Jesuit High School students from Sacramento, California, served in Palmar Arriba, Panama

It is said by some that weeks can pass in decades, while decades can pass in weeks. Our week in Panama definitely falls into the latter category.

During our time in Palmar Arriba, we have in many ways fallen through the looking glass. We have traded city streets for country roads, lined with trees and loud with crickets. We have traded chain restaurants for the homemade cooking of the community, rich in flavor and culture. We have traded big box stores for las tiendas, all of us practicing our Spanish to buy a soda, while learning the stories and histories of their owners.

But as different as this week was, it was also rich in similarities. Just as we gather in our stadium to cheer on the football teams, the people of Palmar Arriba gather in their field to cheer on their futbolistas (soccer players). Just as we take pride in our work, they take pride in the making of the sombrero pintado, the famous Panamanian hat. Just as we launch fireworks on the 4th of July, they launch fuegos artificiales on November 3rd (the Panamanian independence day), because if there’s anything that unites people together is the promise of freedom, la promesa de libertad.

In the course of this week, our group has grown in many ways; most of all we have grown closer together, with old friendships renewed and new ones forged by our common experience. From our early struggles with the legions of bugs to climbing el Cerro - the great mountain that looms over the town - we gained unique memories and learned new things that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. We put aside our differences from home and our personal interests, to all work together for the common goal of the court.

While we had many experiences on this trip, from touring the farm (la finca) to having Claudia explain the hat making process, everything we did tied back to the court. It was in building it that we were first connected with the community. Day in and day out, we would shovel the sand and gravel and pass it in buckets to the concrete mixer. And everyday we did this with the locals, side by side, we may have spoken in different tongues, but we could still understand each other on our mission. To build, to create and to thrive. 

And that is the ultimate lesson we will take away from our time - our pilgrimage - to Palmar Arriba; that despite everything that appear to separate us, we are all one common human family. Seeing the kids light up when the court was inaugurated, us teaching them how to shoot a basketball, the collective awe at the power of human endurance. It is a testament to the power of loyalty, acceptance, and kindness.

We landed in Panama as strangers in foreign land. We leave as changed being, reminded that whenever there is good people, we walk not among strangers, but among family, entre familia.

A las personas de Palmar Arriba, gracias.
~ Robert Price, Jesuit Sacramento High School Volunteer

Volunteer Quotes:

In my time here I learned that coming together as a community can be more impactful than most think. We don’t realize that a big problem like medical bills or a building new court can become less difficult when many people pitch in.
~ Riley Blum, Student Volunteer

I learned from this experience that community and hospitality are the only things you need to thrive. These values allow for all to come together and accomplish big things.
~ Will Patton, Student Volunteer

The community of Palmar Arriba has taught me the importance of creating and maintaining relationships with those around me. Our relationships with many people are often overlooked but by putting more energy into them we can benefit ourselves as well as others as we witnessed firsthand how even a small group of like minded people can accomplish big things such as building a court in four days. 
~ Enzo Booms, Student Volunteer

The community has taught me to be more compassionate seeing the reactions on the people’s faces makes me want to do more for the community back in America.
~ Sean Zipser, Student Volunteer

I feel this trip opened my eyes, made me more confident with my Spanish, as well as making me more grateful.
~ Noah Espinoza, Student Volunteer

Community Quotes:

This is a piece of infrastructure that has a high cost and also a high impact because it will allow kids in the community to have a place to have fun, come together, and practice sports.
~ Julio Lopez, School Principal

What I liked the most about the project was that it was completed as a group, we all worked in harmony. 
~ Asunción Martinez, PTA president

The community is deeply thankful with all the volunteers and all the community members that made this project possible. The kids and the school will be forever grateful.
~ Claudia Saldaña, Community Member