Day 4 – Sustainable development (Ellie & Jordan)

Hi, this is Ellie, one of today’s leaders of the day! One memorable thing from today was our visit to Mujeres Amigas del Manglar, a group of women who work to protect and reforest mangrove groves and teach their community about sustainability. It was inspiring to see how dedicated they are to educating their community, specifically the youth, about the importance of maintaining their environment, and it inspired me to take some of the things I will learn from them back home with me. Educating and passing traditions down to the youth has been a common theme on our trip, as we saw yesterday with the Panamanian dances, and it has helped me realize that youth hold a lot of power in culture and society. 

Another thing that stood out to me today was how our group was able to plan out the steps to our community action project. At first, it felt overwhelming with all 19 of us working on a single project. However, everyone was super attentive and gave everyone the chance to share their ideas, and we also broke into groups to make tasks more manageable. Our focus of the day was cooperation, and that project proved that cooperation really does make issues much easier to solve. It was also great to see everyone in the group sharing out and being inclusive.

Overall though, my favorite part of the day was our free time in which we were able to explore Chitre! It was amazing wandering around the town, buying snacks and souvenirs, and bonding with all the amazing people I’ve met. I’m looking forward to finishing out our project by doing some more exploring! (Hi to my mom, dad, and Athena; I miss you!!)

Hello, this is Jordan. I was one of two leaders of the day, and I was really glad to have an opportunity to lead even though I was scared at first. I did get the hang of it over the day. With very great leaders the day before being a great blueprint to learn from. It was very exciting to talk to new people during breakfast since we were encouraged to talk to people we haven’t had the chance to yet on the trip. 

The big thing from this trip was going to Parira to take a look at what our community action project will be. It will take the course of 3 days, with us building a sanctuary, painting tires, and planting plants. Then, when we got back, we had to split into 2 groups to make a poster to present to the people we are helping with. My group and I had fun talking to each other while working. We had questions we had and our plan for what we would do during our working hours for the days to come

My favorite part of the trip so far was having free time. We all went in groups and had fun shopping and getting snacks and souvenirs. I can’t wait for the rest of the trip; it’s going a lot faster than I want it to be, and I really love it here, and I am glad I came. I love you all back home!