Away We Go !!

Like two kids in a candy store - shopping for new tools

With funds for the water system projects in hand, we now begin the hard work. Jose M and I went shopping for project tools at the hardware store - like putting two kids loose in a candy store, we overspent our tools budget by 10%, but got good quality tools that will last even beyond these projects. Orders for materials are placed at the hardware store and deliveries begin this Friday. All materials will be off-loaded from the delivery trucks and secured with tarps. After that, the communities begin the arduous task of carrying about 5 tons of materials 1.5 to 2 km up steep, muddy trails to the construction sites. Each community has a list of who from each family will provide the work, who will cook and deliver lunches and water to the workers. Then Jose and I will begin construction, with work crews of 3 or 4.

A group of PCVs invited me to join them on a pilgrimage to Carnivale in Panama City. After last year's adventure, I declined. Once was enough for me, as I was reminded by the tale from last year, reprinted below.

My Big Fat Panamanian Carnival

Let me begin by saying that I have never favored big festivals. I relate much better to smaller groups. But, my Inner Festival Explorer, goaded by the local buzz, decided to travel into Panama*, to see what all the Hoo-Haw was about. *When people in Panama talk about going to Panama, what they mean is going to Panama City.

Travelling into the Emerald City on the day of Carnival proved to be a failure of logistical judgement on my part. The buses were all full – I had 3 full ones pass me by and even the 4^th was standing room only for the first hour of the trip, until I finally got a seat. The traffic inbound was HORRIFIC, unlike I’ve ever seen it. What is normally a 4 hour trip took almost 8 hours, including my wait at the bus stop. Even though this is the dry season, it started to rain as we got into the City.

When I finally got to the terminal and headed for the Metro, it was another mob scene. Trains were running at peak (3 minute) intervals and still packed. The walk from the Metro to my hotel was filled with honking horns and drizzle. And when I got there, they were full. Again, my bad for not calling ahead. I could have stayed in their Dorm room, but I’m just too old to enjoy sleeping in a room full of 20 year old backpackers who stay up drinking until 3am. Luckily, my back-up hotel is only 2 blocks away and had space, albeit in their annex, with a view of a concrete wall 4 ft away. More bad news:  I had already missed the main event downtown along the waterfront, though there would be other celebrations later that night. But, at least, the rain had stopped.

Things took a decided turn for the better when I went down to the crowded little restaurant for an early dinner and was seated next to a lovely lady from Switzerland. By sheer coincidence Genevive went to elementary school with Bertrand Picard (first to fly a solar plane around the world) , who I knew as a lad on Singer Island, FL. She filled me in on the big parade, including photos from her phone. It looked like quite a spectacle. Sorry I missed it. Of course, she grilled me about Trump. The whole world seems to think he’s a joke, but also very dangerous to the world’s peace and economy. She was keen to practice her Spanish and English, so we alternated language every other line or so. We also agreed to escort each other to the celebration in the nearby park, which everyone said was not the Big Deal, but still pretty good.

Dinner was a fixed plate, said to be “Carnival Tipico”. It consisted of lentils, which seem to be a universal Latin good-luck food, fried plantains, a Panama staple, small chunks of beef that had been cooked to almost jerky texture in a BBQ sauce and a side of what I can only describe as vegetable mush – WAY over-cooked mixed veggies – just the way Panamanians like them. And it was all delicious, although the beef taxed my chewing stamina. And a bargain at $4.00. Oh, and a single sardine was offered for burying on the beach for more good luck. I passed on that.

We re-convened at 7, and headed for the park, joining in with a small mass migration in that direction. As we arrived, a church procession was passing the park. Lots of little girls in white lace and little boys dressed in ill-fitting suits, with men in black carrying an icon, which I assumed was Mother Mary, adorned with flowers.

The park is the same one I saw lit-up the night I arrived. The Christmas ornaments were gone, leaving just the cascading white lights – quite spectacular. In some areas, there were big flood lights. And, boy was it packed. There was a trail of sorts that ran through the park, lined with all manner of vendors - popcorn, sandwiches, ice cream, banana chips, kabobs, hot dogs, big pretzels and especially beer vendors. There seemed to be a beer stand every 100 feet or so, mostly the local Atlas. Budweiser and Miller both had stands, so I partook of an MGD and later, a Bud. They only sold in cups, since we later discovered that a “tradition” is to throw your cup in the air when you finish a beer or applaud. Like throwing the champagne glasses into the fireplace, only safer and not as romantic.

I had a little bump-up against the arm of a large black fellow in a toga robe, who spilled his beer and looked like he wanted to fight. So, I threw up my arms and backed away as he muttered some choice words. “Pinche Gringo” was the only thing I recognized, along with an enraged middle finger. Definitely got my adrenaline running.

After that, we were propelled along the midway by the animated and inebriated crowd, eventually finding a place we could stand and watch the throng. It was quite a mixed bag. There were older folks dressed to the nines, like they were going to a ball. Some young men, dressed as men, but faces and hair made up like women. At least I’m pretty sure they were men. Some rather attractive. There was also a Kiss element – many faces and garb of that venerable rock group. LOTS of masks of all sorts, including glittery, feathery ones, superheros and several monsters and dragons. An absolute dearth of kids. This party is definitely “R” rated. Quite a scene.

It turns out there was no parade of floats, as I had hoped, at our location. Every so often the revelry was interrupted by various performing groups. There was a bunch of guys dancing on stilts, jugglers, body builders in very tiny bathing suits, fire-breathers, some folks with huge paper mache heads, clowns, of course , a rather risqué dancing group and one band of bagpipers. One of my favorites was a group of Jedis, who did a beautifully choreographed dance with their light sabers. A gang of four Trumps seemed to relish getting Booed and returning fire with “the finger”. (I would not suggest the The Donald visit Panama any time soon). All groups had people collecting money in the crowd. At least I think/hope that is what was happening. The most popular musical numbers, by far, were the Macarena (yes, it is still alive in Latin America) and Shaky, Shaky Shaky by the rap artist Daddy Yankee. And the crowd joined in with Mucho Gusto !! As the groups would stop and perform , the crowd gave them space and applauded with loud yelling, giving money and tossing empty cups and cans in the air. Duck & Cover. As Genevive sadly discovered, not all the cups are emptied before launch.

I have to say that the enthusiastic energy at an event like this is absolutely contagious. I was jumping up and down and screaming and laughing and cheering and tossing cups in the air with the best of them. It’s like some self-cast spell that the crowd places on itself. You’d have to be near death not to pick up the vibe and be transported by it. Maybe that’s the huge allure of this type of event. Or maybe it’s all the beer.

After a few hours, I went for the camera in my side pants pocket and found it missing. This caused Genevive to check her backpack slung over her arm and discover her cell phone missing, as well. We’d been picked clean as a whistle, though nothing else was taken. First time in my life I’ve had something stolen. In all fairness, I’d been warned about the gangs of pick-pockets that frequent these events. Peace Corps even sent out a timely reminder, which I failed to heed. This brought a sudden, sullen end to Carnival for us and we headed back to the hotel.  In retrospect, it really was a perfect site for pick-pockets – lots of bumping in the crowd and very few police, except on the streets.  I was told this morning that the police are all in plain clothes at these events. I was awakened about 11:30 by fireworks which lasted a full hour and seemed to be right outside my window, though they were about 1 KM away. Sound must have bounced off the building next door. I finally got dressed and went outside to watch. Since it was after midnight, I pretended the pyrotechnic display was for my birthday.

I’ll have to wait on my return until 10am this morning, when the Albrook Mall opens, to replace my camera. Not a big loss, though all the fabulous photos I took are gone.  Genevive will have to wait a couple of days for her uncle, who works for Samsung, to send her another phone.

So, let’s see – made a nice new friend, had good food, saw masses of drunken people dressed in wild costumes and masks, saw some very cool entertainment, did the “Shaky, Shaky, Shaky” ( the Macarena still eludes me), was verbally abused, was wonderfully excited, got pick-pocketed for the first time, saw good fireworks, endured horrendous bus ride. I’d say it was a wash, fun-wise.

I still retain my driving thirst for new experiences, places. people and activities. But the next time my Inner Festival Explorer gets any bright ideas about attending a huge event like this, I think I’ll just remind it of Panama Carnival 2017. And maybe we’ll give it a second thought.

The Other Half

Training the Water Committee in Pueblo Nuevo

While I wait for funding to come through to begin construction on water system infrastructure, I’ve been focusing on “the other half” of my work – training of the water committees. While it’s not as glamorous, it is just as important to ensure the long term sustainability of the water systems.

In larger cities and towns, the local or regional government is responsible for providing potable water to the residents. In rural villages, this task falls to the Water Committee, a group of citizens elected by the village as a whole. These unpaid volunteers have charge of maintaining and repairing the water system as well as collecting and managing the monthly fee (cuota) from each household, usually between $0.50 and $2 per month. (Don’t you wish your water bill looked like that?)

The training sessions that I and other PCVolunteers provide focus on maintenance and accounting practices, although in some villages where the WC has become defunct – like Ipeti Embera – we start from scratch and assist the community with organizing a big community meeting for elections and explaining the roles of the various WC officers.

The WC accounting "starter kit"

Usually, training in basic accounting practices is the most badly needed education. Most WC accounting systems consist of various scraps of paper, on which are recorded payments collected. Some don’t even do that, which often leads to the suspicion of corruption, if not corruption itself.

To help improve accountability and increase trust, I created an accounting “starter kit”, which contains the tools needed for a basic accounting system – accounting ledger, receipt books, acct payable log and related stationary. Then we have a session on how to use it. We practice writing receipts, ledger entries and compiling an annual report for the community. I’ve found that giving a household payment really increases confidence in the WC. Having a well-kept ledger increases pride and confidence of the WC, too.

Election of new Water Committee in Ipeti

We also discuss ways of improving collections, since most villages collect less than half of water fees due. Having a well known and set time and place for folks to pay can help. But, the most effective ploy is simply cutting off water to those who don’t pay. This sounds completely logical and practical to someone from a developed country, but it is a 

Teaching water tank maintenance in Pueblo Nuevo

hard sell here. Despite the delightfully low monthly water fee, payment has traditionally been essentially voluntary and the attitude that “water is a free gift from God” is prevalent. Further, most of the folks in a village are related or good friends. No one on the WC wants to be the bad guy who cut off water to his friend’s house – the job is thankless enough as it is. Oddly, the arrival of electricity and cell phones has helped change the “no pay” attitude, as folks realize that non payment of these services results in cut-offs.

Fun with Dick and Jane and the other PCVs

Bocas WASH PCVs set up for their site presentations to MINSA

IST (In Service Training) in Penonome

I always enjoy spending time with the other Peace Corps volunteers, especially my fellow water and sanitation (WASH) crew members. Sharing time at an eco-resort near Penonome was no exception. I was

Inside of meeting rooms was gorgeous

invited to train and share my field experiences on a wide range of topics – everything from improved cook stoves to GPS tracking apps to composting toilets, bottle bulbs, biodigesters, flush toilet design, soil percolation tests, PCV glue and concrete practices. Of course, there were the after-dinner rounds of Goyo Tales and some other great stories from the volunteers.

Grounds well landscaped and maintained

The whole event was well run, with guest visits from top MINSA (Ministry of Health) officials and many other experienced PCV and PCRV presenters. The facilities were outstanding (except for the food) and everything ran on schedule. A hike to the nearby river gorge and waterfall was well worth the effort, I got

I stayed in the cabin at left with 11 other folks

to share co-ed bunk quarters with 10 other folks. Miraculously none of them snored, resulting in good sleep for all. I got up early to secure easy access to the shared bathroom (sans hot water of course). Campfires, popcorn and movies filled the nights. – volleyball during the breaks. After surviving all the rain in Bocas, the weather was warm and sunny with a nice breeze – paradise.

My hike to the river was rewarded by this remarkable rock gorge and waterfall

Moving Forward

Well, it’s been a quiet week(s) here in Changuinola, Panama – my home town.

Bastamientos Beach

The rains have continued unabated, but I’ve learned to deal with it. Mudslides, flooding and fallen trees continue to plague the area, but folks here rebound quickly. There have been two absolutely GORGEOUS sunny days, which I leveraged into beach trips to Isla Colon and Bastamientos. Too much silt flowing out the bay for good diving or snorkeling, but it still feels good to swim and body-surf in my beloved Caribbean. And have some Rondon and curried chicken.

Flooding continues in Colon

My water system construction projects have been officially approved by the Peace Corps, so we can get going as soon as the money is delivered. I’ve been spending lots of rainy days planning over cups of Cacao with the water committee members. The timing is actually just right, as funds should arrive just about the time the rains stop (or at least diminish).

Excited to work with Jose - dear friend and expert mason

We’ve calculated drop points and schedules to transport BY HAND about 5 TONS of materials and supplies from the drop points to the construction sites, as well as which families will be responsible for feeding and watering the work crews. After that will come construction, with my dear brother and expert mason Jose M at my side. We hope to have everything done before the rains begin again in May. After that, I’ll be doing water committee trainings in accounting, operations and maintenance, as well as some community trainings in water disinfection and conservation.

La Iguana Eco Lodge - site of Peace Corps IST

Next week, I’ll be travelling to Penonome, where I’ve been asked to guest lecture the newest group of PCVolunteers at their IST (In-Service-Training) on topics like: GPS Tracking apps, Improved cook stove theory, Bottle bulbs, Water tank access ladders and techniques for working with concrete and PVC. I love being around the “youngsters” and their energy and enthusiasm.

I’ve also been invited to speak at a panel discussion on “The Evolution of Work” at my 45^th Princeton reunion. Icing on the already delicious cake of seeing all my old room-mates and classmates.

And that’s the news from Changuinola – where all the men are short, the women are shorter and all the children want to go to America.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Flooded street in Almirante

Not a lot of news lately. I’ve been locked in discussions with the PC Staff over my grant proposal and cleaning up paperwork details with MINSA on official water committee status in the grant communities.

Mudslide on the road to La Gloria

Efforts have been hampered by the weather. We’ve had another 4 day rain event, which caused flooding, mudslides and fallen trees all over this area and Panama in general. That's 82 hours of CONTINUOUS rain !!

Worst hit was the Colon area (Caribbean end of Canal), which is all built on filled land about 5 feet above sea level with really poor drainage.

Tree across the road to Valle Risco - bus had to turn back

Cacao, Mourning and TV

Raw blocks of  processed cacao (chocolate)

Here is the Real Deal. Pure cacao chocolate. 100% pure and uncut. The taste is amazing - a short burst of heavy chocolate, with a tinge of bitter. Then the cocoa butter (oil) melts and smooths everything out into a heavenly swirl. Shortly thereafter the caffeine (8 x more than coffee) kicks in.

Flag of the Ngobe people

These blocks were gifts from the aptly named Quebrada Cacao community for my assistance to them.

At the same meeting, I was given an honorary Ngobe name: UnchikraKwaribo

I think it means something like "large friend with no fur". The Ngobe call 'em like they see 'em.

The Ngobe Comarca flag of my adopted nation is proudly shown here.

Every morning over breakfast, I watch the local Panama news channel. Some observations after 3 months:
There are no partisan commentators giving opinion instead of fact. This is “straight” news, with interviews of the parties involved – like US news used to be. 
Ample time is given to “Denuncios” (denouncements), where average citizens sound off about local problems they’d like to see fixed.
There is ALWAYS a corruption trial or scandal going on. To a lesser extent, I’m guessing that the corruption in US is just better hidden.
There are frequent “PSAs”, reminding folks of all the things the government is doing for them : new roads, bridges, subsidized propane and rice, free Christmas hams, cheaper bus fares, etc. There are even teasers for planned projects (which may or may not actually materialize). Of course, these always end with the incumbent President’s smiling face – a form of free political ad. 
Commercial advertisements seem mostly for food and cleaning products and remind me of US ads in the 50’s and 60’s – they are longer and feature a housewife extolling the product virtues. Oddly, the women in these ads all live in large, modern, well decorated homes and the women are all white or light skinned with blonde hair – representing about 9% of the population.
News anchors tend to be white women with blonde hair and Hispanic men.

I saw some slick new construction tech in Valle Risco yesterday. Walls are built with these interlocking panels which are filled with concrete. Electric and plumbing slide through lateral holes in the panels.
Some of you may remember the Techos de Esperanza project from last year. The Panamanian government is building thousands of these small homes around the country in rural areas. They are well built with indoor plumbing and excellent electric service. But they have some problems : Soil here is mostly clay and does not percolate, so septic tanks back up. Also, lack of windows means all internal and external doors must be open to catch a breeze. In addition, some are built in villages without good water or electric service.

Panamanians had a day of mourning Dec 20th - remembering the US Invasion (aka Operation Just Cause) 28 years ago. The US military attacked with 23,000 ground troops, artillery, tanks and helicopter gun ships to oust President Noriega, a rogue CIA operative. 
About 1,000 Panamanian civilians were killed in the crossfire, with 2500 injured and 1900 captured. The US occupied in force for 30 days while searching for the elusive Noriega.
Not exactly our finest hour.

Due to the relatively low water pressure of gravity fed water systems and the greatly differing elevations of houses within a community prevalent here in the mountainous jungle area of Bocas del Toro, Panama, houses at lower elevations get tons of water and those above often get little or none. 
The solution is to restrict flow to the lower houses, either with proper reduced pipe size or with these home-made flow restrictors. It's just an ordinary faucet washer inserted into the line, but it does the trick. 
The only problem I had when I used them in Torti was that folks at lower elevation would get greedy and remove them. This time I'm hoping that epoxy glue will prevent removal - only time will tell.

A Plan to Help 1100 People

Community meeting in Barriada Santos

Far too long since my last blog. Panama has suffered a rain event of near Bibilical proportions – over 80 hours of non-stop rain. The timing was fortuitous, as it gave me time to complete my grant application. After planning with five local communities, crunching materials estimates, filling multiple spreadsheets, figuring delivery, transport and construction schedules, completing a 14 page application and then re-entering ALL the information into the PC online grants portal, my PCPP grant application is at last submitted for approval.

If approved, we will provide new water service to about 500 people who have never had water at their homes and upgrade water service to another 600 folks, as well as providing training to the water committees and communities.
We’ll be building 5 new spring boxes, 2 water storage tanks, laying a total of about 9 KM of PVC pipe, making a river crossing bridge and running household lines directly to the homes.

One of many mudslides from the recent rains

I’ve now visited 11 of the 16 water systems on my list. I’ll still visit the sites, but won’t be able to help them directly. Sadly, I have reached the maximum grant amount, so the remaining villages will have to wait for the next volunteer.

After 4 days of solid rain, I was finally able to get back out to the campo. Rivers way over their banks, huge fallen trees and mud slides all over. Not to mention a foot of mud in all the footpaths.
The upside was a monster rainbow.

Remember the "Black Lagoon" and its festering septic waters? Well, the recent hard rains have flushed it out into the Bocas Bay. Now, it's the Chocolate Lagoon.

Long lines to get the free Christmas hams

Panama subsidizes a lot of things for "the people", like propane and rice. They also do lots of giveaways - school backpacks for kids and sporting goods. One of the most unique is a Christmas Ham. They range from 6 to 8 lbs. They are free to "jubilados" (men over 60 and women over 55). $4 for the less elderly. One per family. No idea how that is enforced. 

Folks were lined up around the block today to get one.
From what I was told, Christmas Ham (MUST be topped with pineapple) is as deeply traditional as our Thanksgiving Turkey.
It also seems that many of these hams will be consumed on Mothers' Day, which was Friday (Dec 8) here in Panama.

From the 1890's to 1979, United Fruit (now Chiquita) shipped all their bananas from the plantations in Changuinola to the port in Almirante via railway. For some reason(s), they decided that shipping via containers on trucks was a better route and the old tracks were abandoned. I'm guessing this involved less handling of the fruit and avoiding the horrendous maintenance of the RR. Now, all that remains of the tracks are the bridge over the river and various other re-purposed uses. One of which is a small road bridge on the road to Valle Risco.

Extra large diagram of the project 

It was a long meeting with the Barriada Santos community this morning to present the tentative plan for the renovation and upgrade of their water system. While most everyone in the community speaks Spanish, many prefer to use "their own language" of Ngäbere. Since I only know "good morning" (Ñan törö deka) and "see you later" (Jatwaita mare) - there is no Hello or Good-Bye – so, everything had to be translated back and forth. 
But, big smiles prevailed and the project is a GO from the community. Fortunately, all the folks I work with directly on the project are fine with Spanish.

Water waste is a HUGE problem in this area

Another village water system visit. Palo Seco suffers from a chronic lack of maintenance and water waste. Time to wake the folks up - clean water doesn't happen by itself !!