Panama

Educational programs will be developed within 20 village schools in participating rural communities of Panama, with a central objective to create and strengthen an environmentally-aware culture among children and adolescents.  Selected schools receive assistance in establishment of organic gardens, with SHI supplying seeds, gardening tools and technical assistance. 

To help support Annie’s-SHI’s work in this country, please enter the Annie’s Free Year Sweepstakes and vote for Panama.

Nurseries for native forest and fruit trees will also be established for use in reforestation campaigns on public lands and on private properties owned by parents of participating school children.  Within school buildings SHI offers construction support in the form of materials and technical assistance for building fuel-efficent stoves that emit less smoke and less heat, to protect the health of women who prepare meals daily in the schools, and to improve air quality in classrooms.  In some cases, SHI supports construction of latrines and septic tanks for control of solid wastes. 

SHI field trainers collaborate with teaching staff in the celebration of events planned around environmental themes, such as "Natural Resources Month," "Water Day," "Earth Day," and "Farmers Week."  Competitions are held during these events in activities such as painting, singing, public speaking, essay writing, and sports contests.  These events help strengthen SHI-Panama's relationship with parents and teachers, and promote community participation. 

The Panama staff feels that youth activities are essential to guarantee the sustainability of the program, assuring that what we create in the present will last into the future.

Panama Quick Facts (Source: UNICEF)

• Population is estimated to be 3,309,679.

• Panama is among the countries with the highest levels of economic inequality in the world. Around the world, children are the ones most affected by such inequalities.

• Over 50% of children under 5 live in conditions of poverty, and nearly 30% in conditions of extreme poverty. Most of these children come from indigenous areas.

• Panama is one of the two Central American countries that have experienced a rise in chronic malnutrition of children under 5 in the last six years. Malnutrition affects about 19% of this population. The problem is more serious among children living in areas with a predominantly indigenous population: more than half of all these children suffer from underweight.

• Universal primary school education is considered to have been achieved, but there remain questions about the quality of education and the efficiency of the resource management in the educational system.