La Vaina June - July 2000 Page 1

Editors' Page

Well, we survived another issue. Actually, this one went almost as smoothly as a baby's butt, largely thanks to the prompt submissions and helpful cooperation of the office staff. You go, guys!

Our cover this issue is 100% Panamanian, drawn by the talented Milciades Sáez, from Will's site (Agua something...). We are always, we repeat, always looking for artists to liven up our pages and our covers. So if you don't submit some artwork, maybe you know someone in your site who would like to. We don't want our Vainas drab and boring like a proxy statement, even if three-fourths of the editors are S.B.D.'s.

This issue features the usual eclectic mix of useful information and outrageous, creative humor, with maybe more of the latter this time, as Darren continues to make his presence felt as Co-Editor. Will suffered an unusually acute case of literary diarrhea this ish. He apologizes, but reminds you that he is only heroically trying to fill the empty pages that result from a lack of submissions. The more you write in, the less you hear from Will. That simple. Especially you newer groups: come on, guys, let yourselves be heard! For those of you submitting articles for the first time: thanks, and stay creative!

E-mail your stories, announcements, poetry, recipes, pornography, etc. to "lavaina@PCPFpa.peacecorps.gov. (Note: To use email address, remove "PCPF" .)The next Vaina deadline will be Monday, August 14, 2000.

We hope this Vaina brightens your dark, rainy, boring days in your sites...

From La Jefa

HOWDY!!

1. Thanks to everyone for attending our 3 Urban safety sessions. Erika, Leah and Willy deserve a big thank you for an outstanding job. The recent urban crimes against PCVs is serious. We all need to help each other be safe. Remember to give permission to your friends to speak up if they feel unsafe and to honor their wishes. We will begin to look into the mail problems and the phones "out of service".

2. The past few weeks and the coming weeks are filled with activities that will add to the skills of PCVs and staff. We hope that you will be participating in those activities.

3. This week Remo Velardo, Sarah Archbald, Willy and I are in Nicaragua at the Alcohol Conference. You will be hearing about what we have learned at the conference.

4. We got approval to get 1 more PCT in CEE and 1 more PCT in CED annually. That will give us 18 in each sector annually. Somehow those two programs were receiving only 17 while the AG program was getting 18. Those folks will be arriving in 2001.

5. Based upon your suggestions to increase our focus on the "pobreza extrema" we have initiated meetings with Kuna, Wounaan, and the Ngäbe-Bugle "caciques" to receive formal approval to work within their comarcas and/or within their communities.

6. We have met with and received permission from the Wounaan. Community visits are in June and August. New PCVs will be assigned in the Darien in December 2000.

7. We have met with the Kuna caciques and they agreed to present and support our request in their upcoming "congreso" meeting. The PCVs will be assigned there (probably in December) once this approval is formally received.

8. On May 31, Raul and I met with the Cacique General Camilo Ortega and others of the Ngäbe-Bugle. We are now in the process of formally getting written permission for PCVs to work within the Comarca.

9. All PCVs working with Ngäbe or Bugle communities are to attend a meeting on July 10 at 10 a.m. sharp in Altos de Jesus with the Cacique General, many other caciques and governing members of the congreso. We expect 30 folks from the Ngäbe-Bugle and about 20 of us. We will have lunch and each of us will present what we do and where we work (in Ngäbe or Spanish). More details about this later. Most likely we will meet at Anne Fazioli's site and go from there. We will leave Anne's site at 9:15 a.m.

To the entire PC/Panama community

We are not allowed to go to Cuba. The U.S. government prohibits it.

10. The " Information Technology (IT) & PCV's" survey indicated there are some IT activities going on. Some PCVs are interested in using their computer skills with their counterpart agencies who have computers and are not using them fully. Other PCVs feel strongly that PC/Panama should not forgo any of their sectors to do IT. There were strong feelings related to not investing in hardware, etc. to do this. PC/Panama is not adding an IT sector. We are not buying computers for PCV projects in their sites.

11. Hope you all meet and welcome Elizabeth Sedda my new secretary.