Fieldnotes: Blogging on UNICEF's child survival work in the field

Hi, this is Lizzy of the New York Office again with my first entry from the field! We took an early morning flight to Chiriqui in the far north of Panama. Here in this remote part of the country, UNICEF's projects focus on providing health care and education to the indigenous Ngobe-Bugle community.

© U.S. Fund for UNICEF

Our group received a warm welcome from the schoolchildren.

© U.S. Fund for UNICEF

Children at the school are allowed to wear traditional dress, removing the financial burden of purchasing school uniforms.

Our first stop was a visit to the UNICEF supported Hato Juli elementary school. Most of the children enrolled here are members of indigenous communities, a group often excluded from education in Panama and Latin America. After driving up a very steep dirt road, we were met at the school gates by the smiling students. Each of the school's nine classrooms were decorated with bright learning materials and staffed by an attentive UNICEF-trained teachers passionate about providing a safe and positive learning environment. Parents are also involved in the school community, with mothers taking turns to cook school lunches in the open air kitchen.

© U.S. Fund for UNICEF

© U.S. Fund for UNICEF

It is clear that the children are flourishing in this environment. Leaders of the sixth-grade student council gave formal introductions to groups of their fellow students, who sang local songs and performed a traditional Ngobe-Bugle crab dance. We then visited some of the classrooms, including one filled with 1st graders who sang us a song about animals. The children and teachers were very proud and seemed even more excited than we were about our visit.

© U.S. Fund for UNICEF

John Tsacrios and Karen Turney of the Houston office, along with Casey Marsh of the Chicago office, met with a group of schoolchildren in Hato Juli

The next program we visited was a water project. After a 20 minute hike through rugged terrain and across a creek, we reached a community that is benefiting from a UNICEF-constructed aqueduct. Egido, chief of the community's water committee, explained that they did not have access to clean water prior to its construction. Now, every household pays $0.25 per month to have clean water piped to their houses. While this may not seem like a lot to us, it is a significant sum to the people of this indigenous community. But this $0.25 represents the community's commitment to the upkeep of their water system.

When we asked how the aqueduct has changed their lives, Egido smiled and said, "Now, the children are not sick"—he pointed to his stomach—"they have less belly pain, and we do not have to walk down to the health clinic as often." It was very rewarding to see how UNICEF's work is making a direct impact on these peoples lives.