Juntos Podemos (Together, we can): a school

Juntos Podemos (which translates to "Together we can") is a school in Curundú, a very poor and crime-ridden neighborhood in the city of Panama. The neighborhood was once thriving: across the street from the school is the former Olympic Stadium, and the building itself is in the now-defunct offices of Gulf Oil, which left the place about 40 years ago.

You can still see the Gulf logo on the front stairs.

Juntos Podemos bought this building about 20 years ago and started a bilingual school.  Inside, the school has decorated and painted the walls with brightly colored and cheerful murals. 

The cafeteria inside the school

Another view of the cafeteria,
with doors that lead into classrooms on two floors.

There are about 250 children who come on Saturdays; they get food and activities and of course a bit of bible outreach.  While I was visiting (on a Wednesday), a brother/sister who normally come on Saturday were there to get school shoes, which the school gives away when they have received enough donations.  Between the school and Saturday programs, they figure they reach about 500 local kids. The director stressed that a deeply important part of their mission is "relationships".  They're super proud of the students who have gone on to study in the U.S. or at local universities.  

The younger kids come in the morning and get breakfast and lunch; the teenagers come in the afternoon. From what I could understand, this means that the students here essentially have a half-day of school. I asked the director what they do the rest of the day (do they do public school when they're not here?), but his response was: "If they have good parents, the parents keep them home inside.  Otherwise, they roam the streets."

The computer workroom, advocating STEAM:
Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.

There is an outdoor courtyard and play area, but it's very hot in Panama, and so it's not super usable. The school is hoping to build a roof to keep off the sun -- and also the very hard and persistent rain during the long rainy season.

A view of the courtyard through a second-floor window.

A view of the courtyard from the cafeteria doorways.  

I visited this school three times.  The first time, I was just there to tour the school with the director (and the incredibly avid volunteer who connected me with the school), and to plan my future visits.  The second time was a 90-minute in-service session with the teachers; the third time I worked with a bunch of students.  

My lunch, the day I visited the teachers,
was quite yummy and substantial. Me being me,
I really appreciated that it was not on styrofoam or in plastic,
but rather in a ceramic bowl with a metal spoon. 

With the teachers, I prepped them for what I’d be doing with the students the next day.  The teachers were all almost asleep at the beginning of our workshop, which was kind of discouraging (AND made me feel bad for how hard they’re working), but they pepped up a LOT at the end, so much so that it was hard to talk over them. It wound up being tons of fun, with lots of laughter and joy.

A teacher being amazed at seeing the "dumpster" turn into a cube.

A bunch of teachers posing with me after our workshop.
I forgot to bring my little sweater; bare shoulders are
not really professional in Panama,
but these folks were very gracious with me anyway.

Visit Number Three finally meant interacting with the kids.  I got to visit four different classes, for a little more than a half-hour each.  It was a whirlwind of a visit, both because of the pacing of the class visits, but also because the kids themselves had LOTS of energy each in their own ways.  Thank goodness I'd gotten to have a few chances to see the school and the teachers beforehand!

The students wanted lots of attention; I'd show them something about how to draw a letter in 3D perspective, and they'd call "Profe! Profe! Mira!" (Prof! Prof! Come look!), and I'd zoom up and down the aisles between desks encouraging, complimenting, suggesting changes, and then lead them through the next step.

Sixth graders proudly drawing "ARTE".

The second graders were bouncy bouncy bouncy and fun. 

Trying to find a moment when they're relatively standing still.

One of the kids got shoved out of the way during the group picture (how did that happen?!?), and so a teacher led her up to me afterwards, in tears.  She really wanted her drawing to be seen, so after we finally got her smiling again, I got a selfie with her.  What a sweetie.

Selfies are backwards:
She's showing her work on the "ARTE" handout I gave her. 

The eighth graders were much more swagger-y while we were working on drawing, but when it came to take a group photo, they decided to go shy.

But they -- like many other students, asked, 
"When are you coming back?".  

Finally, the ninth graders were really capable and organized.  They set up the projector for me and helped one another with their work (as opposed, to say, using the rulers to have sword fights, a like in all the other classes).

And . . . they can hold still for a great photo!

I have to say, these visits almost didn't happen.  An incredibly dogged volunteer at the school also happens to attend the church I've been attending, and she did her incredibly-dogged thing to bring me in for the first visit.  (It wasn't that anyone opposed me coming; there's a thing in Panama where people say, "I'll get back to you", and then don't.  I can't tell you how many times I've been ghosted by people here, some of whom were the ones who reached out to me first . . . it's just a thing that conversations fall between the cracks).  And then after the first visit, my second one got cancelled because I was sick for about a week, after which I nearly fell into the Ghost Hole again.  But last Friday---late last Friday, in fact---the director whatsapped me to ask "can you come Wednesday and Thursday?", and I wrote back "yes", and so, so glad I did.