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Purpose Project 2 – Buenos Vecinos de Boquete

Buenos Vecinos means “good neighbor” and Buenos Vecinos de Boquete (BVB) is a group of expats in Boquete Panama that are working to ensure that the local indigenous people have enough food to sustain themselves. They describe their mission as helping people who are unable to meet their basic food needs. They have provided emergency food support on many occasions and have been successful in helping families through difficult times. BVB helps with food support until the working-age adults in the family can find enough income to become self-sustaining. Here is a link to their website if you’d like to see additional information - https://www.buenosvecinosdeboquete.com/.

Our mom has donated personally to BVB over the years as she is very impressed with the work that they do in support of local indigenous families. Here is but one story of a family that BVB supported:

Raul’s Family

Up a treacherous road through three running rivers are the two bamboo houses that Raul, 36 years old, his brother Oscar, and Emilio his brother-in-law built when Raul inherited this little tract of land two years ago. Even though there is no electricity or indoor running water, the family does not sleep on the dirt floor. All nine members sleep in hammocks which are stored away on the walls during the day. Currently, only Raul’s brother is earning any income. Raul contributes to the family a small monthly disability payment that he receives from the government because he is blind. None of the adults can read or write.

Raul’s mother Cecilia 52, cooks the meals and washes clothes for the family. She hopes one day to have a two-burner propane stove top so she doesn’t have to cook over the outdoor wood stove any longer. She sees that the three school-age children Deika 7, Melquisidet 10 and Carlos 11 are out early enough to make the long and difficult walk to school. Our BVB volunteer who discovered the plight of this family wanted to help them with their most immediate problem, the kids could not attend school because they had no shoes. He drove Raul and the children into the city to a department store, took them on the elevator to the second floor where they bought new shoes and then out to a restaurant for lunch and a strawberry dessert. All of these were new experiences for this family, and he captured a little of the happiness in the photo of Carlos and his new shoes.

Because of the size of Raul’s family, they are receiving a double portion of food each month and will hopefully begin growing their own food from our Food Starter program. These are the types of families in crisis that get our immediate attention.

So little means so much to Raul and the other families served by BVB. If you would like to donate Buenos Vecinos, you can donate to our Purpose Project or directly to BVB through their website. In either event, you can sign up for updates with their newsletter. Seeing how we can collectively make such meaningful improvement in people’s lives is always joyful and fun. Thank you for considering a donation to this Purpose Project!