Panama

Community Description
Boqueron Arriba is a small subsistence farming community located within Chagres National Park. The majority of the 120 residents live below the poverty line.

In December of 2010, heavy rains produced flooding and landslides, resulting in the displacement of families, loss of crops and livestock, and significant damage to the aqueduct. The damages to the water supply exceed the small savings the aqueduct commission has at its disposal.

The intake for the current aqueduct is located in a stream approximately 250 meters above the town of Boqueron Arriba. It consists of a concrete box built into a rock outcrop within the stream. The concrete box measures approximately 5 feet by 5 feet and has a depth of approximately 3 feet.

The upstream side of the box at one point contained two steel screens of different sizes to prevent rapid sedimentation inside of the box. However, this screen has corroded and is no longer in service. The downstream side of the box has two 3” PVC cleanouts, located near the bottom of the box, and a 3” PVC connection aqueduct located approximately 1.5 feet above the cleanouts. The top of the box has an entrance so that the box can be cleaned out if it fills up with sediment. The concrete cover to the entrance has been destroyed.

Water flows from the box through 3 inch PVC approximately 2 kilometers to a supply tank. The supply tank is above ground, constructed of concrete and contains a manhole entrance for cleaning activities. Water enters high on the tank and exits low on the opposite side. The capacity of the tank is reportedly 10,000 gallons.

From the supply tank, water flows through 3 inch PVC tubing into the community. There are two branches. One branch flows south towards the school, while the other branch flows north. Tubing sizes decrease from 3 inch to 2 inch as they get further away from the supply tank. Most homes connect to the water mains using ½ inch PVC tubing.

About 5 years ago, a slow filter, designed by the Panamanian Ministry of Health to filter the water before it enters the storage tank, was built. However, it was not put on line because of the inability of the community to pay for the necessary materials. To see the plans, CLICK HERE.

The slow filter consists of two filter chambers which are used independently. When one chamber shut down for cleaning, the other can be used. One chamber measures 1.5 meters wide, 3.0 meters long, and 2.8 meters high. The chambers are constructed of concrete and they share a common inlet. Water enters the chambers from the inlet high on the wall of the filter. The water then percolates through 1 meter thick layer of fine sand, followed by a 0.2 meter thick layer of #5 stone, then into perforated 2 inch PVC laterals which are laid in a 0.2 meter thick layer of #4 stone. Once the water reaches the 2 inch PVC laterals it is conveyed through a 2 inch tube low on the filter wall into a second chamber. Head pressure from the filter causes the water in this second chamber to rise to a level of about 2 meters where it then flows into a stand pipe and leaves for the storage tank.

Project Description
This project is to repair the damaged aqueduct and complete the slow filter system to establish a safe water supply for Boqueron Arriba.

Under the direction of the local aqueduct commission, all labor for this project will be provided by community volunteers. This includes labor to reroute portions of the aqueduct (to avoid excessive pressure buildup), to avoid unnecessary stream crossings, to install new tubing, and to complete the slow filter.

In addition, the # 4 and #5 sand will be donated by community members. Transportation of materials will be donated by the local government.

Project funds will be used to purchase materials to repair damaged portions of the aqueduct and completion of the slow filter system. Some of the funds will be used to repair the concrete box at the head of the aqueduct system. Necessary work includes the replacement of the screens and the construction of a new concrete cover for the water intake. These two repairs will help to prevent rapid sedimentation of the box, and will result in a more consistent flow of water, and less time cleaning out the box.

Materials for the work on the concrete box include 2 steel screens (4.5 feet by 2.5 feet), concrete, and rebar.

Materials needed to complete the slow filter consist of 90 feet of PVC tubing, associated unions, angles, and valves, concrete, and fine grain sand, and materials for constructing sand sifters.

Project Impact
120 people will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Sean Strong

Comments
This is a tremendously effective project that will have an immediate impact on the lives of the members of the community. We are pleased to be able to come forth with resources, in the way of materials, to assist this community faced with the daunting task of restoring a water source after the crisis without the financial ability do so on their own.

A lot is being accomplished with a small amount of money because the existing infrastructure is being utilized. The long-delayed purification of water through the slow filtration system will be a needed addition. Contributing all of the labor to their project, the community has a vested interest in maintaining it into the future.

Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00

Donations Collected to Date
$500.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of the Elmo Foundation.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify the Peace Corps Volunteer of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by the PCV and/or those of other PCVs in the country of service.

Community Description
Cabuya Arriba is a small mountain town in the district of Anton, province of Cocle. Most of the 700 community members are farmers.

The water source for Cabuya Arriba is a mountain stream at an altitude of 850 meters. The community has a gravity feed system with distribution by PVC tubing directly to the homes and school.

During the incredibly strong rains this year the streams swelled and damaged the main pipeline. Water service was knocked out in the community and the school where 105 students attend 1st-6th grade. Many people unaware of the dangers of drinking stagnant water became ill during the time it took to repair the main pipeline.

There is a cement reserve tank with a capacity of 15,000 gallons. It was constructed in 1996 by the community with the help of a former Peace Corps Volunteer.

There is a small cement dam in the creek to slow the water and cause it to pool. Some of the pooled water is diverted to the water intake which is an open ended PVC pipe with a metal screen over it to strain out large debris. The tube then travels a mile to the reserve tank. The tubing is exposed to light and sun from the water source to the tank. Below the tank the tube is covered about half of the time.

In the exposed locations the tube breaks down faster and ruptures more frequently. This is especially true along the creek/water source. For the distance of 200 meters the pipeline parallels the creek. During extreme flooding when the creeks rises it runs over the pipe. If it is carrying trees and large debris the tubes are ruptured.

Project Description
This project is to bury the water line in the flood plain and replace the pipes that were damaged in the previous floods. Additional repairs will be made at the points where the pipe line crosses over other smaller creek beds, as funding allows.

The project is being implemented by the aqueduct committee, which has taken care of the tubes and tank for the past 17 years.

Most of the work will be donated by the town members.

Project funds will be used to purchase and transport piping and other critical materials, and to pay for some of the skilled labor.

Project Impact
305 people living in and attending the school in Cabuya Arriba will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Christopher Brown

Comments
This project will provide clean and safe drinking water to the homes and school for years to come. Replacing broken pipes and burying the pipeline will minimize future supply disruptions.

Dollar Amount of Project
$480.00

Donations Collected to Date
$480.00

Dollar Amount Needed

$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of The Soneva SLOW LIFE Trust as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Christopher Brown of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Christopher and/or those other PCVs in the country of service.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.

Community Description
The community of Embera Puru is a rural indigenous tribe located along the Rio San Juan de Piquini inside the Chagres National Park in Panama. Within the village there are about 100 residents, including children, with a 10% growth in the last year. All families live below the poverty line and earn their living panning for gold in the summer and working in Eco-tourism in the winter.

With the youth quickly becoming the majority the adults are looking for ways to assure that the children are receiving the best education and health benefits that they can feasibly supply. Being very motivated, smart and hardworking, the community recognizes that the modern world exist, and they have as much curiosity about the culture and economic systems that occur in the city as we have about their exotic dances and extensive knowledge of the rainforest.

Unfortunately, being an indigenous group in a National Park it tends to often be a struggle to find the monetary means of supporting their children's education and health needs.

One way they began to incorporate modernity into their lives was soliciting a government MEDUCA teacher and by building a one room wooden primary school that children grades 1-6 attend together. While this may seem very basic, it was a huge step in becoming more connected to the country they live in as well as being recognized by the government as an existing part of the national system.

Although previous volunteers assisted the community in constructing an aqueduct in 2006, the school lies at an elevation well above the line of pressure that would allow them to simply add an extra spigot.

Currently the closest water source is a fair walk down a hill and not a reasonable trip for the students to make during class hours. In addition this water source is not at all times reliable. This leads to a lack of drinking water or a place for students and teachers to wash their hands after using the school pit latrine, which can easily lead to many common illnesses related to waste facility exposure.

The mothers of the school children rotate shifts cooking breakfast and lunch for the children. They have no close water source to cook the meals and wash the dishes afterwards.

Project Description
This project is to build a rainwater catchment system to provide a water supply for the school.

The school is the only structure that does not have a thatched roof but instead one made of zinc. This makes it a prime location to build a water catchment system.

Water running off the roof will be captured in gutters and directed to tanks. Pipes will be run to the kitchen to be constructed.

Three spigots will be installed, one for the use of the children and two for the kitchen. Three sinks will be installed, along with piping to remove the wastewater from the facility.

Project funds will be used to purchase the materials.

The community will volunteer their labor and many of the natural materials needed for the project.

There is already an existing water committee in the community. Upon the completion of the project, a new adult will be nominated to serve on this committee as the representative and keeper of the new school water catchment system.

Project Impact
Approximately 70 people will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Sara Taylor

Comments
This project creates a clean and reliable water source. It will have an immediate effect on hygiene and sanitation at the school, thus reducing disease. In addition, it will relieve students and staff from the task of carrying water to the school, thereby freeing them up for more productive tasks.

Dollar Amount of Project
$475.00

Donations Collected to Date
$475.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has now been fully funded through the generosity of Michael McLaughlin, of Fayatteville, AR, USA.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Sara of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Sara and/or those of other PCVs in Panama.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.

Community Description
Quebrada el Bajo is a growing indigenous village located in the province of Bocas del Toro, Panama. The town is nestled at the foot of several mountains and can only be reached by dugout canoes traveling up a murky creek a half hour from the port town of Chiriqui Grande.

While Chiriqui Grande is a developing town with many of the modern amenities like electricity, running water, and flush toilets, Quebrada el Bajo seems to have been forgotten. The people live a challenging life by working day laborer jobs in the port, or by farming bananas, cacao, and root vegetables.

They lack the modern amenities that many of us take for granted, but through their day to day struggles and the education of their abundant children, they are working towards improving their own lives.

With the community Quebrada el Bajo, not one family owns or uses any sanitation infrastructure. This leads to health problems for the children and some adults, as well as problems for the environment because everyone uses the creeks to relieve themselves.

Through a health seminar for the women and several workshops on the importance of latrines, thirty (30) families have expressed an interest in building composting latrines. This design is preferable to pit latrines in the area of Bocas del Toro because of an extremely high water table.

Project Description
This project is to build a community composting latrine in Quebrada el Bajo. This is a model project, designed to demonstrate the technology and show the benefits of this approach.

The construction will be coordinated by the Latrine Committee, and carried out under the supervision of the Peace Corps Volunteer by a latrine construction team. This will allow construction skills to be developed before a larger project is undertaken.

The model latrine will be located immediately next to the casa comunal, or town meeting place. The town frequently has meetings there, at least once a week, and there are no available sanitation services.

The meetings range from meetings for the Parents Teachers Association to weekly youth group meetings. Each of these meetings usually has about 40-50 people present. Occasionally the community plays host to a larger meeting or political rally, with over 200 people meeting in the casa comunal who will have access to latrine.

Project Impact
This project will benefit the entire community of 750 people.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Daniel Cain

Comments
Meaningful skills and experience will be gained from this project while also creating a needed community sanitation facility. Once the benefits are demonstrated, it is expected that the construction technique will gain widespread acceptance and general use

Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00

Donations Collected to Date
$500.00 + additional amounts for next project

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has now been fully funded through the generosity of Catherine Cain, of Greenwood Village, CO, USA, with the help of friends and family of PCV Daniel Cain.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Daniel of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by the PCV and/or those of other PCVs in the country of service.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.

Community Description
Lake Bayano is a man-made lake in Panama Este, created in 1979 to supply water power to a hydroelectric plant that supplies Panama City and the surrounding provinces with electricity.

The great majority of the land surrounding Bayano was reserved to relocate the native American settlements that had to be flooded to create the lake. The lake has become the natural habitat of hundreds of bird and animal species, including some that are found in very few locations in the world.

Lake Bayano now provides a major source of income for its native American residents who harvest tilapia fish for sale locally and to foreign markets.

Pueblo Nuevo de Bayano, located on the Southern Shore of Lake Bayano, is a tiny rural community of 180 fisherman and their families. The primary revenue-generating activities in this isolated community are fishing, agriculture, and more recently tourism.

A large rustic natural cave is located alongside the community. Adventure travelers are beginning to find out about these caves and come in small numbers. Tourism is the new focus in the community to stimulate the town's tiny economy.

A small primary school (32 students, 2 teachers) is located in Pueblo Nuevo. Other than that there are no social services (medical, government agencies, NGOs, or shopping) available due to the isolation of this community.

There is no electricity. Water is supplied by a decaying community aqueduct that has leaking and broken tubing.

There are currently no bathroom facilities for tourists to use when visiting the community attractions. Also, one family of 5 has no toilet facilities, and currently uses the lake.

Project Description
This project is to replace old and decaying tubing in the community's aqueduct system.

In addition, two latrines will be built. The first will be for arriving tourists. The second will be for the family currently without facilities.

Project funds will be used to cover the costs of materials, supplies, fuel and transportation. Labor will be provided by the community.

Project Impact
All 180 members of the community will directly benefit from this project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Donald DeAngelis

Comments
This project provides a consistent source of water to the community. It also improves hygiene and sanitation, reducing illness. Finally, it impacts on the financial viability of the village by creating and maintaining jobs and businesses.

Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00

Donations Collected to Date
$500.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has been fully funded through the generosity of the Paul Bechtner Foundation, with help from friends and family of Donald DeAngelis.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Donald DeAngelis of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Donald and/or those of other PCVs in the country of service.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.

Community Description
Isla Escudo de Veraguas is an island belonging to the province of Bocas del Toro in the Western side of Panama. It is a 3-hour boat ride from the nearest port town, and boasts some of the most beautiful and undeveloped beaches in the country.

The island, which is over 1,000 acres in size, is home to about ten people year round and another thirty people live there a couple months each year during peak fishing months. The island is completely untouched beyond a few small wooden huts that are spread out along small sections of the coastline.

There is one Latino family there, but the majority of the inhabitants are indigenous people from the local Ngöbe-Buglé tribe. All of these inhabitants have very limited resources and this project will help them fulfill a long desired, but unattainable community need.

There are no sanitation facilities on the island, and currently the inhabitants use the woods or the water surrounding the island to relieve themselves. They lack the financial capability to undertake the construction of latrine of the appropriate technology on their own.

Project Description
This project is to build the first latrine on the island. Of necessity, it will be a composting latrine, in order to keep all solid waste contained and above the water level.

The latrine will be centrally located for the community members. It will be constructed using the island’s sand to mix the cement base, felled wood to construct the walls, and natural palm fronds to serve as the roof.

Project Impact
Over 40 people will directly benefit from the construction of this composting latrine.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Michael Smith

Comments
Although the number of people served is relatively small, it is a project that serves an important need for the island. The latrine represents the best sanitary option for the community, considering the surrounding environment, and is sustainable into the future.

Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00

Donations Collected to Date
$500.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has now been fully funded, through the generosity of The Soneva SLOW LIFE Trust as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Michael Smith of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Michael and/or those of his counterpart PCVs in Panama.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.

Community Description
Milla 7 ½ is located 7-8 miles outside of Changuinola, the largest town in the Province of Bocas Del Toro, along a road that runs from Changuinola to Almirante. The town is on the edge of a Humeda San Sak Park, a national park consisting of mangrove forests which extend to the ocean two miles away.

In the past there was a train owned by Chiquita Banana that ran by the town, which is secured its name from the mile marker on the tracks.

The community is composed of 300 Ngobe Indians. The people are very poor and most of them raise cattle for income, or just simply live off the land around them, harvesting chocolate three times a year.

All of the houses are built from wood that has been harvested in the surrounding area, with roofs of either penca (palm fronds) or zinc. Houses typically measure 16 ft x18 ft, and contain from 5-13 people.

There is a high incidence of disease, with worms, giardia and amoebas commonly found.

A future project in the community will be the construction of an aqueduct for the town center. However, there remain 3 families located on the main road that are too far from the water source, who will not be able to be served with that project.

Project Description
This project is to build 3 rainwater catchment and storage systems to provide clean water for the unserved households.

Rainwater is consistent and plentiful, so this is a logical solution to provide water for this remote group.

Two 200 gallon tanks and one 100 gallon tank will be purchased. Wooden tank stands will be built to elevate the tanks, and the proper piping will be installed

Health and hygiene education, as well as training on the use and maintenance of the tanks, will be included as part of the project.

The town members will do the work and provide the wood for the stands.

Project Impact
This project will provide clean water for 22 people.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Myles Shuler

Comments
The project will improve the health and wellbeing of a segment of the population that is difficult to serve because of its location. The families are in a precarious situation, living at subsistence level, and unable to provide for their own needs without the assistance of the funding made available by this project.

Dollar Amount of Project
$495.07

Donations Collected to Date
$495.07

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Hope You Like It, "In Honor of Faith, Hope, and Love."

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Myles Shuler of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Myles and/or those of his counterpart PCVs in Panama.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.

Community Description
Quebrada Banano is a rural indigenous village of about 225 situated in the rolling hills between the Changuinola-Almirante highway and the old banana company railroad. Nearly all the residents are subsistence farmers, selling cacao for cash and growing plantains, peach palm and tubers for their own consumption. All of the residents live below the poverty line.

The houses are spaced far apart, which has posed logistical problems for the construction of an aqueduct. Half of the community receives water from an aqueduct constructed in 2006 by the Ministry of Health. However, the rest of the community lies beyond the reach of the MINSA aqueduct.

In 2008, PCV Nico Armstrong took over the aqueduct project initiated by PCV Julie Majkrzak, and, along with the community, buried 1.5 miles of tubing, reinforced the spring box with concrete, and installed a 600 gallon tank.

However, the project did not have enough funds to purchase the last 100 tubes necessary to reach the community. Currently the aqueduct provides water to only one household.

The main community counterparts are the members of the water committee and the regidor. Of the six water committee members, 2 women and 4 men, 5 regularly attended a twelve week seminar on water resource management, organized and directed by PCV Majkrzak, who previously resided in Quebrada Banano. The course included components of aqueduct repair, accountability and transparency in managing water committee funds, leadership and dynamic icebreakers, and how to sanitize contaminated water.

The committee has put some of the theory into practice since then. The water committee currently charges $1 monthly to every household that uses the water, including the one house that is currently connected to the incomplete aqueduct.

In December of 2008, the community demonstrated their commitment to maintaining their aqueduct by repairing extensive damages caused by severe flooding and landslides during that month.

The water project is a community priority mainly for health reasons. Half of the community's residents who do not receive water from the Ministry of Health aqueduct either drink from contaminated streams or send their children on a long trek to fill buckets from the MINSA aqueduct tap.

Project Description
This project is a continuation of another project that failed to meet its goals because of a lack of necessary funds. Currently, only 100 tubes separate the water tank from the community below. However, the community does not have the resources to purchase the lacking materials.

The project funds will be used to buy pipe and faucets. In addition, cement will be purchased to shore up the spring box against landslides. Also, barbed wire will be purchased to make "bridges" to support the tubing where a stream is crossed, and to create a protected area for reforestation.

All of the materials will be purchased in one purchase at Materiales Franklin in Changuinola. Materiales Franklin will provide free transport, and the community beneficiaries will carry the materials down from the main road.

The burying of the pipeline will take 4 working days, to be accomplished in two weeks. The men (anywhere between 7 and 11 at a time) will place and bury the pipes and build the bridges. The women will cook food for the workers.

This project will be accompanied by a workshop hosted by the PCVs Nico Armstrong and Myles Shuler on how to build a nursery and care for tree saplings. The beneficiaries will sign a form committing each household to plant 10 trees and make a small nursery.

This project will be followed up by the construction of a fence around the water shed and the planting of 90 trees, 10 for each family, harvested from local seeds and prepared in household nurseries.

Project Impact
This project will provide clean water for 102 people, comprised of 53 adults and 49 children, in 9 separate households.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Nico Armstrong

Comments
This project, first and foremost, shows the importance of an element of our model, which is to “complete” projects that are otherwise non-functioning. The project sat idle while people did not have access to safe water, because of a shortfall of a relatively small amount of money.

The project provides additional resources to an active local organization that has been trained in the technology. It is being carried out by a community committed to do everything necessary to obtain safe water. The project is accompanied by an educational workshop, and will be followed by additional work to improve the health and wellbeing of the participants. These elements assure the sustainability of the project.

Dollar Amount of Project
$438.00

Donations Collected to Date
$438.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of The Soneva SLOW LIFE Trust as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Nico Armstrong of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Nico and/or those of his counterpart PCVs in Panama.

This project has been completed. To read about the conclusion of this project,CLICK HERE.