Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind
The beautiful and lush backdrop of trees, flowers and rolling hills in and around Boquete charm our visitors and expatriate residents. The many local activities, events and amenities provide them with diversions and recreational opportunities. There is, however, more than just this idyllic life in the western highlands of Panama.
At the outskirts of our community and in the hills just above the city are individuals and families who live in grinding poverty. Like Hernan, in his early 70's who has continuing major health issues and can no longer work. He lives alone with his dogs in a bamboo shack far from town and neighbors. He cooks over an outside wood stove and draws water from a nearby stream. He and many others like him need the kind of help that Buenos Vecinos de Boquete provides. Hernan is one of more than 115 clients Buenos Vecinos de Boquete (BVB) assists each month with supplemental non-perishable food allotments.
BVB volunteers who deliver this food on a monthly basis get to know their people. Besides the fun of chatting and visiting with them, volunteers get to check on their clients' safety and health to assess what else they may need. You can view the video/slideshow that features a monthly food packing session and a BVB volunteer home visit to a client on the front page of our website at buenosvecinosdeboquete.com
The First Annual Potrerillos Arriba Venta de Patio
On Saturday March 11th Buenos Vecinos invited its fellow non-profit organizations, The Boquete Knitters and Quilters, The Boquete Rotary, and Amigos de Animales to join them at a new venue for a joint patio sale. The setting was the covered basketball court in Potrerillos Arriba. Residents from this rural community and outlying areas were thrilled with the number, quality and affordable prices of the sales items. Their happy faces told us that virtually everyone walked home with a treasure. The organizations were also happy with the impressive turnout and with their individual sales proceeds. For instance, Buenos Vecinos made enough to underwrite the monthly food allotments of two and a half families for a whole year!
Family of the Month
Tiny Jeany is three years old, but she is still no bigger than her two year old brother. This little spark plug smiles and laughs with family and friends and brightens everyone's day. She lives with her six siblings, her aunt and her Grandma Ana is a one-room cement block structure far up the mountain from Boquete. There is no electricity nor running water in the house. Living almost within a cloud forest, this family is often cold and wet and depends on the outdoor cook stove for warmth. Jeany and her brothers and sisters were first abandoned by their father when she was only two years old; tragically, her mother also abandoned the family a few months later, leaving them all in the keeping of their grandmother. To make room for everyone in the house, Grandma Ana now sleeps in the chicken coop at night. She has told us that she is glad for help in the form of monthly food deliveries from Buenos Vecinos that include the nourishing MannaPack supplemented rice from the Amigos de Boquete Foundation. The family also cherishes the soft warm hats, sweaters and blankets lovingly provided by the Boquete Knitters and Quilters. Buenos Vecinos de Boquete depends on your support to feed and nourish families like Jeany's; go to our website at www.buenosvecinosdebouquete.com and discover how you can help now!
Mark your Calendars Mike and Heidi Rehm of Mike's Global Grill for signing up to become our next participants in the BVB Restaurant Program. Watch for additional information and mark your calendars for May 1st-15th.
Like and Share our BVB Face Book Page
Learn more and see additional photos at our Face Book page Buenos Vecinos de Boquete. Please Like our page and Share the contents with your friends and families.
Special Thanks to These Individuals and Organizations
Velkys Munoz and Arturo Gonzalez at MailBoxes Etc. for serving as a drop-off center for personal hygiene products. Our clients appreciated a special holiday bonus in their food bags.
Mamie Brisker and Doris at YiA Yoga Boquete's Health, Healing and Humanitarian Center for sponsoring a BVB fund-raising event in the park.
Amigos de Boquete Communidad (ABC) for including BVB kids when gathering Christmas gifts for the community's children.
Romero's for once more serving as the venue for our semi-annual Food Drive. The donations we received are sponsoring two families' monthly BVB food allotments for an entire year.
Gene Borque for creating a fun and educational video/slide show of Buenos Vecinos food-packing and delivery efforts which can now be viewed on buenosvecinosdeboquete.com
Nan and Nancy at N & N Catering for their generous on-going donations and continuing support.
Youth With A Mission (YWAM) for donating two truckloads of clothes and household articles for the Potrerillos Venta de Patio.
Phil McGuigan and the Amigos de Boquete Foundation for supplying the nutritious MannaPack rice supplements for our monthly food distribution. Our BVB families are thriving with this miraculous addition to their diets.
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