It is always the time of year for giving and there is no better gift than the gift of health to children and their families. We live in a beautiful place here in Panama amongst the Gnobe Bugle Indians. Many of them work for us now or have worked for us in the past. We become friends and they come to us for all kinds of help.

Many times they ask for help of money for burial of a family member. We have buried many friends of which a large part are small children. It is mostly because of the water they drink from the ground. There is a solution. The organization Operation Safe Drinking Water was started by very dear friends of ours about a year ago. They receive donations and then buy Rain Catchment  tanks which are installed at schools or villages where needed. Many times groups come down and help with the installations. This project has already done so much good here.

There are two projects we are hoping to achieve which are especially close to our heart as we love our neighbors. The school nearest to us is the Valle de Agua School where the children we know best go to school. We are also interested in helping a nearby small village of about 30 people who drink from a hole dug in the ground. Recently, we paid for burial of the death of the 1 ½ yr old niece of one of our men whose name is Beto.  They live in this village in Valle de Agua which means Valley of Water. The rain keeps falling and there is plenty of water . . . it is just not clean. As a matter of fact, Beto, is sick today. We sent him home this morning with a dose of Pepto Bismol and water from our tanks, both only temporary reliefs. We always say, “Do not let the children drink from the ground. Take as much of our water as you can carry.” But, this is no easy task as they have to travel far by cayuco and then trudge uphill. Along with our friends from Operation Safe Drinking Water, we are scheduled to travel and evaluate the school and hopefully the village.

With the help of your generous donations now, no matter how small, we can install these two tanks soon. You are also welcome to come down and help install them if that is something that would interest you. It is a true gift of the heart and very much needed. It saves the lives of children and their parents.

Please donate here and  we or you can personally put your name on the tank and send photos of the progress.

http://www.operationsafedrinkingwater.org/donate_helpbuytank.html

Lots of Love

Jack and Kelly

Update: these 2 (rainwater catchment) tanks along with many others have been installed because of yours and others donations. But there is much more to be done. Please do not stop giving.

Photos of People, Nature, & Fun

Bocas Links of Interest                                                                        Panama Links of Interest

The Bocas Breeze-local monthly newspaper                                             Panama Yellow Pages                             
Http://www.TheBocasBreeze.com                                                           Http://PaginasAmarillas.com

Bocas Yellow Pages                                                                              The Panama Guide-English Articles/Info
Http://www.BocasDirect.com                                                                  Http://Panama-Guide.com

Bocas Yahoo Discussion Group                                                              Panama Discussion Groups-2 of many
Http://groups.yahoo.com/group/panbocas/                                               Http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Panama_laws_for_Expats/
                                                                                                            Http://groups.yahoo.com/group/americans_in_panama/
The Bocas Forum
Http://com5.runboard.com/bbocasdeltoro                                                 Good Informational Site on Panama
                                                                                                            Http://ExplorePanama.com

Panama Domestic Airlines                                                                  Panama Online English Newspaper
                                                                                                            Http://ThePanamaNews.com
Air Panama
http://www.flyairpanama.com/tickets/                                            
Aeroperlas
Http://www.aeroperlas.com/                                                                                            MORE SITES BELOW

La Ciudad - Panama City (taken from Mi Ranchito on the Amador Causeway - A Cosmopolitan City that rivals Miami in Highrise Condominiums and Office Buildings. Some of the buildings in the process of being planned or built are among the very tallest buildings in all of North and South America.