Brien E of MA
Water Catchment System
A small agrarian community in Panama suffers from a significant lack of
potable water. This project aims to build 80 water catchment systems
that will take advantage of the rains, collecting free, clean water
from zinc rooftops and storing it in 55-gallon plastic barrels. The
systems are simple to build, use community-accepted technology and are
made from local materials. In addition, all of the barrels are made out
of high quality plastics that do not decay, allowing for substantial
longevity of these systems. According to calculations done by the local
water committee, each system will provide sufficient drinking water for
a family of up to ten people for nine months of the year, a substantial
improvement over the current situation.
The primary goal of this project is to provide each family with a
sustainable water catchment system. Secondary goals of this project
include inspiring each family to improve their health by improving
their living conditions, take advantage of assistance offered by the
local cooperative, and participate more actively within the community.
Volunteer: Storey M. of MD
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 PCPF
Special Projects: Bud Fund Recipient Update
by Jerry Lutes
Financial aid from Peace Corps Panama Friends is enabling two
blind Panamanian students to continue their studies.
Alejandro Martinez, originally from the Darien, graduated second in his
high school class at the Escuela Secundaria Nocturna Oficial de Panamá
last December. He expected to enroll in Universidad de Panama but
was unable to get to the entrance exam due to family matters.
Therefore, he's attending a private college, ISAE University, where
he's majoring in primary education. At that school, he's
completed two education courses, earning an A and a B.
Yaneth Sanchez is in her last year of high school at Instituto
Comercial Nocturno de Felipillo and wants to go to the Universidad de
Panama next year. Her courses this year include both English and
French.
PCPF will fund these students through their graduation from college if
we can raise enough money. Learn more about the program and
donate now.
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 Job
Hunting
by
Justin Mortensen
Are you a recently returned volunteer or a volunteer
whose COS date looms on the horizon?
For those of you who answer yes to this question there is no better
time than today to start thinking about what you'll do next. Of
course, Raul does a fantastic job of helping you think about how to
frame your Peace Corps experience when you talk with potential
employers, friends, and family after your return. The few people
you don't have to shorten your story for - besides, one would hope,
your family - are those of us who work in the international development
field. Are you interested in pursuing a career in international
development? How do you find job opportunities in the field of
international development? On my PCPF Facebook discussion
board I've summarized some of the resources I've used in the past to
search for and apply to job openings within the field of international
development. Read it here and add your own
comments or questions.
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Words of Wisdom from La Vaina
by Jerry Lutes 
UNREPENTANT CAPITALIST CONFESSES: "I taught Migdalia, Arcenio, and
Maribel how to make and sell food and juice for profit. We had two
opportunities and two practice runs. I went on vacation with my father
for two weeks, came back, and that day she was going to sell arroz con
pollo at the baseball game. It turns out that that Sunday she made
$39.50 and the Sunday before she made $34.50, making extra Tang the
second week! So she made $74 in two days of work! This is in a
community where men only make $4 for 8 hours of hard labor in a day. I
am so proud of her!" Want more shocking exposés? Read La Vaina every day!
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Non-Profit Spotlight
Native Futures
- Newsletter
Subscribe to Native Futures newsletter to recieve monthly e-mails about
programs in Panaman such as:
Sara Archbald, Native Future Education Project Coordinator, visited
Panama in February to award and oversee the disbursement of over
$10,000 in NF indigenous scholarship funds. More than 100
students, from elementary school through the university level, were
given scholarships for the current academic year.
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Panama News
 Get More Bang for
Your Stimulus Buck - With a "Pensionado Visa"
by Hugh Smith
Panama's Pension Tourist Program is a residency program designed for
retirees living on pension programs - like many of us senior
ex-PCVs. This program grants alien the right to reside in Panama
indefinitely. The retiree residence status requires that applicant
demonstrates an income on pension of only US$1,000.00 per month and
US$250.00 for each dependent. This program covers applicant, spouse, as
well as children under the age of 18.
The Pensionado Program:
Panama's "Pensionado" program is considered to be among the
best in the world for the large array of benefits it offers. Some
of the benefits are:
Residents do not pay tax on foreign earned income
Import tax exemption for household goods
Tax exemption to import a new car every two years
* 50% discount on hotels from Monday to Thursday and
30% on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
* 25% discounts on utility bills
* 25% discount on airline tickets
* 30% discount on bus, boats and train fares
* 1% reduction on home mortgages for
homes used for personal residence
* 20% discount on doctor's bills and 15% on hospital
services if no insurance applies
* 15% off dental and eye exams
* 10% discount on medicines
* 20% discount on bills for technical and
professional services
Read the full blog and post comments or ask questions on PCPF's
Facebook page! Click here.
 Exploraciones mutuas, de Suecia a San Blas
de Betty Brannan Jaén, La Prensa
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A fines de febrero, la Biblioteca del Congreso aquí
en Washington celebró un simposio para anunciar el despegue de un
proyecto para traducir, digitalizar y publicar una obra escrita en 1931
por el kuna Rubén Pérez Kantule. Se trata de los diarios que Pérez
Kantule escribió durante un viaje de seis meses a Suecia, donde
colaboró con el afamado antropólogo sueco Erland Nordenskiold en
interpretar la colección kuna en el Museo Etnográfico de Gutemburgo.
Leer el artículo completo aquí,
en La Prensa en línea.
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 Tú
Opinión
Feedback and Articles Ideas for El
Bochinche
Ideas for the Editor of El Bochinche
- Write an opinion
piece or article for El Bochinche.
- Promote a non-profit
you work for or support to PCPF members.
- Share an update about
yourself with Peace Corps Panama alumni.
- Publish photos on www.panamapcv.net or link to
an on-line photo album.
Email tú opinión
to: editorelbo@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading
El Bochinche.
Sincerely,
Sarah Schmidt
Peace Corps Panama Friends
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