Local Church Community Located in a Village at City Dump Desires Improvements to Their Building
Four years ago, one project YKPM tackled was to help a pastor in Nicaragua add classrooms and bathrooms to his church located at the city dump near Managua. Now, we have that same opportunity to do something similar for a church in the vicinity of the landfill that handles 2,300 tons per day of refuse from Panama City.
La Esperanza de Guna Nega is a community of homes and families who make their living by recycling and repurposing trash at the landfill located nearby. On this trip we had the opportunity to meet Pastor Alejandro Perez and several members of his congregation.
The church community's hopes for modifications are simple: They would like to add on to one end of the building so there is adequate room for Sunday school for kids. Plus, they wish to create a small kitchen area where church functions can be accommodated. Carpet needs to be replaced inside the building. And they need a water tank. Most, if not all, work will be done by church members, so the expenses incurred will primarily be materials for the project.
From left to right: Guna Nega church interior, children from Guna Nega in Sunday School, and community feeding children of Guna Nega
Facts about Panama
Population: Four million, half of whom live in country’s capital, Panama City
Casco Viejo, which means “old town” in Spanish, is a neighborhood within Panama City that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with several old ruins; it is also the first European city built in the Pacific Coast of the Americas in 1519
El Chorrillo, the impoverished neighborhood within Panama City, is next door to Casco Viejo
While Panama is regarded as a high-income economy, it is still home to significant income and resource inequalities
Panama does not have a national law for an overarching child protective system
Jungles cover 40% of Panama’s land area and are home to many tropical plants and animals, some not found anywhere else in the world
FUN FACT: Panama’s highest point in the country, Volcan Baru, is the only place in the world you can see the sun rise on the Atlantic and set on the Pacific
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