Background

One Family Can Make a Difference

Badi School began in 1993 in the covered garage of a couple who were determined to serve the needs of their community, where the average income is $200/month, 70% of all children are born to single mothers, and 4 out of 10 children do not have access to education. It began with 12 kindergarteners. The family devoted all their human and financial resources to the growth of this school. It grew humbly but steadily over the years, one grade at a time, at great cost and tremendous sacrifice by the family.

Now after 12 years, there are 290 students, 40% of whom receive scholarships. Badi is famed for its academic excellence and its Arts and Music programs. The school waiting list is now at 2000 students.

The Torrez Family

Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Torrez are the Founders of Badi School. It is a social and economic project founded in 1992. Since then, the sacrificial efforts of the Torrez family have been totally focused on the development of this school, which enjoy wholehearted support of the community in general and the Baha'i community in particular. Although the four members of Torrez family work for this school, none draws a salary. Further, half of Mr. Torrez's income from his other employment is spent on the school's capital improvement.

Mrs. Rosa. B. Ríos de Torrez, the principal of the school, has a BS in Education with more than 15 years of experience. Mr. Oscar Torrez-Wilde, has a BS in Industrial Engineering and a MS in Process Quality Control and Sciences of Education, with 20 years of experience. He has also been a university professor. Their sons Oscar Alexis, 22, and David, 18, are currently university students in the field of Computer Sciences Engineering.

In 1990, the Torrez family rented a small dismantled house from the Panama Social Security Agency, located in Las Cumbres Villa Zaita, Panamá city, Republic of Panama. They remodeled the house and closed the garage in order to use it as a classroom. They also constructed the fence to initiate the project with 12 students in 1993. Over the years, two more buildings were added to expand the facility and enrollment capacity. Badi's first high school graduation was in 2004

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Social & Economic Development

Badi School is located in Panama City, Panama (population 1,500,000), on the border of the town of San Miguelito (population 800,000), where indigenous Embera and Kuna ethnic groups constitute over a quarter of the population. Four out of ten families in this area do not have homes. While the GDP per capita is $6,700 in Panama, eight out of ten families in this area have a monthly income of $200. Although education in Panama is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 15, four out of ten children in the San Miguelito area do not have access to education. Two out of five young girls are mothers.

Demographics

In 1993 Badí School was opened with 12 children registered in Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten and First Grade with three teachers.

The school developed to 158 students from Kindergarten to 9th grade with 19 teachers. Two people are in charge of cleaning and basic maintenance and a secretary supports the office work.

The median income of the families whose students attend Badi school is:

89 Local Hispanic $5,000.00/year
26 Native mixed with local Hispanic 1,800.00/year
18 Chinese 15,000.00/year
10 North Americans/US base 20,000.00/year
2 North Americans/general 1,800.00/year
13 Natives from Kuna, Ember? and Gnobe origin 1,800.00/year
8 European immigrants 3,000.00/year

The Tuition Schedule is:

Kindergarten/Registration $140.00 Tuition/per month 45.00
1st to 6th grade/Registration $ 150.00 Tuition/per month 55.00
Junior High/Registration $ 175.00 Tuition /per month 65.00

Mona Foundation Support

Mona first visited Badi in 2000 in response to a proposal we had received towards its 3 year development plan. The plan included a vision for establishing Badi University. At the time, it seemed like a far off dream for a nascent organization like ours, but we chose to help, trusting that there are good people everywhere who will join us to make a difference.

We began our support by providing scholarships and a computer lab followed by musical instruments for their musically gifted students. Within three years, a generous family committed to funding several phases of the development plan, beginning with the establishment of the library. Schools in Panama are known as "schools without books". This step of growth is significant. We then focused our intense activities to build a two story community library, two classrooms, and a large common area to be used an as auditorium and a gymnasium. This phase was completed when the donor family traveled with us to Panama in March of 2005 for the library inauguration.

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