| | | | | | Misael, 11, has cerebral palsy and is the size of a 3 year old; he weighs less than 40 pounds. Because he is handicapped, Misael is a member of the Fundación Pro Integración (FPI). They pay for transportation to medical appointments and assist with the cost of his medications, in addition to providing diapers and other personal items. Buenos Vecinos de Boquete supplies a monthly shipment of non-perishable foods.
He has four siblings; their ages are 10, 8, 5, and 1. The family lives three quarters of a mile from the school they attend. Misael is well-loved and entertained by his siblings.
His mother, Julia, is unable to work since she cannot leave Misael alone per Panamanian law and because she needs to accompany the three school-age children to school while carrying the 1-year old. Misael's father works when he is able to find work. They have no relatives nearby.
They have no vehicle. Going from their home in Palmira Arriba to FPI in Alto Boquete, which are less than 10 miles apart, to pick up their monthly food supply and personal items, is almost impossible. BVB has arranged for the Abrego family's monthly food and necessities from FPI to be delivered. BVB is coordinating with FPI in taking Misael to his doctor in David with as little disruption to the family as possible.
Their home consists of two tiny bedrooms, no bathroom, and a laundry sink with running water is in the living room. They cook on a 2-burner plate.
Misael has been sitting indoors, in a child's car seat. Having very little strength in his body, he is immobile…but that has recently changed. A member of Boquete Health and Hospice found an adult-size wheelchair and donated it personally. BVB members helped get the wheelchair modified to fit his needs. They reached out to Pedro Morales, who owns Tapiceria Upholstery Shop near Ferretería Ivan, a local hardware store. They asked Pedro if he would donate materials and his time to customize the wheelchair. Pedro came up with a design with foam cushions and straps so Misael won't fall out on the steep downhill to the school.
Much more needs to be done to assist the Abrego family. But as it stands now, three Boquete charitable organizations – as well as Tapiceria Upholstery – have worked together to improve life for this family. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | If you would like to sponsor a family like Misael's, it's simple. The monthly cost to provide food to one family is $50. We welcome donations of any size. To make a donation, click here, which will take you to the Buenos Vecinos PayPal account, choose "Monthly", enter your donation of any amount, then choose your method of payment. You can pay by credit or debit card and you do not need to have a PayPal account. To make a direct deposit or transfer into our bank account, click here to find the bank information. And as always, you can visit our table at the Thursday Community Market and make cash donations there. | | | | Meet Our Volunteers
Mark and Gloria McKay | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mark and Gloria McKay are from Rhode Island. He is a retired local, as opposed to long distance, truck driver and a US Air Force veteran. Mark said "in 40+ years of driving, I have spent no more than a handful of nights away from home. I have the USAF to thank for my career – I was supposed to be an aircraft mechanic, but when they handed out jobs at the end of basic training, I got 'vehicle operator/dispatcher.' Not the job I was promised, but it turned into a career."
Gloria was the last original employee of the Occupational Medicine Unit at Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, RI. She began as secretary after graduating from Gibbs College (named after its founder, Katherine Gibbs). Gloria worked her way up until she became unit coordinator, running the day-to-day operation of a unit that had 10 staff members and saw up to 50 patients a day. When the local hospital was bought by a large hospital conglomerate, Gloria stayed on for a bit during the transition. After new people were hired and trained, she decided it was a good time to retire after 39 years of service.
The McKays have three adult children and two grandchildren who remain in Rhode Island. They say that their family, comedy clubs, and the blues clubs/festivals near where they lived are the only things they miss about the USA.
They moved to Panama in August 2022, choosing Boquete because of the climate and the cost of living. They quickly became involved in life here, making good friends with a variety of people and becoming regulars at the bi-weekly trivia game at TapOut, a local restaurant.
Gloria and Mark remain avid sports fans. They root for Boston sports, first and foremost the Bruins, followed by the Pats, Sox, and Celtics, and get to watch many games on TV. They also have been to see the Chiriquí baseball games in David.
One of their goals was to give back to their new community, and they asked friends for suggestions about volunteering. In addition, they visited the BVB table then located at the Boquete Community Players Tuesday Market in the Arco Iris building. They found a match with BVB and joined our group in March 2024.
Both worked with the packing sessions. Since our move to the Animales Building, Mark has taken over the organization and packing of the food we distribute. Mark has substituted for regular drivers on occasion and found the experience to be very rewarding. They now have three families they deliver to. Gloria is the "secretary" out front. Her duties include seeing that the food packing volunteers and visitors have checked in and have name tags, making sure the bag flow goes well, and checking driversin/out.
Gloria and Mark say that it's hard to tell who gets more out of BVB, the recipients or themselves, as volunteers. Seeing the faces of some of the receiving families and the conditions they live in has been a real eye opener, and helping them in any way possible is an awesome feeling for these two volunteers. | | | | From A City With A Heart To A City With A Heart | | | | Buenos Vecinos de Boquete was the beneficiary of many handmade, cotton, double-sided small blankets recently. These blankets are suitable for babies, toddlers, and the elderly. While Jeanette Hall is the person who physically gave them to us, they were donated by women in Chandler, TX, Jeanette's former home. Chandler is known as the Northeast Texas town with a heart. This is the story about how we came to be the recipients of these lovingly made blankets.
When speaking to her dear friend, Nelda Horton of Chandler, about life in Boquete, Hall spoke about the needy here. Jeanette learned from Brandy Gregory of the Boquete Knitters and Quilters about the babies born at Charity Hospital whose parents cannot afford blankets to take the babies home in. A week after Hall mentioned the need to Nelda, Nelda mentioned it to her friend Ruthie Callaway. And Ruthie mentioned it to everybody. And so, Project Blankets took root, especially for Callaway. For Ruthie, this has become a true passion and joy.
The First Methodist Church of Chandler, Monday Morning Bible Study Group, along with the Methodist Women's Group created Project Blankets/Heaven's Blessings. Their sole purpose is to provide small blankets for the needy in Boquete. To date, they have sent two deliveries to Boquete. Jeanette was surprised at the blankets waiting for her; she brought them back from visiting Chandler last December. The second shipment arrived a month ago. So far, they have made approximately 36 blankets and will have another shipment ready to send soon. All the expense involved is being borne by the group of women in Texas. "Ruthie Callaway has really galvanized the women's groups in the church," says Jeannette, "her zeal and delight are spreading far and wide."
The babies and toddlers who have no blankets at their homes live in higher elevations. The very young children especially suffer from the cold during the 7-month rainy season. The wind and rain bring a biting cold. Jeanette later spoke with BVB volunteers and found out there are also elderly BVB clients who need blankets for the same reason. These elderly may be infirm or have handicaps.
Jeanette says that Chandler is much like Boquete. Both are small towns with big hearts. People are very friendly and there is a sense of giving in both places. | | | | | | According to La Prensa, Panamanian citizens believe the economic situation is difficult. They feel salaries are not high enough, they know many people are unemployed, and people polled said that the is that economic situations are different in the provinces from those in the capital.
This coincides with information from the National Institute of Statistics and Census reporting that the economy registered growth of only 2.9% in 2024 after showing growth rates of 10.8% in 2022 and 7.4% in 2023.
People polled by La Prensa said the situation is very bad. One man said he does not have enough salary to cover monthly expenses while another said he can only eat once a day because his earnings are not enough to cover his food needs and medications. Another person said he is fine because he has a good job, but knows many are out of work.
The unemployment rate is at 9.5% in Panama. For comparison, as of February 2025, the unemployment rate reported in the USA is 4.1%. Unemployment is higher in the provinces of Panama than it is in Panama City. Chiriqui, in October 2024, had an unemployment rate of over 6%.
There is not a great deal of opportunity for members of the Indigenous community to find steady employment and if they do find a steady, full-time job, it is not a job with a high salary.
Unemployment and underemployment are two reasons Buenos Vecinos de Boquete is so important. Without a monthly ration of non-perishable food, over 600 people in the greater Boquete area would not be able to purchase enough food to eat daily and many would not be able to get their medications.
https://www.prensa.com/economia/como-ven-los-panamenos-la-situacion-economica-del-pais/
https://www.prensa.com/economia/la-economia-panamena-se-desacelero-y-registro-un-crecimiento-de-apenas-29-en-2024/
https://www.retenchiriqui.com/post/el-desempleo-impacta-a-la-poblaci%C3%B3n-de-chiriqu%C3%AD
https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/united-states/unemployment-rate | | | | Buenos Vecinos exists to help people who are unable to meet their basic food needs. We have provided emergency food support on many occasions and have been successful in helping families through hard times. We will help them with food support until the working age adults in the family can find enough income to become self-sustaining. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
