Bryan Kidney
For the last three years a group of Rotarians from Kansas district 5710 travels to the Republic of Panama. In Panama, the Rotarians are presented with dozens of potential water quality projects by several local Panamanian clubs. Working with the local clubs, the team members arranges for transportation and interpreters in order to review multiple water projects. The team then travels to remote villages in order to assess the needs and viability of projects requested by Panamanian rotary clubs. Panama Rotary Water Project Trip
Upon return from Panama, the team presents the projects and needs discovered during the trip. To date, the team has made dozens of presentations to local rotary clubs, district conferences, schools, and libraries in Kansas.
The focus of the team is to utilize the team’s passion for assessing, planning and implementing projects. As a result, the team was able to quickly ascertain the projects that met with the goals of Rotary International. The team meets with a wide range of leaders in Panama and built a network of contacts in order to ensure that the identified water projects that are planned will be completed.
Each year, we develop a listing of all projects reviewed and distributed the list to clubs in District 5710. As a result of the list and numerous presentations about the trip, to date, the team has been successful in obtaining over thousands of dollars in contributions. These funds have been distributed to Panamanian rotary clubs. These funds has provided for several dozen separate water quality projects. These projects will bring quality water to many rural Panamanians.
The cooperation and communication between district 4240 and 5710 continue to grow. The support from the local clubs in district 4240 to provide clear and concise solutions for the needed improvements helps the clubs in district 5710 understand the need in Panama for quality water. The clubs in district 5710 have been able to realize the benefit of providing funds to help with the basic need of water. I have full confidence that this relationship can continue to grow and foster good will and provide a higher quality of life for the rural people of Panama.
Travel Blog Posts
Back to Panama City
Published: April 4th 2006Central America Caribbean » Panama » Panamá » Panama City
March 11th 2006
We spent our last day in Panama seeing some of the sites and packing way too much stuff in our bags. I had asked Ceasar Diaz to drive us to the Peregrine Fund building in Panama City. They have a harpy eagle there that they are planning on releasing into the jungle. You can read more about the Peregrine Fund Harpy Eagle program at: Peregrine Fund Harpy Eagles Ceasar has a great love of the harpy eagle. It is an endangered species that due to the work of the Peregrine Fund is making a comback in Panama. The eagle represents the heritage and culture of Panama. The El Dorado Rotary Club also has a picture of the eagle on their banner. So we were all very happy to find that the falconer was willing to bring ... read more
Projects around Santiago
Published: April 4th 2006Central America Caribbean » Panama » Colón » Santiago
March 10th 2006
We woke up early and traveled North to the town of San Francisco. The health fair last year was held at the school in San Francisco. They used the facility to treat around 7,000 Guaymis Indians. This year the health fair took place in Sante Fe which is further north and therefore closer to the bulk of the indians the health fair served. The health fair took place a couple of weeks before we arrived and it sounds as though it was another exciting event. They served even more people than the previous year. The school that hosted the health fair last year also serves meals for a large portion of the surronding area. In many cases it is the only nutrious food the children recieve. They serve around 800 people a day. They took us ... read more
Travels around Santiago
Published: April 4th 2006Central America Caribbean » Panama » Colón » Santiago
March 9th 2006
On the first morning in Santiago, the Santiago Rotary Club got us up early and we headed out into the countryside to see three projects that are being funded by the District major grant. Getting to the projects took quite some time due to rough roads. The first one took us several kilometers up and down very rugged roads and through several streams. I was thankful it was the dry season because I am not sure we could have made it otherwise. When traveling by car sometimes you forget how remote these people are. When you see people walking by or riding a horse you have to be amazed at how much time is spent traveleling and how difficult it would be to get simple things from a store or medical care. Getting to school in ... read more
March 8th 2006
The next morning Bob and I woke up to a hearty breakfast of hojaldras. Hojaldras are "Panamanian donuts"..a flattened piece of dough deep fried and served hot. They were delicious! I also want to say that all of the Panama Rotarians were wonderful hosts. In David all seven members of our team was brought into club members homes where we spent two nights. We were all very well fed and made to feel like a part of their family. It always is a great experience being home hosted because we were able to get to know the wonderful people of Panama even better. At the meeting the night before they made all of our team honorary Chiriquis by giving us a Chiriqui passports. We all loaded on the bus and traveled from David to Santiago. In ... read more
A wonderful day in David
Published: March 19th 2006Central America Caribbean » Panama » Chiriquí » David
March 7th 2006
The Pacific ocean just south of David, Panama is home to some of the best deep sea fishing in Central America. Our group split up with some going to projects in Boquete. The rest of us travled south to assess the water quality of the ocean. The day was beautiful with the sun shining. In fact, as we were putting on sunblock 40 we noticed that the local Panamanians were putting on sunblock 70! So of course we all lathered on the higher sunblock but still all burned. We were successful in finding plenty of water. Alas, none was fit to drink so we had to resort to cerveza. The ocean was calm and I am happy to report only one fish was harmed on our trip. During the trip to an island for lunch, a ... read more
Travel to David, Panama
Published: March 17th 2006Central America Caribbean » Panama » Chiriquí » David
March 6th 2006
Today we flew to David, Panama from Panama City. David is in the West part of Panama about 50 km from Costa Rica. David is the the capital of the Chiriqui Province. Chiricanos have a certain independent attitude that is very simular to Texans in the United States. They are proud of their province and their heritage. You can even get a Chiriqui passport and Chiriqui ID card! David is a thriving city of 80,000 people. We flew out of Panama City from the Albrook Airport. It was one of the former US airbases. The flight was short and pleasant. We were met by several of the David Rotary members and were soon on our way to review the first water project funded by the District 5710 major grant. The David Rotary Club has been assisting ... read more
Tour of Panama City
Published: March 11th 2006Central America Caribbean » Panama » Panamá » Panama City
March 5th 2006
On our first day in David, Panama I lost my journal and all of my notes for several days. So I am not going to try and remember all of the things we went to on this day. Basically a day of rest and seeing the sights of Panama City. ... read more
Travel to Youth With A Mission
Published: March 11th 2006Central America Caribbean » Panama » Panamá » Panama City
March 4th 2006
Today we traveled to the Youth with a Mission organization outside of Gamboa. YWAM is an international and inter-detominational Christian missions organization. YWAM is operating in more than 900 locations in over 140 countries. The YWAM in Panama is headed by the wonderful Tracy family. They had been working in Panama since 1993. There are three main things that they do here. The first is YWAM training programs. YWAM is a large international movement of Christians working to help make a difference in a needy world. They offer a five month discipleship Training School (DTS). They also offer Staff and Leadership Training. The purpose of the SALT school is to produce better equipped staff members for their schools and base staff. The second thing YWAM Panama offers is short term Mission Adventures. They offer a 7 ... read more
Travel to Embera Drua Water Project
Published: March 10th 2006Central America Caribbean » Panama » Panamá » Panama City
March 3rd 2006
Today was a true National Geographic day for us. We woke up early and was met by members of the Panama Sur Club. There were also members of a club in Ohio. The Ohio club had helped fund some motors for the dug-out canoes that the Embera Drua village uses to transport people to their village. The village was re-populated by the government in order to show the traditional way that the Embera live. The Emera are one of the seven indigenous people of Panama. It is a very popular village because you can see how people can live in harmony with the rainforest. It was neat seeing something like this so close to Panama City. We drove until came to the Chagres river. The river is one of the main sources of fresh water for ... read more
Travel to La Chorrera
Published: March 5th 2006Central America Caribbean » Panama » Panamá » Panama City
March 2nd 2006
Today we traveled to La Chorrera. La Chorrera and the surronding area has a population of around 200,000. It is west of Panama City just over the Canal. We crossed the new bridge over the canal. We met past district governer Andy Guillen, Ruth Mata, and current president of the La Chorrera club Roque. Roque is a pilot for the canal. When a ship enters the canal control is turned over to the pilot and he guides it safely (we hope) through the canal. He works different shifts. The next morning he had to get to work by five. The first place we visited was a group home that the club has worked with for several years. The school is a place for children from around the country to go who have a not so good ... read more
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