After only a few months we opened up the first three centres in Panama. Besides Kuna this is Boo Yal en Las Nubes. We now have three schools operating, with an average daily attendance of 60 to 70 very poor children
Villa Boo Yala' SCHOOL & CHILDREN'S CENTRE is in the Villa Boo Yala community of Arraijan jungle to the north of Panama City, Panama. Our aim is to give aid and support to the indigenous children of the Kuna families who left their Sanblas Island sanctuary on the other side of the Istmas, in order to live closer to the market opportunities available in the capital..Bruce Panama have agreed to provide basic education to the Kuna children, respecting their ancient native culture, and not putting pressure on them to assimilate into the larger Panamanian multicultural society..
The Villa Boo Yala Children's Centre is housed in a raw brick building which also serves as a community centre.A marvelous feature of Villa Boo Yala is tht the houses do not have locks - in Panama City a city famous for its crime rate. How can this be? Boo Yala was formed by a group ofAndean peasants all known to one another. When they finally succeeded in posessing the land they bonded into a community; everyone looks out for everyone else. It is isolated from the rest of Panama City, the only road climbing up the high jungle to Villa Boo Yala. It may be a shanty town to the ourside world, but to its residents it has as much community spirit as any community on earth.
Many children do not attend school in Villa Boo Yala, due to one or mor of three reasons: the nearest school is too far away, extreme poverty (even attending free school in Panama costs about $110 a year), abandonment or parental abuse (children of poor parents often are made to work instead of attending school) Our primary goal is to get as many children into school as possible, and this involves encouraging learning, talking to parents and in some cases purchassing uniforms and school books. We also are prepared to educate those children who cannot get into state schools.View from Las Nubes:
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May 2006We have opened a provisional centre in Panama, and started the first school for indigenous children (& some of their mothers). Our plan is to get enough schools functioning around the capital city to be able demonstrate to the Government of Panama that the large population of extremely poor children not in School must be urgently helped, as we are doing.
April 2006
First Kuna School is located in Arraijan, a tropical area twenty minutes drive north of Panama City, in the midst of a shanty settlement, where several thousand Kunas live in extreme poverty: their children uneducated.
The steps involved in getting one of our little schools started are really not all that difficult. Before getting started, of course we need to be certain there are enough children not in school to justify our being there. [With the state of education in Latin America almost any poor community has enough out-of-school children to justify our being there]. The other thing we need to make certain of before actually opening a school: is that the parents will agree to let their children become educated, and let us educate their children . [This can take longer to secure that the actual opening of the school.]
Once these preliminaries are out of the way, it is pretty smooth sailing. Here are some steps we took along the way to getting the Arraiajan school opened, just outside Panama City.
 1 - Finding a vacant lot to locate our school on |
 2- Getting the community involved |
 3 - Tribal mothers and children meet |
 4 - Anne Tere interviews qualified teacher |  5 -Schooldirector and teacher prepare classroom |
 6 - Anna Tere makes her final pitch to moms & kids. |  7 - Then Bruce makes his |
 8 - Write very first number |  9 - Then run for it |
 10 -First pencils ever |  11 - First copy book, first lesson... |
April 2006
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Michael is our first director in Panama. He served as project
coordinator for our centre in Chiclayo, Peru, and then received additional
training in Trujillo before setting off for Panama. We are counting on his
contagious optimism, his command of Spanish and his Swedish ingenuity to help
him run what we have already established plus establishing more. |
The tribes of Panama: Kuna, Ngobe, Emberá, Buglé, etc.
Our contract with them is to teach their uneducated children to read and write, but not do anything to change their indigenous culture.
April 2006
At the start of the projects in Panama and Ecuador KinderZon wanted to wish best luck and success to the staff and volunteers. The following message was sent:
Dear team member of the projects in Ecuador and Panama,
From far I want to send you my sincere feelings of proud that all of you are so much willing to help the children who so desperately need care and education. It is a great effort that all of you will put into the projects. We from KinderZon are busy raising funds to help you out with necessary costs. It is however your tough but inspiring daily work to make this project successful. There will be moments of difficulties and maybe frustration. Please believe me when I say that after getting through such a period you will come out stronger and even more important you have served to the benefit of the children. Looking back you will see that you will have made a real change into the life's of these children and that's all what it is about.
So, enjoy your stay there, bring all of your best and let us make it happen!!!!!
Best regards,
Marc Zwaaneveld
President of the KinderZon Foundation