Sick of sick

Let me preface this post by saying that we, as a family, have been sick since since January. At no point in the last 5 and 1/2 months have we all been healthy. Rashes, sniffles, sore throats, fevers, putrid bug bites, vomiting, phlegm- you name it, we've had it. And I'm SICK OF BEING SICK! Our family doctor down here has described Panama as "the perfect petrie dish", meaning viruses love this environment. It's damp, it's hot, it's humid. Voila! You're sick. Add to the mix that there must be viruses down here that are new to us, as in our systems don't have any way to fight them and it feels like we're under attack. On this note alone, I'm ready to come back to Canada, where at least the viruses are ones we've had before and maybe have a measure of being able to defeat. Zella has had it the worst, I believe. She doesn't even know that she's sick. As only a kid could do she has figured out how to use her snot-filled nose to to hammer out a disgusting version of Name That Tune. No kidding. She says things like, "Mom, guess this song..." then proceeds to breath through her nose in time to various pieces of music. ENOUGH! It feels like Panama is beating us right now. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to blow my nose for the 30th time this morning.

Our amazing Zella

When I dropped Zella off at her school this morning I went in to ask her teacher couple of questions. This isn't quite so easy as it is at home in Canada. I have to study for this sort of everyday interaction. But I had prepped my Spanish and felt reasonably ready to accompany her into her classroom.

What I wasn't ready for was what a rock star my kid is. As we walked down the long hallway towards the Kindergarten B classroom ("it's the one with the brown bear on the door, Mum...") Zella was accosted by girls of all ages. Hugs were given, her name was called, friends came out to walk her down to her room.

When we actually got there, with many friends in tow, I found out a few things. A) Zella is speaking and understanding Spanish fluently in the class. B) Her teachers love her. C) She's giving impromptu English Lessons to the high school girls in the hallways and cafeteria. And D) She hates to colour in the lines.

This is all amazing news. Even the colouring...because as Zel so eloquently puts it, "What's the deal with the LINES anyway?"

A Day in the Darien

I hate to force you over to another site, but for an update on how our trip to the Darien province went please visit- http://www.bridgingthegappanama.blogspot.com/

This is our new website and will provide lots of updates in the months to come. We had an incredible trip dropping off supplies and learning more about the people we're committed to helping. Take a look at the new site and check back often.

Bridging the Gap

For the last six months my American friend Jenny and I have been working on a fundraising project. Over many rounds of coffee and playdates we began to organize a small grassroots group called Bridging the Gap. The goal of Bridging the Gap is to raise funds and seek out donations in kind for the children and communitites of the Darien Gap.

If the Darien Gap is new to you Wikipedia has a quick overview- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darien_gap

Needless to say this is, perhaps, Panama's poorest region. Schools are without textbooks, medical clinics are without the most basic of supplies (think antibiotic creams and Tylenol) and the people of the Darien (a mix of Indigenous, Afro-Carribean and Columbian refugees) have struggled for years to develop self sustaining work that would support their families. Add into the mix a reluctance on the part of the Panamanian government to acknowledge there's a problem and the constant threat of Columbian drug terrorists and the it quickly becomes obvious that anything one can do to help would be much appreciated.

So Jenny and I organized a series of events with our network of women here in Panama. The response has been incredible. We have raised enough money to purchase textbooks for an entire school (one of the few in the region, children travel upwards of 2 hours to get there) and when we asked for donations in-kind of school art supplies we were absolutely overwhelmed by the load of paper, paint, glitter, play-doh and other fun stuff that arrived.

Our partners in all of this have been the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, they have been helping us to find where the best use of these resources will be. And tomorrow Jenny and I will accompany a UN Team to the Darien communities that we've been working to support.

I can't wait to meet the kids. I can't wait to give them the textbooks and supplies. We have been told that they have been working without textbooks, without pencils and without notebooks. We've also been told that the school has never had a major shipment of any of the above and would never have expected to receive the fun stuff, like crayons and glitter.

I'll report back after our trip. With photos. And I hope a renewed committment to Bridging the Gap.