Ngobe Bugle Schools Growth
2006-2007
Please enjoy a brief 6 minute video of the Molejon people taken by Matthew Salton during the 2006 Mona Foundation visit: view video.
2009- Vista Hermosa Grant supports Ngobe-Bugle Projects in Panama
In 2008, Vista Hermosa generously granted the CAFT teacher training program over $41,000 so that they could train teachers during the summer months and return them to their classrooms renewed with energy, creative plans and new skills. This training also used innovative materials aimed at eventually contributing to an appropriate accelerated curriculum for the estimated 500,000 Haitian children who do not currently attend school.
Again in 2009, this wonderful foundation shared another most generous grant of over $71,000 with the Mona Foundation's Ngobe-Bugle projects in Panama. Located in the 'comarca' (homeland) of the native Panamanian people, the Ngobe-Bugle Universidad is the first ever indigenous university in Panama. The overriding goal of Ngabe Bukle University is to provide a quality education to youth on the Comarca in order that they may develop as true professionals capable of offering leadership and expertise to their people. Special attention is given to the inclusion of women because, according to the native planners, without the full participation of both women and men, the Comarca cannot attain its ideal state of development. The university program is fully approved by the University of Panama and will offer three degrees.
In 2003 the Mona Foundation received a grant from Microsoft Panama to install a 15-station solar-powered computer lab in remote village of Soloy on the comarca. There is no electricity in the area, and books and other materials are expensive and scarce. Computer technology provided the essential educational resources this remote area needed. The CTLC (Community Technology and Learning Center) attracted attention and the energy that it infused in the community has not only allowed the training of hundreds of students, teachers, government officials, and others in IT skills, but also encouraged the Panamanian government to begin to open the way to bring electricity and roads to the area, connecting the community to the rest of the world. Some of the Vista Hermosa 2009 grant will continue the growth and support of this CTLC in the Soloy community.
In the jungles further up the Panamanian mountainside is the distant village of Molejon. The regional tutorial school is located there, the only cement building in the village. It took three years to build because the cement had to be carried in on the backs of its citizens. The school was operated for years by volunteer teachers but now those teaching are fully trained and accredited by the government. Molejon is a K-6 school and students need to separate from their families and go down the mountain to Soloy for higher grades. Plans are in place for Molejon to eventually go to grade 12. Some of the first graduates from the Ngobe-Bukle Universidad will be teachers in Molejon's new classes. Molejon will also receive educational support from this grant.
The generous spirit with which Vista Hermosa shares is a true gauge of their trust in the work of the Mona Foundation. We are deeply indebted to them for their confidence in our choice of projects, our methods of support, and the freedom to allow indigenous people to develop educational opportunities for their own people in their own way.
For more information on the Vista Hermosa Foundation, click here
2007 Mona Foundation Meets with
Ngobe Bugle Teachers
After experiencing the necessary travel on Panama's rain-soaked, muddy hills for two hours and sharing a picnic lunch by a lovely waterfall in the warm rain, the Mona Foundation representatives finally arrived at the Soloy Center where our meeting with the Molejon teachers took place. When one thinks that the three teachers, a couple of parents and one very determined young boy of 12 crossed five mountains in the rain for nine hours and negotiated over three swollen rivers just to meet with us, our ride up the hill in a 4 X 4 was really nothing.
The rain beat on the metal roof as we settled in to consult. At times we had to shout to be heard over the din of the pounding water and as the dark clouds moved in; it was difficult to discern faces clearly as the afternoon wore on.
The teachers spoke after formal greetings of welcome. They listed several points, among them: 1) Where will our children go to school when they finish grade 6? Is there a possibility of a high school at Molejon? 2) Will we ever be able to get a computer lab in Molejon? 3) Can the stipend we are receiving be increased at all? 4) Are we eligible for Social Security? 5) Is it possible to get a permanent kitchen and dining area in the school? 6) Are we ever going to be permanent employees with a guaranteed income?
The teachers brought up their concern about being a private school and not a public one; if they were a public school the children would be eligible to receive boots from the government during the rainy season, the teachers would receive more compensation and there would be an opportunity for more scholarships. These teachers felt if they were recognized by the government then their students would respect them more and they would be able to ask more of them in the way of performance.
Mona Foundation members listened intently. We thanked them for walking such a long distance to visit with us, and shared that some of their requests, e.g. scholarship to the University, additional stipend to cover society security and the budget for the kitchen had already been approved and funded. We then asked that they submit their rest of their requests to the Institute sponsoring their school. We committed that once the Institute had consulted with them and considered their request that they provide us with an updated proposal for our Board's review. We mentioned that we have been with them in the past seven years, and continue to be committed to supporting their educational initiative in whatever way we could.
After the formal meeting, the teachers were presented with three boxes of student literature books which were brought from Washington. These included sets of 6 of many individual titles so that small groups of students can read together, as well as book ends for their small library and heavy plastic hangar-bags so students can carry them home. A plastic book shelf is waiting to be taken to the school too. Roberto Palacio, the head teacher for the school accepted them happily and said his students were truly beginning to read and enjoy it. Those books will now be taken by individual backpack or by horseback through the rain to the top of the mountains.
Osvaldo Santos
The story of Osvaldo Santos, the 12 year old student representative from Molejon School, goes back three years when the members of Mona Foundation first met with the Molejon teachers. Osvaldo had come down the mountain with the teachers to represent his school. Every year since then, he has returned, walking the long hours down and then back up the mountain. He has an attentive twinkle in his eyes, a true zest for life. His curiosity about the visitors and the United States is greater than his desire to avoid the walk back and forth. His father came with him this time. After the consultation with the teachers, his father was visiting with us and explained in Spanish that Osvaldo had, in this last year, severely burnt his right hand in a fire. He showed us his scarred hand, holding it up to show where the skin, for lack of any medical attention, had healed the fingers in a permanently closed fist position, making his right hand nearly useless.
Despite this handicap, Osvaldo cheerfully chatted with the young men (Dan Dao and Rod Mobini) from Mona Foundation, sharing jokes and stories, enjoying the iPod® music and the pictures on the cameras people took of everyone. When the group was preparing to leave, Osvaldo's farewell comment to us was, “Greetings to the children of the United States!” It is children like this-thinking beyond their scope and understanding of experience -who benefit most from the opportunity of a better education, whether on a mountaintop village or in a city school. We need to continue do our utmost to create educational opportunities for the ‘Osvaldos’ of the world.
2007 Volunteer Story
Jonathan Gottlieb, a recent volunteer in Soloy wrote: “I had a great, challenging and fulfilling experience and am rejuvenated, recharged and hopefully ready to begin medical school this coming Tuesday. While in Panama, I helped with the Kindergarten for 3 1/2 hours a day for a couple weeks, helped with children's classes, pre-youth classes, study circles, devotionals, in the computer lab, taught English classes, and visited several communities around Soloy, including Boca de Remedios and Boca de Balsa. I also had the opportunity to visit the newest branch of the Ng%auml;be University in San Felix with Bernardino Sanchez. I truly enjoyed this experience, learned a lot, exchanged/ shared culture, made many new friends and connections, and believe I had a positive/encouraging impact-partly by letting the Ngäbes know that they are not alone and that there are people out there who care about them. . . . I hope the University fulfill and exceeds all of the expectations of those involved. . . .“
Mona Foundation is most grateful to see wonderful volunteers like Jonathan. His story leads us to look at the school in Soloy where children from Molejon elementary school must travel to continue their education. Though it is a great opportunity, there are many hardships. The young students must be away from home all week, traveling over five mountains, and stay in shacks. Their classes are often held outdoors in open classroom structures. It is this experience that these Molejon teachers with to change for the children and their families, keeping them home in their village for the high school years. On our visit we had the opportunity to take pictures of the classrooms and shacks to understand why this need for a Molejon high school is so dear to the teachers hearts.
2006 Mona Foundation Visits the
Ngobe Bugle People
Three teachers and five others, Ngobe-Bugle who support the Molejon School, walked down the mountain for nine hours to meet with the Mona Foundation visitors. Among them was a 72 year old woman, thin, tired, and without shoes. "They humbly and gently welcomed us as we sat around the circle," writes Mahnaz Javid. "They did NOT ask for food or shoes, but for extending the Molejon School into a high school so that their children would not have to leave home and be homeless down the mountain and live in absolute shacks, bamboo huts on bare ground."
"It is truly remarkable and unbelievable to see that in an area where there is 95% poverty and malnutrition, people disregard all other needs and ask for the one thing they know will save the future of their children from the dire poverty they live in. This encounter with nobility, I think, ennobled all of us, not because we went there to support, but we were lucky to witness the depth of committment of a good and capable people who deny themselves all to offer a better life to their children."
The people reported that they have not yet received the one meal a day for the school children promised by the government a year ago. Anita Jorgenson of FUNDESCU will go again to the Ministry with the Regional Chief to assure that food will get there. June and July are called the hungry months, for the coffee harvest begins in August and last year's earnings are all used up. Mona Foundation members have offered one meal a day as a stop gap until this situation is remedied correctly. With faces beaming with smiles, these beautiful people did not raise their heads, humbled by their extreme needs, but smiled knowing their children would get at least one meal a day. It will cost $295 for us to provide food for the children per month.
Mona Foundation has committed to FUNDESCU to support adding one class a year toward establishing a full high school. The government now requires that the teachers have at least 2 years of University, and we have promised scholarships to all the 13 teachers. Once the people heard that we were committed to support the effort once the teachers were certified, they said, one by one, "We are content with the consultation." This experience was deeply moving for those representing the Foundation
top2006 Niaz Khadem teaches the Children
Niaz traveled up the mountains to Molejon to teach the children.
He shares some photos with us and a small story of his visit.
I played guitar with the children and we would sing all the time. We played Ratoncito (little rat) outside. Everyone makes a circle and one child is the ratoncito and one is el gato (the cat) and the cat chses the rat aoround the circle while deciding if it will help the rat or not.
Children performed for their parents, singing the new Full Circle songs they learned. The children gave small gifts and thank you notes to Niaz.
The fathers of the community got together to fix door of the kinder classroom. Coffee is a really interesting story. They used to pick coffee beans and sell them to the coffee companies for $3 a barrel. Then a Japanese service group came and taught them how to process it them selves. They learned to dry, peel, toast, grind, and package there own beans. Now they sell the same amount of coffee for $30 once it is packaged. They mostly just sell in on the reserve, but now at least everyone on the reserve buys their coffee from there rather then selling the beans to the big companies and buying it back at a higher price.
We played soccer.
This is a typical house.
This is the way the reserve looks; it is beautiful.
2006 Gift of Shoes
Carolina Donkershoot of Microsoft, Panama, bought 100 pairs of shoes for the most poor of the Molejon School. This is a loving and creative gift!
2006 Habits of Heart
On February 15th Sima Mobini made a presentation on Mona Foundation and the Ngobe-Bugle Tutorial School to the "Habits of Heart" after school program at Tarzana Elementary. About 20 children saw pictures of the Ngobe-Bugle children and decided to write cards to them. One of the students wrote an article about the visit: “On February 15th, 2006 we had a guest presenter, Mrs. Sima Mobini, speak to us about the Mona Foundation. The Mona Foundation used its donated money to build a school in Panama for the Nogbe-Bugle tribe. They live in an area in Panama so remote you have to walk eight hours up mountains to get to their village! The Mona Foundation helped build a school there and they need our help. Our Habits of Heart Club is learning about farsightedness which means planning and looking ahead to help others in need. The school in Panama needs school supplies, donations and many other resources. Our Club is thinking about perhaps taking part in a walk-a-thon or read-a-thon to help raise money for the kids in Panama. One thing is for sure, just like we sent our artwork and cards to Changle School in China, we will be writing to the children at the Nogbe-Bugle school in Panama. If you want to help contact me, Diego Murguia at the Habits of Heart Club, I am the official liaison officer for the Mona Foundation. Hope to hear from you all!” As a result of his article, the class is planning a field trip for the children to engage in a walk-a-thon/read-a-thon on a mountain trail. They will first climb a mountain and then read a book and return. They will take pledges from family and friends which they will cash if they can complete the task in a certain amount of time. This will help them experience a little of what the Nobe-Bugle people go through routinely to get back and forth for supplies such as books.
On Saturday, April 22, the students went to Topanga State Park. They walked up a mountain to experience a little of the hardship and residual rewards of living in a mountain community and having to walk to school. The students had collected pledges for the hike and also from reading at home. The students also received some school supplies as a gift upon completing thier hike, and each one offered an item from their bag to go in a gift box to the students at Moljon. Here Sima Mobini from the Foundation gives the gift box to the Ngobe teachers for the children.