HIV/AIDS Seminar

I knew that it was going to be a good HIV/AIDS/sexual education seminar when the 2 first male participants to show up had an age range of 70 years – ages 13 and 83.  

Early childhood development activity

Participants of all ages.

There is plenty of grant money available for HIV education, so my fellow Comarca volunteer Kayla and I applied for funding to host seminars in our communities.  We included funds for breakfast and lunch, as well as supplies such as notebooks and certificates for participants.

Last week a few other Peace Corps volunteers and I held the seminar in my community.  We separated males and females into two separate classrooms, and gave the same sessions facilitated by males or females.  Working with the women, I was impressed how outgoing they can be in a group setting when they’re not overshadowed. 

Sample activity for STIs: "Yes there is a cure" and "No there is not a cure"

During the seminar we facilitated interactive presentations on Early Childhood Development, What is HIV/AIDS, Family Planning, Sexually Transmitted Infections, How HIV/AIDS is Transmitted, How to Prevent HIV/AIDS, and Sexual Rights.  Pretty heavy stuff, but we kept it light with lots of ice breakers and jokes.

Comparing my seminar to Kayla’s, whose community is more isolated and mountainous, one volunteer said, “I don’t see any snotty nosed kids here.”  This is referring to an easy health status indicator – if the kids all have the eternal common cold, there are probably more serious health problems abound for the kids and their parents.

Anyways, I somewhat defensively said, “There are kids like that here.”  But I looked around at the 25 participants and their kids, and saw that they were all put-together and healthy looking.  “Oh, these are the seminar-going people.”

Right then I realized the pit fall of this well-attended seminar.  I personally invited about 50 families to the seminar, and the people who I would consider most “at risk” did not show up – because they’re not much of meeting goers in general.  Who do consider most at risk?  Those men (and their spouses) who do the coffee harvest annually in Costa Rica for 1-3 months, because this time away from home is known to lead to non-filial behavior.  Also, those families that tend to have more marital problems, early school drop-outs, and early teen pregnancies (ages 13-17).  Living here, these things are just common knowledge.

Closing activity with AIDS ribbon

Women's classroom

Good at keeping a straight face.

It’s not like the seminar was a total loss though.  One of the major themes was de-stigmatizing (is this a word?) HIV-infected people.  Privacy is a totally new idea here, so if someone was tested, everyone knows.  Yes, you can hug them, you can even share a drink with them.   The other point stressed was that those infected with HIV will not yet have symptoms but can still pass the virus along – which was received as totally new information.  The best I can hope for is that the community leaders, these seminar-going folks, will pass the information along to the rest.

A Developing Country

When I went home to Massachusetts this January after 1 ½ years away, I was very happy to see that almost everything in my hometown was exactly the same.  In fact, the most controversial change was that Rutland’s Christmas tree was cut down.

I have been living in the most impoverished Indian Reservation in Panama for two years.  Considering only about 10% of adults here are even taxpayers, I sure have seen a lot of government-funded development.  In contrast to my hometown, it is all considered positive.  

Roads:

Big changes.When I arrived in November 2010, the road that reaches the primary school was inaccessible and muddy.  Thus we all entered the community through another paved road, and then walked for an hour.  The next year, this road was partially repaired and a new road was cut right past my house, connecting the primary school with the high school, which is an hour’s walk away.

What one rainy season does to the road.

The following rainy season, both roads became almost impassable again, but public transport was generally available up to the primary school.  This year, the entire road to the school was once again repaired and then covered with gravel so that it is does not get muddy anymore.  This is a huge investment in keeping the road passable year round.  This is the first rainy season ever that the ambulance can reach the primary school, as well as non-4WD vehicles.

School:

The local primary school is blowing up due to massive population growth.  The advantage is that larger schools are granted specialized teachers.  Since 2010, the school has grown from 9 to 14teachers, including a gym (P.E.), English (she won’t talk to me), and agriculture teacher.  One classroom has been added on, as well as several makeshift modular classrooms. 

New classroom and basketball court!

Health Center:

An addition was built on the health center that doubled it in size.  There has been no increase in the 1 staff member though, so I doubt its impact thus far.  It’s pretty though.

Technology:

This year, the President started a One Laptop for Every Child program for all high school students in 10^th through 12^th grade.  In June the students started bringing home laptops on weekends and I gave them a few basic tutorials.  Soon enough this program has enabled families around my community (no electricity) to watch illegally downloaded movies every weekend!

This bridge is on the To Re-Develop list.  Most of those planks have rotted away by now.

Stores:

This is all related to the improvement in roads.  All stores are operated out of houses. When I first arrived, I had to walk for 10 minutes and cross a stream to find the nearest store selling basic items.  Two years later, 2 of my next door neighbors have extremely basic stores.  I walk 1 more minute to reach a decent store, and a total of 4 minutes to hit a top-notch store [it sells exotic items like eggs and flour!].  Talk about competition.

 

Running Water:

The aqueduct project that I helped work on last year was government funded .  It currently benefits 9 households.

Babies

 Oh, so many.  I will crunch out the birth rate statistic one of these days. 

This baby Gabriel came home from the hospital weighing 4 pounds!

Granted, my community is only 1 village away from the border of the Reservation, so it will be another few decades before these changes will reach up into many parts of the Comarca.Nonetheless, way to go, Panamanian Government.

September

I am in my last month in my community in Panama.  Everyone in my community is aware of my departure date, and it is a common topic of conversation.  I feel almost like I have an upcoming “death day” because conversations have been so morbid lately.  They say, “so you’re leaving us para siempre [for always]?”.  I promise that I will come back some day to visit.  They cackle. Sure.

In terms of work, I am ready to move on.  Another Environmental Health volunteer Seneca has already been living with a host family in my community for 2 months, and is eager to continue with the aqueduct and health related work.  I feel confident that the unfinished water project lies in capable hands between Seneca and the community.  

Leaving my community will be like yanking out an only a slightly wiggly tooth though -  I’m so used to living here now.  I talk to my pets in Spanish.  My body gets mad at me when I eat meat or dairy.  Only the first cold bucket of water bites when I take a shower.  I love rice.  I can pack my bag to go within 10 minutes.  I never leave to go anywhere after 3 pm without a flashlight.  I sleep whenever it’s dark out.  I don’t even care that I don’t understand everything in indigenous Ngaberi. 

But I don’t mind leaving all of that rusticness behind.  I will mostly miss individual people and their stories.  My host mom and her illness of the day.  My neighbor and his loud Christian singing that serves as my radio.  My favorite 2-year old whose first word was Bechi, I swear, and who now talks in complete sentences.  Etc, etc.

When coming to Panama I expected I would adore my future community a whole lot, because when have I not fallen in love with a foreign place that I have visited?  I predicted correctly.  I did not, however, predict the quantity and quality of volunteer friendships to come.  Being able to reflect on my experiences so regularly in person and over the phone has made the whole thing a  lot more humorous and bearable.  I now know the limits under which any friendship should be tested – an hour and a half walk into the woods, in a little hut, eating rice and beans,  listening to the pouring rain, laughing and sharing by candlelight, and planning the next day’s work.   

What will I do when I leave my beloved community? I have a crazy travel plan all worked out.  A college friend and Nicaragua Peace Corps Volunteer Lindsey will be visiting Panama, and then we will travel up to Nicaragua.  Then I will make my way down to South America, reunite with some fellow volunteer friends, and travel through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.  I will fly home to Massachuetts in time for Christmas, and will go from there.

Don’t worry loyal readers, there are still a few more blog posts to come!  I still am [Carolyn] in Panama for another month.