Friday, March 13........a lucky day for over 80 women and children who attended the Medical Blitz at the center! With Dr. Rosa, a dedicated woman from the Cancer Clinic, and Dr. Bartolo Cisneros, a medical doctor from the community, volunteering their time and sharing their expertise, the day was a huge success. Women and children from Colon came, were attended by nurses Kelly and Martine and by Colonenses nurses and physicians. They were then given prescriptions for further testing and /or for medication. The prescriptions were then filled by Marlynne using the meds from Health Partners International. Without the blitz these women would have been obliged to seek help at the local clinic and pay both the doctor´s fee and for the medication itself. This being a financial impossiblity, they simply would not have been attended to. Conditions varied from high blood pressure and stomach ulcers to respitory disease, infections and diabetes. The women and all of the community responded well and were most appreciative of the possibility of a doctor's appointment and medication too! A big thank you to all who volunteered their time and energy to the success of the medical blitz.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Medical Blitz at the Women and Children´s Center
Friday, March 13........a lucky day for over 80 women and children who attended the Medical Blitz at the center! With Dr. Rosa, a dedicated woman from the Cancer Clinic, and Dr. Bartolo Cisneros, a medical doctor from the community, volunteering their time and sharing their expertise, the day was a huge success. Women and children from Colon came, were attended by nurses Kelly and Martine and by Colonenses nurses and physicians. They were then given prescriptions for further testing and /or for medication. The prescriptions were then filled by Marlynne using the meds from Health Partners International. Without the blitz these women would have been obliged to seek help at the local clinic and pay both the doctor´s fee and for the medication itself. This being a financial impossiblity, they simply would not have been attended to. Conditions varied from high blood pressure and stomach ulcers to respitory disease, infections and diabetes. The women and all of the community responded well and were most appreciative of the possibility of a doctor's appointment and medication too! A big thank you to all who volunteered their time and energy to the success of the medical blitz.
Completion of the photo project
We would like to share with you the outcome of our photo project. The project was held over 3 days and was a lot of fun! We would like to thank the children but also people from the Mucec Women centre who helped us put this project together. Marlynne, Kelly and I learned a lot along the way as it was for each of us, our first experience with this kind of project. At times, we had to stop and determine which best action would be to avoid complications!!! With as many kids, let me tell you we had lots of pictures to sort out!!
We divided the children in 2 groups (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) and went out on the second day for a walk around the centre so they could take a total of 5 pictures each. The goal was to photograph places or people who meant something to them. We visited a few parks, a famous hotel, a museum, church and observed a few boats waiting to enter the Panama Canal.We learned about the history of Colon, about their friends and their environment. Once we had all the pictures printed, we met with them on the last day and asked them to make two cards with 2 of their pictures. We had blank cards, construction paper, crayons, glue and scissors so they could create whatever they wanted. We also offered them the opportunity to give a card to us to bring back to Canada so we can share with our fellow Canadians, what these children have made through this activity.
It was touching to see their smile, their creativity and their enthusiasm! Many of them wrote beautiful words for us in their cards and we all appreciated spending that time with them! Interestingly, we all managed to understand each other with a mix of Spanish, English and gestures!
We also gave them the option to do whatever they wanted with the remainder of pictures. Some of them brought them home, others donated some for a murale we are in the process of finishing for the Centre. Now, every visitor to the Mucec Centre can appreciate what a great activity we had and the nice work these children have done! They were proud and we are proud of them too!
Photos: morning and afternoon group (with Dina and Barb, the sisters of the Mucec Centre, outside the Centre)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Being in solidarity ...
Hello out there!
I'm not gone AMA or hiding under a rock. In fact, things are rockin here in Colon, as usual! Glad Marlynne and Martine have been so good at keeping up this wonderful blog! We've just come out of the radio station. My Uncle (Fr Alan) has a radio show every week, here in Colon. He and his Pastoral team's dedication and professionalism always impress me. Natty DeCruz, is a very dedicated parishoner who has taken over many responsabilities in Fr Al's absence. Doing the radio show is one of her many talents, and she always invites us as her guest speakers. Tonight's theme was solidarity...candy!!!! How much easier can it get when I've just left an environment where everywhere I looked and every conversation I had with people, they were trying to find out how we were progressing in our plans for our trip, and wanted to know how they could donate in some way?
In my first entry I spoke of St Edmund Church's wonderful support, but I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues at work, at the Lakeshore Hospital, who truly went out of their way to lend a helping hand and give to the people we would be seeing on our trip. I received so much from you. I thank you and the people thank you! It had crossed my mind many a time, how you showed solidarity with people whom you didn't even know. That always floors me and in itself, gives me hope that there is a lot of goodness in the world. Thank you all for that, my friends.
On Sunday, Marlynne and Martine and I went to the jail. It was great for me to be back, and to have Marlynne come again, this time seeing things for a second time, and to have new blood join us...Martine! The men were so receptive, and as always, very respectful and warm. We had gone to do the reading of the day, and to analyse it through some questions that we had been given. It was good to see their familiar warm faces, and other new ones. It was inspiring to speak with the prisoners, and to dialogue with them. It is always known that we are Fr Al's family, which makes us doubly well received. I can safely say it was a good experience. We are hoping to have our medical blitz this Saturday. I say "hoping" because you can never take anything for granted here in Panama!!
For those of you who may not know, Fr Al is in Philadelphia, recovering from illness, and was hoping to come with us on this trip. Unfortunately he fell and broke his leg just 5 weeks before our departure...it was difficult for all of us to swallow, but we know everything happens for a reason. Since we have arrived, his name comes up on a regular basis, and people ask about him all the time. The prisoners are very close to him as he has always been faithful to them and has always helped them in whatever way he could. He was even the driving force behind important changes in the law which were unjust in the penal system. It is not a great wonder, therefore, that they have built a classroom named after him in the jail. He truly is an amazing man and it is heart-warming to hear that they have not forgotten him, and that they hope and pray for his prompt return. Also nice was seeing the prisoners in solidarity with each other by visiting one another and encouraging one another through their pastoral work, in spite of their less-than-desireable reality. Many spoke of their desire to do so due to Fr Al's influence. I'm thankful that solidarity is so contagious!
Hasta la proxima!
Kelly
I'm not gone AMA or hiding under a rock. In fact, things are rockin here in Colon, as usual! Glad Marlynne and Martine have been so good at keeping up this wonderful blog! We've just come out of the radio station. My Uncle (Fr Alan) has a radio show every week, here in Colon. He and his Pastoral team's dedication and professionalism always impress me. Natty DeCruz, is a very dedicated parishoner who has taken over many responsabilities in Fr Al's absence. Doing the radio show is one of her many talents, and she always invites us as her guest speakers. Tonight's theme was solidarity...candy!!!! How much easier can it get when I've just left an environment where everywhere I looked and every conversation I had with people, they were trying to find out how we were progressing in our plans for our trip, and wanted to know how they could donate in some way?
In my first entry I spoke of St Edmund Church's wonderful support, but I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues at work, at the Lakeshore Hospital, who truly went out of their way to lend a helping hand and give to the people we would be seeing on our trip. I received so much from you. I thank you and the people thank you! It had crossed my mind many a time, how you showed solidarity with people whom you didn't even know. That always floors me and in itself, gives me hope that there is a lot of goodness in the world. Thank you all for that, my friends.
On Sunday, Marlynne and Martine and I went to the jail. It was great for me to be back, and to have Marlynne come again, this time seeing things for a second time, and to have new blood join us...Martine! The men were so receptive, and as always, very respectful and warm. We had gone to do the reading of the day, and to analyse it through some questions that we had been given. It was good to see their familiar warm faces, and other new ones. It was inspiring to speak with the prisoners, and to dialogue with them. It is always known that we are Fr Al's family, which makes us doubly well received. I can safely say it was a good experience. We are hoping to have our medical blitz this Saturday. I say "hoping" because you can never take anything for granted here in Panama!!
For those of you who may not know, Fr Al is in Philadelphia, recovering from illness, and was hoping to come with us on this trip. Unfortunately he fell and broke his leg just 5 weeks before our departure...it was difficult for all of us to swallow, but we know everything happens for a reason. Since we have arrived, his name comes up on a regular basis, and people ask about him all the time. The prisoners are very close to him as he has always been faithful to them and has always helped them in whatever way he could. He was even the driving force behind important changes in the law which were unjust in the penal system. It is not a great wonder, therefore, that they have built a classroom named after him in the jail. He truly is an amazing man and it is heart-warming to hear that they have not forgotten him, and that they hope and pray for his prompt return. Also nice was seeing the prisoners in solidarity with each other by visiting one another and encouraging one another through their pastoral work, in spite of their less-than-desireable reality. Many spoke of their desire to do so due to Fr Al's influence. I'm thankful that solidarity is so contagious!
Hasta la proxima!
Kelly
Monday, March 9, 2009
Anna
Anna, back row, third from left, a 28 year old Panamanian single mom is photographed here with Sister Dina, Martine, Marlynne, Kathleen, Christina and her three young children, Allison, 12 years old, Eileen, 9 and Junior 7.Anna is a squatter in a condemned building owned by the government. The attractive turquoise wall is the facade of a one room house (10X10). Through good fortune, several months ago Anna managed to get a sink for the kitchen area but is yet to obtain water. She has installed a plywood panel in the upper section of the room (could be considered a loft?) and furnished it with cotton padding and this serves as the sleeping area for the family of four. The public 2 cubicle toilet/shower on the next block serves 20 families.
She pays no rent and feeds her family by washing cars on the street near the fire hydrant, working in the Women`s Center when the opportunity arises and picking up odd jobs when possible.
Her three children have been generously cared for in the preschool by the Sisters at the Center. But at the age of 5 they must leave the Center and begin Public School. This, however, is costly, approximately $40 a month.
With the help of the sisters and yours and other donations, Anna`s children have received partial scholarships to attend public school. Poverty in Colon is a devastating problem and if they are to overcome their plight, basic education is the way to begin!
Marlynne (Photographer : Kelly)
Photography project with children
Monday was the beginning of our first project with the children at the Mucec centre (10 y/o and older).
My pre-trip planning involved organizing a project to do with the children and women. As a passionate amateur photographer, I had the idea of doing something related to photography. When I was planning this project in Calgary, I had little idea what it was like in Colon and/or at the Mucec Women centre. Upon our arrival, we started to discuss the project with several people and I realized I had overlooked some aspects of the environment here. After consultation, we decided the project would be spread out over 3 days, as the children do not have school this week: school hasn't started yet (this is not a reading week).
I was seriously amazed at how people were ready to jump in and help us carry out this "foto proyecto". It allows the children to participate in a different activity and give them a chance to learn about Canada. The goal is to have them take pictures of their environment and share something with people in Canada. I had packed some pictures from Canada to show them how much cold in can be in our beautiful country and tell them about skiing, skating, playing hockey etc: things they definitely do not do here, especially with temperatures around the mid thirties like we've seen today!
So far, although we faced some challenges, it has been a great project and we all have learned a lot, especially myself! Wednesday and Thursday we should complete the project and we shall keep you updated!
Kelly, Marlynne and I make a good "team Canada" as we each have our own expertise and different input to bring in this project, and this whole trip.
(The photos are of the 2 groups we met on Monday: one in the morning and one in the afternoon)
Martine
Lunch at Casa Cural
Everyday we go for lunch to the Casa Cural (Priest's house), which is close to the Women's Centre. We are VERY well fed by our wonderful cook, Christina. She bakes delicious food and makes fresh juice everyday (pineapple, guava, lemon etc.)From left: Christina (not the cook!), Kathleen, Kelly, Father Esperiado (?), Martina, Dina, Marlynne, Christina (our chef) and Barb.
Barb and Dina are the Sisters who run the Mucec Women's Centre. They do a great job at helping mothers and their children by means of workshops, daycare and different activities which run from 8am to about 4pm.
Women's workshops for the month of March are: Expressing Emotions, Discussion on development of personal values, Decision Making and Osteoporosis.
Sisters Barb and Dina are also graciously hosting us at the Women Centre for the period of our visit.
We are blessed!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Hola de Panama!
We've all made it safely into Panama with our thousands of pounds of goodies, that's how it felt anyway!
We received a warm welcome from everyone, lots of smiles and hugs!
We met lots of people so far. We met the teachers who are getting ready for their classes to start in a week as well as the women attending a workshop. We have a great chauffeur who generously drives us around while educating us about Panama and it's people.
We manage to communicate quite well with others although Kelly is the only master in Spanish in our group! A mix of english and spanish and some french does the trick! Smiles can say a lot too...
We have lots of planning to do for our activities with the children (which will take place next Mo, Tu & We) and our medical blitz.
Church and a visit to the prison is planned for Sunday.
The women centre is vey nice and safe although the weather is very hot! We will be busy next week and it is quite rewarding to see everyone getting involved to help each other out. We make quite a great team and sounds like we'll have lots of positive to say about this trip.
Thanks for all your support and a big Thank you from the people of Colon!
Martine, Kelly & Marlynne
XXX
We received a warm welcome from everyone, lots of smiles and hugs!
We met lots of people so far. We met the teachers who are getting ready for their classes to start in a week as well as the women attending a workshop. We have a great chauffeur who generously drives us around while educating us about Panama and it's people.
We manage to communicate quite well with others although Kelly is the only master in Spanish in our group! A mix of english and spanish and some french does the trick! Smiles can say a lot too...
We have lots of planning to do for our activities with the children (which will take place next Mo, Tu & We) and our medical blitz.
Church and a visit to the prison is planned for Sunday.
The women centre is vey nice and safe although the weather is very hot! We will be busy next week and it is quite rewarding to see everyone getting involved to help each other out. We make quite a great team and sounds like we'll have lots of positive to say about this trip.
Thanks for all your support and a big Thank you from the people of Colon!
Martine, Kelly & Marlynne
XXX
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Packing Up!!
We are very excited about our upcoming journey and the fabulous donations we have to bring to the people of Colon on your behalf!! We have 85 pairs of leather shoes, over 300 toothbrushes, 100 tubes of toothpaste, soap, shampoo, meds from Health Partners International, and of course your generous donations of the past year!! How shall we pack all of this?!! Hockey bags..thank you! and suitcases! A good night's sleep and we're off! On behalf of the people of Colon, a huge thank you to all of you for your donations, your support and for sharing your time and talent to make this venture a reality. We shall keep you updated on our adventures! Marlynne
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