As the week comes to an end, and after three nights in community, participants from Discover AMIGOS have had quite the experience in Penonomé. Not only are they making strong bonds with their host families and the children from the schools, they are also starting to see how fast their service projects progress and the positive impact on their communities.

In Bella Vista, participants are working hard to prepare floor games or “juegos de piso” for the school Virgilio Gonzales de Pombo. These games are super important for the children at community, who are excitedly waiting for new and safer playing areas to use in their free time. In addition to helping with mixing cement, getting the cement surfaces ready, and painting the games, our Bella Vista participants have also been quite busy helping the teachers in their classes, reviewing subjects such as environmental conservation.

At Sonadora our participants have been enjoying of some dancing and cultural activities as well, using their free time to play games with the students, learn some new moves, and even trying out some typical Panamanian foods. A good amount of fun and cultural exchange always makes the experience better, specially when you are hard at work building the stage for school presentations. And not only are they doing an amazing job supporting with the making of new school infrastructure, they are also making sure that the children go to class, and they also get an extra hand with some of their daily tasks.

Last but not least, the kids at Aguas Blancas had lots of fun during the last couple of days. Starting Friday with a huge cultural activity involving mostly all of the community for a “cabalgata” horse parade. This festivity was extra special because it was moved for a week with the sole purpose of having our Discover kids participating in it. And if you are thinking that this was enough for the day, you’re wrong, because our participants also organized a softball game for that afternoon! Lastly, our Aguas Blancas kids got to eat some nice home cooked pizza while bonding and playing games this Saturday.

This week is closing out very successfully, happy participants enjoying of a wonderful experience here in Panama. Living with their host families, making new friends in community, supporting the schools with their projects, classes and overall having a blast.

Stay tuned for the next update in community, with tons of new pictures and more adventures of our time in Penonomé!