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Issue: 13
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Quarter
1/ May 2010
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Spring is here and
it is time for growth and renewal!
2010 has started off on such a positive note for PCPF. We are now
supporting three blind students in Panama, continue to support
wonderful volunteer community projects, and now we are looking to grow
and revamp the Directiva! Read more below about how you can get
involved.
La Presidenta,
Jamie
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201
 0 Panama Calendar - Thanks!
PCPF sold 370 calendars, raising $4,400 for Panama's Volunteer Action
Committee's super small project fund.
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 Elections
- Peace Corps Panama Friends Board of Directors
PCPF is a very
exciting organization that continues to flourish. Now we need new
faces to help bring in fresh ideas. Have you recently COS'ed and
are looking at a way to continue to be involved with Panama? Did
you COS years ago and want to be more involved? Do you have
fun social event ideas about what would be great for the PCPF
community? Are you experienced in fundraising for organizations that
are important to you? Are you interested in website
development? If so, we need you. We are looking for
people to be the Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Panama Liaison,
Fundraising Chair, Webmaster, Social Events Chair, and Communications
Chair. One of the current board members will step up and be
elected as the new President.
The Directiva normally meets every month for about two hours.
During that time, we review the budget, vote on where to send new
money, brainstorm activities that are relevant to the PCPF community,
and continue to work toward moving the organization in a direction that
is coherent with the Peace Corps activities in Panama. We ask
that for each position be a one year commitment.
Please send your name, contact information, Peace Corps site and
volunteer years, and for what position you would like to be considered
to pcpfdirectiva@googlegroups.com by June 15.
We will be holding email elections during June and then at our Annual
DC Picnic in July we will introduce the new Directiva.
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PCRV Profile: Tess
De Los Rios
by Hugh Smith
Ever wish you
could re-live your days as a PCV or at least a few of them? Well, now
you can...sort of, thanks to Peace Corps Response. While formerly known
as Crisis Corps, the Peace Corps Response Program stuck to working in
countries after or in preparation for natural disasters. After
receiving positive responses from host country counterparts,
PC/Washington decided to broaden Crisis Corps into Peace Corps
Response.
Nowadays, PC Response assignments run the gamut from disaster
preparation and mitigation work to inter-institutional support and
development. Since program opening in March of 2007, PC/Panama has
received over 20 Peace Corps Response Volunteers (PCRVs). In this
edition of El Bochinche, you can read about the experiences of three
current PCRVs and if you'll read on a bit further, I'd like to share
with you some assignments that are in the works.
In Panama, we receive an average of 10 PCRVs per year. And since we are
just kicking off a new fiscal year, our plate is ready to be filled.
For the time being, we are working on filling the following position.
Go to the Peace Corps website at www.peacecorps.gov/response
for more information.
Program
Area - Agriculture and Environment
Partner -
Association of Agro-ecological Producers in the River Gatuncillo
Projected Start
Date - July, 2010
Description - A
Peace Corps Response Volunteer is needed to serve as an Eco-Ranch
Advisor for Conservation of Biodiversity in the Panama Canal Watershed,
which is a USAID-funded project being implemented by an association of
local environmental agencies. Various threats to biodiversity and
ecosystems have been identified within the Chagres National Park, which
is part of the Panama Canal watershed area. These threats include
deforestation, soil erosion, and river contamination. To reduce these
threats, project partners are working to develop innovative strategies
that combine concepts of protected areas management, integrated
watershed management, and rural poverty eradication.
By Tess De Los
Ríos
PC/Panama Peace Corps Response Director
RPCV Bocas del
Toro 2003-2006
Click here to read
Tess' full profile.
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PCPF Supported
Projects
by Hugh Smith
PCPF, through you,
contributes to all Peace Corps Partnership Panama projects and raises
funds for the Super Small Program Assistance grants through your
calendar purchase. Thank you for your continued support!
90% of your donations go to directly to projects in Panama! With your
help, PCPF sponsor 30% (up to $500) of funds needed by Panama
volunteers.
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PCPF Special
Projects: Bud Fund Recipient Update
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Yaneth Sanchez graduation
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by Jerry Lutes
Standing between her proud mother and one of her teachers,
Yaneth Sánchez poses for a graduation photo that she will never
see. Now 26, Yaneth has been totally blind since having a brain
tumor removed at the age of 17. One of the first two recipients
of PCPF's Bud Keith Scholarships for the blind, she graduated from high
school last December. Poverty compels Yaneth to look for a job
instead of going on to college.
Thanks to your generous donations, PCPF is now funding two more high
school students, Erika Pimentel and Melfin Guevara, in addition to our
college student (and future teacher) Alejandro Martínez. You can
learn more about Yaneth, Alejandro, Erika, and Melfín on our web site.
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PCPF Events and Fundraising
Bikes for the World
In April members of
Peace Corps Panama Friends loaded a shipping container with 450 bikes
for shipment to Goodwill Industries in Panama. The container
included all sizes and types, including kids, mountain, road, hybrid,
touring, and even tandem bikes.
If you in the DC
Metro area, join us for the next Bikes for the World event:
- Friday, May
14, 3:30 - 6:00 pm
- Saturday,
May 15, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, and 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Click here for more
information or contact Steve Spangler at: 
PCPF Spring Social Event
More Panama-like weather is finally returning to DC, so it is time to
get together and reminisce about PC and Panama. Click here to RSVP on
our Facebook page.
Date: Thursday, May 20, 2010
Time: 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: Cleveland Park Bar & Grill - 3421 Connecticut Avenue
NW
Are you in the Washington DC area?
If so let us know!
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 Nonprofit Spotlight: Panamá Verde
Youth, Environment and Development... The perfect
alliance!
Panamá Verde is a social and environmental youth movement in Panamá and
the Central American Region focusing on education, values, and
environmental conservation. Its goals are strengthen group
identity and sustainable development projects which in turn improve the
quality of life and society.
Click here to learn
more about Panama Verde.
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Alumni Corner
 Habari za leo from
Zanzibar Island!
by Karlyn Langhjar
Habari za leo from Zanzibar Island! Leo si kuku!!!
In early August 2009, fresh off our 5 day honeymoon sail through the
British Virgin Islands and still stumbling with sea legs, I opened my
inbox to find a job offer of Project Manager of Chumbe Island Coral
Park (CHICOP), a private non-profit established for the conservation
and education of coral reefs off this small island in the Indian
Ocean. As CHICOP is a world-famous and unique set-up in coral
reef management, there was no way I could pass up such an
opportunity.
In less than a month's time we packed up our lives on St. Croix and
launched our mind-set into the surreal fact that we would soon be
living in coastal E. Africa!
Please come and visit us! It's an experience you'll never forget.
For more on Chumbe and the projects (plus all of the International
awards Chumbe Island has received) visit: www.chumbeisland.com
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On the Blog - PCPF
on Facebook
Here is what RPCVs are talking about:
Steve Spangler
(RPCV Panama '64-'66) shares - Panama Group 7, which
served in Panamá from 1964 to 1966, is having a reunion in Washington,
DC, in September 2011, in conjunction with the Peace Corps 50th
Anniversary Celebration. Joellen Day Keating, John Allensworth and Steve Spangler are planning the reunion.
Please contact Joellen to get on the reunion mailing list: 540-882-3217
or jw4dk@aol.com.
Steve also shared
the following videos:
Janice F.
Jorgensen (ex-PC Panama Country Director) -
World Learning, a global non-profit organization, (www.worldlearning.org) is
seeking a Chief of Party for an USAID Community Youth at Risk Program
in Panama. The position will be based in Panama City, Panama.
Florence Reed shares - Sustainable Harvest
International was founded by a Panama RPCV and now works with farmers
in Panama and other Central American countries to help them use
sustainable farming to raise their standard of living and protect the
environment.
Peace Corps
Journals
Follow Peace Corps Panama volunteers on one blog spot!
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La Vaina
 by Jerry Lutes
Research Enhances Volunteer Experience
"Wondering what drink to order on a first date? What cubetazo do
you bring to the pre-game party? Will the beer I order negatively
affect my masculinity? These were the questions that faced us as
we undertook the monumental task of deciding once and for all the best
beer in Panama." What beer won the volunteers' taste
test? Find out in La Vaina. Read La Vaina every day!
Read
La Vaina
everyday!
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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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