The Children Of Hope Foundation
(El Ninos De La Esperanza)
How much out of their
millions did Angelina and
Brad Contribute while they
were visiting in Panama in
2008 ?
 These children walk miles
to collect water for drinking
& cooking ~ They should be
in School.
 These children as young
as 3 help their parents at a
roadside stop where the
sell their meager
vegetables.
 Where did you sleep last
night ? He slept in the
doorway of this
shop,hungry,dirty & with
nowhere else to go.
These children "live" in a place called Currundu. It is in the inner city area of
Panama, not far from the Presidential Palace & right behind the headquarters of
the Panama Police. It is what is known as here a "Casa Bruja" translated means
roughly Illegal squatting. This Ghetto has been here for many years built on a
swampy area of land that the government had no use for. The people built
shacks made up mostly of scrap wood & iron sheeting. Over the years some of
them through not so legal channels or otherwise have managed to add cement
features to their shacks. They have connected water probably illegally to the
houses & had illegal electricity connections whereby they hook up a coat
hanger or some other crude wiring to the main electricity supply. On average
there are 10 deaths by electrocution every year from illegal hooks up. There is
a very bad problem with gangs in this area with some of the members as young
as 9 carrying guns & using them. It is known as a Red Zone or No Go Zone.
This girl is around 14 yrs old,the boy is 5yrs old & the baby which could be hers is
2yrs old. They are children from the Ngoble Bugle Indians who reside high in the
Boquette Mountains about 7 hours from Panama City. They come down from the
highlands to work the coffee plantations. They get about $1.00 an hour to pick
coffee beans. Local Panamanians, Europeans, Ex-pats from the USA all own
these Coffee Plantations. Yes they provide living quarters - wooden shacks - dirt
floors.No Heating. Boquette is a cool climate & rain drizzles & winds blow
throughout the year.
The workers as young as 5 will work up to 10 hrs a day. The owners of these
plantations don't pay into a social security package for them so no free medical
or aged retirement pension. No paid vacation & no sick days. Most of these
children do NOT attend school ever.
There is high alcohol consumption amongst the indigenous Indians & when pay
day comes they will be found in the local Cantina's. The women & children will
wait outside in all weather & until all hours sometimes all night for the men to
finish drinking ~ whatever is left goes to food. The last photo is of abandoned
children here in Panama - Some if they are lucky get taken in by a private
orphanage that runs on donations and volunteer help.

Christmas is coming & in Panama it is hot, dry & usually
very bleak for a lot of families. We are trying to raise
$5,000 to be able to do a donation run in & around the
city & out into the interior of the country. We would
dearly love to supply care parcels as well as start our
first water pipe project for a small community about 2
hours out of Panama City in a Province known as Cocle.
My partner & I usually commence shopping for the
parcels 2 days before the departure date usually on
22nd December. Depending on the amount of money we
have this could mean 3-4 trips to the produce markets,
discount supermarkets & bulk buying stores as we get
better value for the dollar. We then come home &
commence putting the parcels together which usually
sees us up for the most of the night. We also have
several coolers that we buy ice for & store those
products such Milk & some meats until we are ready to
depart. We then pack the 4WD to its limit & leave on the
24th December at around 4am & head for the furtherest
destination on our Donation run. We spend the next 3
days driving back & forth between the City & the
neediest places en route to deliver the donations. Aside
from the cost of the parcels our fuel bill usually totals
around $160.00 now with the rise in fuel costs to $3.85 -
$4.10 a gallon our fuel bill will be around $300.00. We
fund this by not buying ourselves Christmas presents.
We really do not see the need to buy material things
when people around us are going hungry.
Our Goal BEFORE 25th December 2008 is to raise $5,000.00 ~ It is not a lot, compared to what people spend
on themselves at Christmas time. But to a lot of Panamanians this money will be a shining light for them
in what otherwise would be a bleak time. What will you eat on Christmas day ? Do you have fresh water ?
                                                  PLEASE - $5.00 will feed a family of 5 for a day.
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This is El Chorrillo - They rebuilt after the
Invasion by the USA to capture Noriega -
This whole area was destroyed and people
killed.The apartments are the size of your
bedroom - No Elevators - No Security - Hot  
Humid - Nowhere to hang clothes - Nowhere
to play but in the street - Gangs. NO repairs
are EVER done. Yes they pay rent.