Women Empowering Women Through Toptal

Despite the sweltering Panamanian heat, I beamed as the twenty graduates from my United States Peace Corps “Girls Leading Our World” summer camp explained how they were going to apply the lessons they learned to projects within their own communities. Weeks spent designing the curriculum, raising funds, working with local leaders, and handling logistics had all contributed to this crucial moment when the girls felt empowered to become leaders within their communities. While I was successful in affecting change in my Panamanian community, I recognize that with advanced theoretical knowledge and analytical tools I can create positive global change. Having witnessed firsthand the incredible results of empowering young girls in developing countries, I am committed to continuing this work and am requesting to be considered for Toptal’s “Empowering Future Female Leaders to Change the World” scholarship to help finance my graduate education and realize my professional aspirations.

My goal is to break down educational barriers for girls in Latin America by addressing the need for culturally appropriate feminine hygiene products that will allow them to stay in school. After conducting extensive research on the importance of female education in developing countries, I found it to be a consistent determinant of progress for various aspects of development ranging from mortality declines, economic growth, democracy, and equity. However the unfortunate reality is that stigmas surrounding menstruation and a lack of sanitary resources in developing countries often force girls to drop out of school once they reach puberty, causing detrimental consequences on societal progress. I also found that most international aid efforts that address this issue are focused in Africa and Asia, and that Latin American countries are often neglected. With the growing economic and political issues many countries like Venezuela, Guatemala, and Honduras face, girls in these volatile countries are all too often forced to drop out of school, further perpetuating the country’s problem. 

My experience working in Panama taught me that even in countries that are by comparison economically secure, the wealth disparity is vast and marginalized groups like indigenous populations are overlooked. Having worked successfully with local and national sexual health organizations in Panama while serving as the President of the Gender and Development Committee, I am familiar with some potential regional partnerships and support.  What I aim to do is to connect these efforts with international aid organizations that are already doing this work in Africa in order to create sustainable solutions that address feminine hygiene issues within Latin America. I would start in Panama by building off of the contacts and knowledge that I already have then expand outward to other Latin American countries.

I believe that it takes someone who has experience working effectively on the ground with host-country counterparts that can approach each project from a social anthropological perspective in order to achieve sustainable development, and that after I complete my graduate education I will be uniquely qualified to do just that. There are many religious, cultural, educational, and policy barriers that can prevent the widespread use of specific tools like Diva Cups (a reusable, eco-friendly hygiene product) in certain areas, and I hope to gain a deeper understanding through my graduate studies of how to navigate and work with international social and public policies so that I can introduce tools like this in communities where they can be successfully utilized.

I have strategically pursued academic tracks that give me the underlying theoretical knowledge and practical experience to approach development from a holistic perspective. My undergraduate degree in global studies, anthropology, and Spanish laid a broad foundation for me to evaluate international issues. I have applied to the London School of Economics for their MSc in International Social and Public Policy (development stream) and MSc in Development Management programs because both will provide me with the skills necessary to work for an international non-profit focused on this issue. I was immediately drawn to the International Social and Public Policy (ISPP) program because of the emphasis it places on hard skills such as research methods, evaluation techniques, and analyzing case studies. These are key skills that I need to compliment the language, cultural, and soft skills that I learned while working as a Teaching English, Leadership, and Life Skills volunteer in the Peace Corps. Additionally, this degree provides the background information necessary to understand data by examining the variations within policy domains from countries of all socio-economic levels, which is something that cannot be learned in the field. I also wish to gain a greater understanding of the international development process, so the Development Management program is equally as intriguing. This program will teach me how to examine both the comparative statics and dynamics of development in order to create a personalized implementation strategy that is specific for each community in which I hope to apply my passion project. A degree from either program is the critical next step that I need in order to undertake a project of this magnitude.   

The professional experiences that I have give me critical skills that will enable me to succeed with my graduate studies and with my passion project. When I created the “Girls Leading Our World” summer camp, I worked with various community leaders to design the content of the course, secure a location, hire a local cook, and create emergency action plans. We made sexual health education a key component of the camp since menstruation, sex, HIV/AIDS, and sexually transmitted diseases are taboo subjects in Panamá. We worked with a local health representative who understood these cultural nuances and was able to effectively provide subject matter expertise in a way that the girls could relate to. This first-hand experience of working in a developing country with host country counterparts and gaining valuable project management skills in designing, implementing, and monitoring/evaluating projects provides me insight on the lessons of both the ISPP and Development Management programs and gave me contacts that will be invaluable for my passion project. 

I saw the critical role that strategic communication plays in affecting development work during my time in the Peace Corps, and I sought a position where I could further hone this skill. As an associate manager of communications for the Smithsonian Institution, I have applied the diplomatic skills I gained in the field to the mission of a world-renowned organization by collaborating with foreign embassies, government agencies, and global press outlets on projects promoting cultural dialogue and exchange. This position allows me to question the efficacy of outdated policy practices and has taught me how to use data to adjust our communication tactics; two things that are crucial components of both programs and will be important skills to help me manage my future project.

While I have experience working with grassroots organizations, I am seeking a mentor who has worked with international non-profit organizations and foundations. Ideally, this person would have connections to international health organizations such as the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Women for Women International, Sustainable Health Enterprises, WASH United, and others. Contacts with international organizations that promote female education such as School Girls Unite, Global Fund For Women, Save the Children, and others would also be invaluable. In order to finance my project, I would need to work with someone who has experience writing large grant proposals who understands the financial nuances of working with a larger aid organization. Many companies are recognizing the economic value of contributing to aid efforts, such as Always who has partnered with over 60 organizations to provide over 100 million pads to girls around the world. I am convinced that companies like this will be willing to either donate some of their surplus products or sell them to me at the wholesale value. I do not have an educational background in business, so I would greatly benefit from a mentor who has experience in negotiating these types of exchanges.

I have always believed in working hard for the things that I want. Since I was 16, I have consistently held at least one job in order to finance my long and short-term goals. I started by making breakfast as a short order cook in my hometown diner in Vermont; now I am writing press releases for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. I recognize that being an American allows me certain privileges, advantages, and opportunities that many people around the world do not have. I have a visceral desire to help level the playing field, which is one of the reasons why I sacrificed two years of earning potential to join the Peace Corps right after college. I have always been very frugal with my finances, and surviving on the sparse monthly stipend that I received from the Peace Corps further taught me to budget my money. Living off of an entry-level communications job at the Smithsonian has been similar to my Peace Corps experience since the costs of living in Washington, D.C. are notoriously high. Thanks to my frugal lifestyle, I have been able to save a nominal amount of money but it only scratches the surface of my tuition and living costs. I believe that my track record of hard work, clear professional vision, and current financial circumstance make me a particularly deserving candidate for additional financial aid.

I am applying for Toptal’s “Empowering Future Female Leaders to Change the World” scholarship because I believe that investing in my vision will yield a high rate of return for our global society. We must continue to address the societal faults around the world that impede women from reaching their full potential. Breaking down educational barriers to women by providing culturally appropriate feminine hygiene products will enable them to continue their education and open up professional opportunities. When women are educated, empowered, and independent, the positive societal domino effect that results is far-reaching. For the future of our global society, we can’t afford not to invest in women. Right now, I’m asking you to invest in this woman. I am confident that my experience and accomplishments in international development and communications are clear indicators of my ability to excel in either program, and that both would equip me with the theoretical and practical skills necessary to carry out the work to which I feel so strongly called.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.   

May-October updates

Hello everyone!  Wow, I am really slipping on my blogging responsibilities!  It’s crazy how fast the time is flying here, and looking back at everything I have done for the past five months has been a reality check!  This is gonna be a big update, so kick up your feet and get comfortable!

  

From May 14-24, I was in the US for a visit home.  Even though I had just seen my friends and Chris, it was great to spend some time in VT during the spring!  I went home primarily for my sister Emily's graduation from the University of Vermont, but while I was there I was able to do some other cool things with the Peace Corps and with my friends!  

My fellow Panama PCV friend and UVM grad Sydney Groth had a brother graduate from UVM along with my sister and was in Burlington at the same time I was!  It was a crazy clash of worlds to meet up with her in Burlington during our Peace Corps service.  With the help of the local Peace Corps recruiter, we organized a Peace Corps presentation for our community at the local library.  The theme of our presentation was "unraveling the myth of "the" Peace Corps experience."  Sydney and I talked about how even though we have a similar background and got placed in the same country for our PC service, our realities are drastically different.  Sydney lives and works in an indigenous Ngobe-Bugle site, speaks the dialect, doesn't have electricity, and has about 3 teachers.  I on the other hand live in a big latino community with electricity, internet, and 10 teachers.  Even though our audience consisted mostly of friends and family, I know that afterwards they had a better understanding of how PC experiences can vary.  Here we are after the presentation with the local Peace Corps recruiter.      

On May 17th, Emmy graduated from UVM!  I am so proud of all of her hard work and determination, this degree did not come easy for her but she persevered and is now a college grad!  

Here's a pic of the family down on the waterfront before her graduation ceremony!

An action shot of Emmy accepting her diploma!

Afterwards, we had a big party for her at the house.  My best friend Jene also graduated from the University of Connecticut with her masters degree in Biomedical Engineering, so we made it a joint party!  We had a nice BBQ at the house with friends and family, then when everyone had left we went to Jene's house to continue the party....things got a little crazy hahah here's my friend Brandon doing a head stand on a chair...just because...

During my visit, I was also able to spend time with Chris at his house.  He taught me how to shoot!  We thought I kept missing the bottle, but when we went to check it I saw that I hit it every time!

On my last day back home, my friends and I had a cook out at a local park.  It was a perfect sunny day, and we spent it grilling and playing ultimate frisbee!  

It seemed like my time home just flew by!  The next thing I knew, I was back in Panama and the craziness resumed.  On May 28th, I traveled to Panama City and spent the day with the Safety and Security Manager.  I was chosen to be the Safety and Security Warden for my province, so I had to participate in a 6 hour training session.  Thankfully, I was able to get the training finished before the next regional meeting on June 4th.  

The day before the regional meeting, I organized a potluck at my house for all of the volunteers in my province.  This was the first regional meeting with the 14 new G 76 volunteers, and it was a great way to meet everyone.  I also used the time to sit everyone down and talk to them about GAD resources, and another group called Seeders took advantage of the audience as well.  Here we all are out on my back patio: 

During the regional meeting, we were able to talk about GAD updates and the Excellence in Teaching English class that Sam, Grace, and I are working on.  My compañeros also voted me as the recipient for the Outstanding Volunteer Recognition award, which was an honor!  After the meeting, we all went out to a local club and had a blast!

 That same week was the beginning of Corpus Cristi, a religious holiday celebrated here in my community.  My gente started off the festivities by creating a natural "alfombra" aka carpet.  It's kind of like the Indian "Mandala" where they create beautiful designs but instead of using colored sand they use natural resources like flower petals, dirt, leaves, and salt.  It's incredible what they were able to design, they are so talented!  Here's my favorite one that they created in front of the town's plaza:

The alfombra stretched down the whole street!  Here I am with Ellie, the little dog I rescued before leaving for the US: 

Next came the cultural activities and processions for Corpus Cristi.  

At night, there were presentations like the Diablico Sucio that you see below: 

During the day, we had groups come from all over Panama to participate in our parades.  It was fascinating to see the different ethnic dances and presentations from different parts of the country, all routed with unique cultural and religious foundations.  The music was outstanding as well!

My friends even participated in the presentations.  Here they are dressed up for their reenactment of Montezuma's Revenge, a classic traditional play here in Parita: 

And of course, we marched in the parade to represent Parita's own cultural heritage.  These boys are representing the Diablos Sucios, they're so cute!

On June 8th, we started up with the second trimester!  I couldn't believe that we were already 1/3 of the way done with the school year!  This year is critical because it is the one full school year that I have during my Peace Corps service, despite the fact that I am in site for two years.  So, I started right off the bat with a technology seminar for my 12th graders.  On June 9th, I gave a presentation for them on how to create a Prezi presentation.  After seeing my community analysis presentation the year before which was designed using Prezi, my teachers all wanted their students to receive training on how to create their own.  

My school has incredible technological resources that are underutilized.  We have a language lab with 25 computers which are installed with Rosetta Stone that my teachers often use, but we also have things like a SmartBoard that has never been turned on.  My teachers asked me for training on how to use this resource, and I organized an informational session with the help of a Response PCV to train my teachers how to use one.  It was a great success, with almost 20 teachers attending!  

We were able to download the SmartBoard program onto the teachers computers!

 The next day, I left to help my friend Lupita in her site with an Elige Tu Vida.  I wanted to get as much practice as I could, because in a few weeks I was going to have the first one in my site!  It was very successful, with about 35 students participating!  

That week was English Week with the theme of "protecting the environment," and my teachers asked me to come up with an activity for the primary school students that Friday.  So, I came back from Lupita's site and met up with my two Community Environmental Conservation volunteer friends and that night we came up with a rough idea of some activities for the students the next day.  I was not given many details about the who/what/where/when for the event, but thankfully we were flexible because we facilitated activities for all 350 students that day!  We taught them about the 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) and how to recycle.  We sang songs and organized a fun sorting relay races for the students.  Even though it was thrown together last minute, it was a really effective!  

My friends Nathan and Jennifer are rockstars!  They helped me organize and facilitate this crazy last minute event!  

My students loved the recycling relay race!

A group shot after a successful day!  We had so much fun!

That was one back-to-back week!  Thankfully I had the weekend to rest, because the following week on June 16-17th we had our first 2015 board GAD meeting in the city.  I was very anxious to see how it would turn out, we have had a few set backs this year.  Once I was elected President, we were informed at our first meeting with the 2014 board that the government funds that we had used in the past to pay for our annual events such as GAD youth camps, the Women's Healthy Artisan seminar, and the Men's Health and Leadership seminar would no longer be available.  So, for our June meeting, we had to come up with alternative activities in order to define our 2015 term.  In other words, this was a critical meeting.  We decided that instead of being the board that would "give PCV's the fish" as we had done in the past, we would now "teach them how to fish" by creating and organizing resources that PCV's can use to host their own events in site.  Peace Corps Panama as a whole is changing its policies and is now putting volunteers in sites closer together in "clusters" with the hope that they will work together on smaller projects in their communities.  So, we as a GAD board decided to focus our efforts into creating a user friendly electronic guide for volunteers who want to organize small community projects and all of the necessary resources they would need for that.  Also, we created the same thing for volunteers who want to write a grant to receive money for a larger project.  It's a big undertaking, but we are a committed board with a lot of creative thinkers!

From June 25-27th, the TE volunteers had to participate in an Teaching English Conference with a school counterpart.  We stayed at a Ecological resort called La Iguana in the neighboring province of Cocle, and it was a nice get away.  I brought my counterpart Dario, and it was a great chance to work with him one-on-one.  

Right after the TEC conference, I came home and went to my friend Luis' baby shower.  He and his wife Sue were expecting their second baby girl, Irianys, in a few short weeks.  Apparently Sue was already having contractions at the party!  It was a great party, and I'm so happy for them.  Luis has been a fantastic friend to me during my whole PC service.  He speaks perfect, fluent English and is a fellow animal lover.  Through him, I have been able to participate in many Spay Panama events and he has helped me with all of my dog related problems.  They're a wonderful family, now of 4!  

The next day on June 29th, we had a dual graduation for our Excellence in Teaching English group as well as the Leadership Development for Global Education classes that we were hosting at the local university.  For our Excellence in Teaching English course, we worked with University students who were studying English on professional development skills such as interviewing, public speaking, and writing resumes/cover letters and also with technical teaching English skills such as student centered classrooms, classroom management, lesson planning, and using technology in the classroom.  The idea behind this is to reach future English teachers before they enter the workforce in order to teach them successful teaching techniques right off the bat.  We incorporated professional development seminars into the course as well for those students who still were unsure of what they wanted to do with their English degree after graduation.  This was such a dynamic and talented group, and it was incredible to see what they learned over 10 weeks with us!  Here is one of our star students during his final presentation: 

We were able to get a nice group shot of the first graduating class of EITE outside on the University grounds after the presentations!

On the same day, we had our LDGE graduation.  My friend Sam and I facilitated a LDGE course right after our EITE class every week.   We had a nice group of 7 graduate!

In order to get more practice with Elige Tu Vida's, I went to my friend Johnna's site on July 1-2 to help her facilitate her own ETV's.  At her ETV, we worked with the governmental organization called APLAFA which is basically the Panamanian equivalent of Planned Parenthood.  It was great to get some more time facilitating, because the next week I would be hosting my own!  Here I am with one of her students, I played the "baby mama" in a skit we do with a student to show how much your life changes when you have a baby as a teenager!  It is a serious skit but presented in a very funny way, and the muchacho is always taken off guard when the baby mama comes out with the baby....this muchacho, however, kept it together pretty well....here's a pic of the happy new family!

On June 6-7th, I hosted my first ETV's in my site for my 7th grade students.  Elige Tu Vida (Choose Your Life) is a dynamic life skills workshop given to students in middle and high school.  During this workshop, we guide the students to plan for their futures by helping them identify their values, discuss what resources they have available, inform them of many professional options, and create thorough individual goals for the future.  In the second part, we discuss with the students about potential barriers that exist which could impact them from being able to achieve their goals, barriers such as teenage pregnancy, STDs/STIs, and HIV/AIDs.  Ultimately, we teach the students through communicative and dynamic activities how to protect themselves if they choose to have sex.  At the end of the session, the students leave with a workbook they completed with their own answers and other information which will serve as a guide for them in the future.

I originally had the plan to host all of my ETV's in one week for my 7th-10th graders (aka 350-400 students) by having two groups of ETV's each day using both libraries in the primary and secondary schools...the event was planned and I was in the process of getting volunteers to commit to facilitating, when my plan was thwarted by the one of the most Panamanian reasons....we couldn't provide the students with "brindis..."  Brindis are snacks, and it is customary here for the facilitator to provide brindis for the participants.  During this time, we were in transition with the director of Meduca, and as such we weren't able to receive money for the school to use.  So, what was supposed to be a week packed of ETV's was cut down to two days with just the 7th graders.  

It honestly worked out for the best.  Those two days were great learning experiences, and I couldn't imagine if we had had to do it all week with two groups going at once.  The first day was rough, we were not informed that the students with special needs were all in this group.  The room was also not set up to be conducive for such a large group of students, and it was hard to control such a large group.  I'm not going to lie, I never wanted to do another ETV again after that first day, especially not the next day.  But that night, all of the facilitators sat down and we made a new game plan for the following day.  The difference was like night and day!  It ran so smoothly with the second group, and made me motivated to finish with my original plan to give the seminar for my 8th, 9th, and 10th graders!  

My friend Kelsey makes a great Baby Mama, and this muchacho wasn't able to keep it together as well!

All of the other students get a big kick out of watching the baby game!  

This second group of 7th graders were spectacular!  Here we all are with their completed workbooks!

The next few weeks of July were relatively calm.  I went to the city once to give a presentation on GAD to the newest group of volunteers.  Then, from July 20-25th, I was able to participate in a "medical gira" which is when a medical mission group from the states comes and opens up daily medical clinics in certain communities.  I was there with four other volunteers and we worked as translators between the patients and the doctors.  The group of doctors and volunteers were from Arkansas, and they were the nicest people!  They paid their way to come to Panama and donate their time, expertise, and energy to provide free medical services to locals.  They were incredible.  Each night, we stayed in Santiago, Veraguas and traveled to different schools in Veraguas during the day.  I was lucky to be part of such a great team, and I learned a lot of new words and technical medical tips! 

 A group pic of everyone after we hiked to a waterfall!  

August rolled around, and right off the bat on the 4th we had our Patron Saint Day.  Parita's saint is Pedro de Guzman, and for 9 days leading up to it we had special masses and processions throughout the town.  On the 4th, I went to the mass to watch my friends sing in the chorus.  I used to go to mass every week when I lived with my host mom, but since I have lived alone I haven't gone once....so it was nice to go back and see the familiar faces.  

On August 6th, I was one of three volunteers asked to participate in the Project Advisory Committee meeting.  All four project sectors are redefining their goals and objective statements, and the Teaching English sector was the first to meet and work on it.  We had office staff, Panamanian counterparts, Meduca workers, and the three volunteers present and we discussed ways in which we could improve upon the framework.  It was a big task, but we made some real head way that day!

Since December, I had had the pleasure of being host mom to a wonderful, loving, gentle giant of a dog, Doug.  Everyone loved Doug for his good nature and goofy demeanor, and I did too.  He was honestly the nicest dog I have ever met in my life.  Unfortunately, having three dogs is very difficult and financially draining.  I also knew that I could not take him home with me, so I started looking for another option for him.  I reached out to the Ex-Pat community here in the Azuero, and almost immediately got a response from a man named Jeff.  Jeff lives in the neighboring community of La Villa and is a retired sea captain who recently lost his long time friend, a german shepard.  He wanted to stop by and meet Doug.  So on August 14th, he came over and immediately fell in love with Doug and took him home that very day.  While it was heart breaking to say good bye to such a wonderful friend, I knew that it was in his best interests and that I could share my happiness with Jeff who would truly love and take care of Doug.

This is his "I'M GETTING FOOD!" face  

A couple of weeks later, Jeff invited me to a party at his place for the opening of his new gazebo.  It was really nice to see how happy "Doobie" (Doug's new name) was in his new house!  He is living the life!  Here we are at his pool in his fenced in back yard!

  

The day after Jeff took Doug, I headed up to Chepo to help my friend Kelley out with a multigrado seminar series she created for the teachers in neighboring communities.  It was a successful workshop and I learned a lot about working in a multi grade setting.  Here in Panama, students who live in distant communities often go to multi grade schools for their primary schooling.  Teachers are expected to teach lessons of varying levels for the different ages of students in the classroom, and this makes teaching English even more difficult.  I have a newfound respect for teachers who have to do this!

We cooled off in one of Kelley's local watering holes, and found a huge rock spider! 

After the multigrado seminar, we headed to Caitlin's site to celebrate her birthday!  On the way, we stopped off at her friend's house and met their pet monkey!

As a joke, I asked if I could ride the horse...I only wanted to be up there for a minute but ended up having to ride it the whole way there because there was no place to dismount....I wasn't complaining, but I can't say the same thing about the horse!

Kelley and I working to prepare the arroz con pollo, a classic Panamanian dish for special occasions!

This is one of the natural ovens that they created, I thought it was fascinating!

We celebrated Caitlin and her host sister China's birthday, they share the same date!

On the way back from Caitlin's site, I stopped off in Ocu for the Hermanito celebrations!  It was crazy, they had huge parades, dancing in the streets, and people passing around massive gourds of chicha fuerte (aka fermented corn juice)!  I met up with my friend Kelsey and a few of her friends, and we marched in the parade with the people from her town.  It was a great time!  

The Queen of Hermanito posing with the other women dressed in tipico polleras

Two days later, it was Parita's turn to celebrate!  On August 18th, it was our Foundation Day!  We had parades in the streets and big dances at night!  And of course, the crowning of the queen.  One was chosen from the seven corregimientos of Parita, and the queen from my town won! 

Here Cesar and I are at the parade, with a bunch of mamon chinos!

The queen coming by on her float in her pollera

And of course, the rest of her entourage following behind

At night, we walked in a procession and Cesar got to represent Jesus.  I never knew Jesus had Whatsapp....

The beautiful cart made of flowers they carried through town to pay tribute to our patron saint, San Pedro de Guzman

At night, we lit up the skies with some incredible fireworks!

On August 21st, we had the Azuero's first ever Agency Day!  I worked with the regional leader to coordinate for local agencies to come to and give information to the new volunteers about the work they do and open up the dialogue to see how they could coordinate on projects together.  It was a great success, we had about 8 agencies attend and almost all volunteers from Herrera and Los Santos!  Afterwards, we went out to a casino and hit up the new night club in town, Ibiza!  They opened up the top floor for us, because we were the only people dancing!  It's always fun when the gringos go out!

After all of the cultural celebrations, I had a few weeks off and then jumped right back into it with an absolutely packed first week of September.  On the 1st, I went to Cedesam in Coclé to facilitate a training session on domestic violence in Panama for the new TE group's IST.  That same day, I headed back to site to prepare for the next day. 

On September 2, I was invited to participate in a Peace Corps promotional event via Skype at the University of Vermont.  The event was to kick off the new Peace Corps preparatory program that the University now offers to students.  Our state senator Patrick Leahy was present along with the director of Peace Corps, Carrie Hessler-Radelet.  It was such a high profile event because Vermont is the highest per capita state to recruit Peace Corps volunteers, with 26 Vermonters currently serving.  Over 100 people came to see the presentation, including my parents and some family friends.  I gave a short presentation on the work I do and what my day to day is like then I answered questions from the audience.  It was an incredible event to be a part of, and so cool to talk to Director Hessler-Radelet and Senator Leahy over skype!  I think I shaved off about 1 year off of my life span though, because right before I was about to be introduced, the internet cut out and I got disconnected from the conference call!  I panicked but was able to collect my cool and reconnect in time before the Director was done talking.  Pana-problems!

Right after the event, I headed out to Panama city for our September GAD board meeting the following day.  We met up in Panama city on the 3rd and worked in our smaller subcommittees and project teams.  We made black bean burgers and hung out at the hostel that night.  The next day, we had our big board meeting where we voted on grants, worked out future details, and made plans for the holiday party.  We received more news that limits what we are capable of doing; as of February 28th, we can no longer fundraise or sell merchandise for a profit.  Thankfully, this is not going to be my boards problem but something the next one will have to figure out.  But that means that we will no longer be able to provide PCV's with grants for their small projects, and the only way they will be able to receive funds will be through a long and tedious PCPP grant process that is meant for projects with a minimum budget of $500.  It is pretty disappointing news, but we did receive some good news; As of October, Panama became a Let Girls Learn country!  This is a Michelle Obama initiative that sets aside money for selected countries each year to fund Peace Corps projects that promote girl's education and gender equality initiatives.  So, while GAD lost the ability to fund PCV projects, we now have access to government money through the PCPP process.  Needless to say, lots of changes are being made that will redefine GAD's role in PC Panama and i'll be excited to see what the next board does.  

The next Monday, I went back to G 76's IST and presented on Special Education in the Panamanian school systems with my friend Brittany Aucoin.  It was pretty depressing to do research on this topic, it is such an underdeveloped field here.  Many emotional, learning, and social conditions are not understood yet, and teachers are expected to work with the students without any type of training.  I got involved with this topic originally because my English teachers were having a hard time teaching English to their special needs students.  They barely get training on how to be teachers, let alone working with children with such drastic special needs.  The kids are basically thrown into a room with one teacher and are integrated with the other students for the minority of their classes.  It is a sad reality here, but something that I want to work on improving.  I had scheduled a two day training session for my teachers on how to teach children with special needs along with the psychologists at my school (who are really the ones who are supposed to be doing these things), but on the days of the event my teachers went on strike to protest against the director of Meduca.  He was trying to get my teachers to agree to an extended school day from 7-4 instead of the 7-1 that we have now, but was not giving them any details on the specifics.  When my teachers resisted, he found private dirt on some of them and spread it on the radio.  He gave the names of three teachers and broadcasted their private medical conditions on the radio with the intention of trying to make them look bad.  One of them was my English teacher, who had decided to not tell her children, mother, or grandmother of her condition.  They found out on the radio, and she was devastated.  The whole school got behind them and protested for a week.  Needless to say, that director has since been kicked out and I am in the process right now of rescheduling my special education seminar for November. 

On September 17th, we had the graduation ceremony for a professional development seminar series we organized at a university in La Villa.  Basically, we took apart our Excellence in Teaching English seminar and had one that was just on teaching English techniques and one for professional development.  It was over the course of four weeks, and at the end each student had to write their own professional resume, conduct an interview, and practice speaking in public.  It was great to see how far they had come, and we graduated about 7 students!

On September 20th, we celebrated my friend Cesar's 27th birthday!  I had planned to have a big party at my house with all of our friends, and I made a special bean dip that is one of his favorites.  The house was all cleaned and ready to go, when my friend Guille came over and said that no one would probably end up coming.  Instead, he suggested we round up everyone and drive to the beach, so that's just what we did!  We spent the day playing frisbee on beach, eating, and swimming in the ocean!  It turned out to be a great time, and Cesar had an awesome birthday!

That Tuesday, September 22, we had the grand opening of the Reading Corner in my primary school's library!  This was one of the biggest events that I had planned during my Peace Corps service, I had been pulling resources together for about a year.  It all came together after a lot of time and hard work on my part, but it was worth it!  To celebrate library week, I worked with my librarian to organize a promotional event for our new resource.  I had collected over 500 children's books in both English and Spanish, and we hosted movies at the school to raise money for other supplies like games and art supplies.  Here are some pictures of the final product:

The beautiful new Reading Corner!

The books are organized by color depending on how difficult they are:

I reconverted an old white board into a welcome wall for the reading corner!

The kids love to read in the new blow up soccer chairs! 

To help me promote my event, I asked for support from a Panamanian organization called Para Leer Panama.  Four representatives from this organization agreed to come and help co-facilitate the activities!  They even brought a library bus, and the kids had a blast reading in there!  Here are some of their happy faces inside the bus!

The Bibliobus was such a hit!

Some facilitators from Para Leer Panama read stories to my students

They also organized fun, dynamic games with them!

I was able to give a short training session to the students on how the library was organized, what resources we have, as well as the rules for its use.  At the end of the day, I gave a similar presentation to the teachers to inspire them to use the Reading Corner as part of their curriculum!   

It was a very successful day, and I was so happy to receive the help from such an awesome group of people!

Needless to say, I was exhausted after my library event!  I had been pulling late nights at the school for the past week, but it was all worth it in the end!  In classic form, I went right on trudging along with my projects...the next day was the first meeting for our English club!  We had about 15 interested students attend from 7-9th grade, and I was co-facilitating the meetings with two of my English teachers Dario and Juan.  We hadn't started the club until now due to extenuating circumstances with Meduca...at the beginning of the year, they promised us that they would provide us with an "After School Program" which is basically a government funded English Club for students.  In the hopes of working with this program, we decided to wait to see how we could become incorporated into the program.   Well, after the first two trimesters, we finally realized that it was never coming so we started it back up on our own.  We have had a few meetings so far, and next week we will be having a halloween party!

On September 24th, we had another regional meeting, but this time we had it in my friend David Corrados site on Isla Cañas!  The meeting went really well, we were able to hold a GAD meeting before the official meeting and we showed our friends the new resources we have created.  I was surprised to receive the Outstanding Volunteer Recognition award again, but was honored none the less!  After the meeting, we went to the beach and hung out all day!  The next day, there was a matanza aka bbq on the island, and a lot of volunteers stuck around for that!  We spent the day at the beach, checked out a turtle reserve, danced, and had a gritar contest with the locals.  It was a great night!

We got free food all day!

It's incredible the quantity of food these women produce!

We walked to the turtle reserve to see the new born baby turtles!  It was amazing to see how they all naturally gravitated to the side of the fencing that was closest to the ocean and how they were trying so hard to get out there!

It was one of the best regional meetings we've ever had!

The next week, I had a week of Elige Tu Vida's in my school for my 8th and 9th graders.  I split each group up into two days, so we had them on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  My friends and I conducted this workshop with 198 of my students, it was a successful week!

The set up we had for these ETV's were much better than before, we were in the lunch room and we organized the students in a boy/girl order to cut down on the side conversations, it really worked!

  

David captivating the students with a story on the difference between a dream and a goal

This was honestly the highlight of the day; the Baby Game!  Our muchacho was a ton of fun and a great sport for the whole thing!  Here he is getting on the back of a horse to go to school! 

The happy new family!  Look at the fear in his eyes!!

He was such a great trooper for the whole thing, and the rest of the students got a kick out of it too!

Ben, always advancing with the technology...

Caitlin and David, our love birds deciding whether or not to have sex and talking about the myths of using a condom

Caitlin helping out one of my students practice putting a condom on a carrot

The infamous condom balloon, always a favorite at ETV's!

We were able to get a group shot at the end of the day, by far the best ETV I've ever been to!  Thanks to all of my incredible friends for making it happen!

The next week, I went to a neighboring site of my friend Derek to help facilitate an ETV there as well.  It was in the Comarca, and so we were working with a group of about 18 indigenous children.  I had never worked with them before, but despite the rumors I had heard about them being seriously shy they participated well and we had a great time!  

The following week on October 15th we had our graduation ceremony for our Excellence in Teaching English program (just for English teaching techniques).  We graduated about 10 students again, and as always I was blown away to see what they all came up with!  I think Grace, Sam, and I are done with the university seminars for a while, we have a lot to focus on for the future.  

Looking ahead, I am going to finish out the school year strong by reinforcing my existing projects like my reading corner, English club, and frisbee team.  Once November rolls around, nothing really gets done because there are many national holidays and school is always impacted.  It is known in the TE world that if you want to get anything done, it needs to be done before November!  I think I will try to take advantage of some days when the students are absent but the teachers have to be in school to do teacher training seminars like the special education one and others that my friends and I have created. 

I will also use this time to prep for my future projects.  In January, Grace, Sam, and I are organizing and facilitating a three day university professor seminar series on how to incorporate professional development lessons into their curriculum.  It is going to take a lot of coordination and planning, but I am very excited to be a part of it!  I am also working on the curriculum for a boys and girls leadership and empowerment summer camp that Grace, Sam, Kelsey, and I are organizing for the end of summer vacation!  We recently won two grants in order to fund it, and now it's just a matter of putting it all together!  

Some exciting things that are coming up are the Peace Corps Volunteers Holiday Party and also, I'm going home for Christmas!!!  I can't wait for both events, it will be fantastic to see all of my friends at the Holiday Party and I'm even more excited to be able to spend Christmas this year with my family back home!  

I'll try to be better about updating this blog every month!  I literally just spent the past two days creating this, I don't want to have to do that again!  Hasta pronto!