Ngabe-Bukle Universidad Growth

2007 In Honor of Service

A gift made by the Amanat Family in honor of the life-long services of Mr. Mosa Amanat has been granted to this initiative. Approximately $30,000 was donated to build the Community Technology and Learning Center (CTLC) Building and the Administrative Building of the Universidád. By the miracle of coincidence the Inauguration of the university was held on the fifth year anniversary of Mr. Amanat's passing.

2007 Computer Lab Funding

The Microsoft® Corporation has granted $99,000 in cash and software for a 20-computer Community Technology and Learning Center to Universidád Ngäbe Bukle. The Microsoft Unlimited Potential Curriculum (UP) Grant was given to this lab with software in Spanish so that they will have the opportunity for current research for their studies, as the lab will be their virtual library.

The Unlimited Potential Program is a global program that focuses on improving IT skills for underserved individuals and communities through common technology centers or telecenters. By offering grants of cash and software, and making the curriculum available in multiple languages, Microsoft® can partner to create social and economic opportunities that can change peoples' lives and transform communities. Locally, in Panama, the Mircosoft® Office has continued its support to this community including fund raising for health and nutrition support and use of technology to improve the academic curriculum.

In 2004 Microsoft® Panama saw potential where no one else did. They granted Mona Foundation funds to set up a solar panel CTLC in the remote mountains of Panama, where there is no access to electricity or good roads, to serve the highly capable and severely underserved indigenous population of the Ngäbe Bukle.

Mona Foundation worked for six months, and in collaboration with FUNDESCU, the indigenous council, the high school and ministry of education, succeeded in opening the Lab to the community. Carolina Donkersloot and Rene Van Hoorde, General Manager, Microsoft Panama, were there to inaugurate the Lab in the midst of the jubilant welcome of more than 500 people. The awed greetings were colored by a sense of wonder that Microsoft® and Mona Foundation would deliver on their promises to a people who were accustomed to unfulfilled promises. This was the story of the first computer lab.

There were those who were skeptical for good reasons, but little did they know that 18 months later, the attention that the CTLC attracted and the energy that it infused in the community would be the conduit to not only training hundreds of students, teachers, government officials, and others in IT skills, but also opening the way for brining electricity and roads to the area, connecting the community to the rest of the world, and encourage the formation of the Universidád Ngäbe Bukle – the first in an indigenous land in Panama in 2007!!

This is yet another proof that the real story is not about computers, but what happens when computers connect people and communities to each other and to the rest of the world. Thank you Microsoft!

2007 Scholarship Efforts

With the goal of a full scholarship for a Universidád Ngäbe Bukle student in mind, a spiritual study group in Richland, WA, cleaned out their storage areas, garden sheds, kitchens, furniture and more. They also went through a local cherry orchard after the professional pickers were finished and gleaned cherries to sell too, along with homemade brownies and biscotti. Over seven families contributed lovely items. The entire neighborhood was invited to the “Scholarship Benefit Sale” via hand delivered fliers. In six hours a steady stream of visitors learned about the Mona Foundation and the team of dedicated workers raised over $1000! Afterward, one of the tireless and hard working members of the group wrote a generous check herself and said, “Mona Foundation has touched my heart. I have always wanted to DO something that made a difference and your organization IS doing something!”

2006 Re-Create to Educate: High School Student Fashion Show Raises Funds for Universidad

On June 13, students at Cleveland High School in Reseda, California, hosted a student fashion show to raise funds for Mona Foundation’s projects for the Ngabe-Bukle Universidad. With the assistance of mentors from DeVry University, students transformed castoff designer clothes into creative new fashion designs featured in a Re-Design Fashion Show. The event, including a used clothing and bake sale, raised $250 for the Universidad. This unique effort was most special as the students offering their services were themselves considered “at-risk” for dropping out. As they rose to put energy toward helping others, their own creativity, talents and leadership began to emerge. Their new energy was directed at global service.

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