A conversation with Rick and Linda
Automatic audio transcript; may contain errors.

[0:00] I'm Rick. I'm Linda. And we just got back from Panama. It was um, it was very hot

[0:07] the whole time.

[0:10] The best thing that happened to me while I was there as far as the heat was that I sweated so much

[0:16] that I didn't have to get up at night and go to the bathroom and

[0:19] fight my way out of the mosquito net. So I made it through every night while I was there without getting up until morning.

[0:29] Because I've been there the year before, I was very anxious to get there again.

[0:36] I just wanted to cry because I couldn't wait to see the people again.

[0:41] And Jaime was there waiting for us.

[0:50] Good morning friend. My name is Jaime Dixon.

[0:55] We, the people from here, lived without water.

[0:59] David and Joellen came here.

[1:01] Through their generosity, they came and started a health clinic

[1:05] and installed water tanks for many in the community.

[1:08] They came and gave scholarships for the students to study.

[1:11] They have continued to help the community

[1:13] by bringing different groups like doctors.

[1:16] Our friends from the United States have continued

[1:18] and shared many things with us.

[1:20] And for that, we are very grateful.

[1:22] Muchos problemas para tomar agua. Muchos problemas y yo hacer trabajo con mi esposo.

[1:34] Un pozo y nosotros tomaba eso. Y no era bueno que nosotros tomara porque había vaca, gallina,

[2:04] Good afternoon to everyone, before we lived very poor and we did not have anything.

[2:10] Thanks to them they came and now we have our own water.

[2:14] They continued with the clinic, with medicine, and with the lessons that they gave to the

[2:19] children.

[2:20] I like this a lot.

[2:21] Thank you for the water tank and the clean, healthy water that we are now drinking.

[2:27] Because before this, there were many diseases from the water, and many children suffered

[2:31] from fevers.

[2:33] Before we drank dirty water, even water that smelled bad.

[2:37] So I give thanks to them.

[2:40] I felt like I was respected there and that they thought I had something to say.

[2:49] And they were paying attention, they were paying close attention to the times when I shared

[2:56] with them.

[2:56] They were very, very excited about our visit there and they were very excited to hear

[3:02] more and learn.

[3:03] I felt like I was personally doing what I was supposed to be doing in my whole life.

[3:11] Sponsoring the children to go to university, go to advance their education a little bit.

[3:27] Here's a photo. I love it.

[3:33] He really liked the letter that you wrote him and especially the part about him losing his life.

[3:48] Por estar ustedes aquí apoyándonos a mi familia, a mis hermanas y a mi poder seguir estudiando porque sin ustedes no sé si yo puedo llegar hasta aquí estoy ahorita en el pecho, no sé cómo agradecerle.

[4:05] He don't know how to give you guys tanks in what way, you know.

[4:10] Okay, so this is how he can thank us.

[4:12] Yeah, all right.

[4:14] He can work in hard.

[4:23] Like you have them.

[4:24] Like he has.

[4:27] Staying away from girls.

[4:33] And tell the right time.

[4:57] I had three occasions when I made kites and because I had made a kite before I took some

[5:04] garbage bags and I would just have the boys go get a couple sticks and I had some fishing

[5:10] line and some duct tape and we made kites and you know the funny thing was not one of

[5:15] those kites flew because there wasn't enough wind but the neat thing was not that they didn't

[5:23] fly. It didn't matter if they flew. The kids loved to sit down. We just did it right on

[5:30] the cement or on a piece of dirt and we made these kites and they liked doing it, the action

[5:36] of actually building it. They didn't know what it was even at first until it started

[5:40] taking shape and taping the things on and they all got to hold it down and put the

[5:45] tape on. Then they wrote their names on it.

[5:47] When we went over to the elementary school we went into their classrooms looking

[5:53] at one of the chalkboards. You could see right through the chalkboard to the

[5:56] outside it was so rotted but they still used the part of the chalkboard that

[6:02] they could use. The desks that they sat in were just like one person desk and

[6:09] they had the wooden top on it and you could lift the top off. Just to

[6:13] clarify those tables weren't meant to be able to come off. They just fell

[6:17] off. They would have for their desktops so hopefully you know next time we go

[6:22] down we can bring some desktops with us. There are two teachers that live on site

[6:28] in their little cabin as big as a closet and you know they're offering us

[6:36] fruit. One of the teachers sat on a busted up old stool as chair for her desk

[6:42] You know, and I just, it was so sad to me.

[6:48] My name is Belkis, Belkis Kiros, and I am the teacher of the Valle Grande School.

[6:53] In this community, there are approximately 110 inhabitants.

[6:59] Our principal problem always has been water.

[7:01] Water is our vital resource, and we don't have enough of it.

[7:04] Eight years working in this community, I've gotten to know the organization

[7:07] that have made our quality of life better,

[7:09] bringing reserve tanks of water,

[7:11] helping us in our small communities that have been forgotten by government

[7:14] organizations and institutions. So two years ago they brought the tanks. We

[7:19] have a tank here now. In previous years other members of the community have

[7:23] benefited not just the school but in various homes they've installed

[7:26] reserve tanks. Our communities feel totally grateful with this benefit so

[7:31] we are able to improve like I said earlier our quality of life and have

[7:35] water. Bringing us from a cruel past to a better quality of life. The

[7:40] The students have many difficulties to be able to continue studying.

[7:43] We don't have books, we don't have chalkboards, we don't even have enough chairs to be able

[7:48] to teach our class the way it should be.

[7:52] Many of these communities have been forgotten.

[7:54] We aren't able to get enough of the most important resource, the fountain of life, which

[8:00] is water.

[8:03] In past years, when these organizations did not exist, members of our community died

[8:08] for many illnesses.

[8:10] skin infections, amoebas and many other parasites.

[8:15] So thanks to all of you, your collaboration,

[8:18] the love in your heart and your support has brought a drop of hope of happiness to our lives.

[8:25] If I could define the word of gratitude we have toward all of you, I would say that you are our hope.

[8:32] The hope reflected in the love in each one of your actions.

[8:35] We thank you with all our hearts. Thank you.

[8:43] The water tanks, the clean water that's going, you know, when those kids are healthy that

[8:53] comes from drinking clean water, they can go so much farther.

[8:57] Some of them, some of the people actually die, things that happen from not having clean

[9:02] water.

[9:03] I had one miscarriage from working hard.

[9:06] When I had these children there were no neighbors or family around to help take

[9:13] care of the children. I would wake up and look for water with two big buckets in

[9:19] my bag. I would haul water for me to cook because it was not a well close by. I had

[9:25] to go really far and wash in the creek. It was hard on my belly and I lost the

[9:31] baby and on a scourge. We had to go to the creek far, far into the jungle and look for water.

[9:39] But now we have no problem. Now I thank God because we have water nearby. We have three

[9:45] wells now, very close. Provided by these brothers, we have come from far away from the US to

[9:52] help with these water projects for this place. Before, when we drank water, there was not

[9:57] good water. It was dirty water and we got sick. Now we have clear water and now my

[10:05] family is not getting sick. So it's very important to have the catchment tanks and

[10:10] the wells that if there's any way that you can support by providing a water

[10:18] tank, more wells that sort of thing that's all a good thing too and you

[10:23] could designate it specifically for those areas but anything you can do is

[10:27] going to be very good for the people of Panama and also an opportunity to share.

[10:34] The joy that came to them when we arrived was a blessing.

[10:41] Everybody was glad to see us and it was very good.

[10:46] It's pretty unbelievable just how happy these people are.

[10:51] I've never really seen anyone really upset.

[10:53] that they've always had smiles on their faces.

[10:58] And it's just for what they have,

[11:02] like the little shacks that they live in,

[11:04] the food source that they have,

[11:07] I would say to someone who might want to come down here,

[11:10] is do it.

[11:14] It's a huge blessing and it's a huge eye-opening

[11:17] to truly see what real poverty looks like.

[11:23] I can definitely say that I've changed

[11:25] and there's probably some things I'm gonna change when I get back home.

[11:30] I know for one it's like these guys literally have pretty much nothing

[11:33] and I have way too much of everything.

[11:37] Another highlight would probably be

[11:41] me being a balloon artist that I'm not.

[11:46] It didn't matter whether it was a weird sombrero

[11:50] or a cat which wasn't a cat or a dog or whatever.

[11:55] I would blow up a balloon tight for the kids and whether it'd be just a snake or if it

[12:01] would just be some random thing that I tied, they'd always just laugh and giggle and play

[12:06] with it until it popped and I'd blow them up a new one.

[12:09] And just to see the happiness over a simple balloon, it's like the highlight of their

[12:15] day.

[12:17] You go out and you spend from like nine to about five-ish working whether it'd be

[12:22] Well, did we do. We laid out cement, we put in wells, we dug wells, we played with kids.

[12:33] And there was Internet. Yeah, Internet!

[12:37] I'm Evan. I have been on the trip two times now, last year and this year.

[12:42] Mostly giving my time and my labor.

[12:46] However, we want to train them and have them invest time and in trade for the time that

[12:52] they invest, we can give them a tank or part of a water system.

[12:58] That way we're not just giving it out, they have to invest something and then they would

[13:03] feel more responsibility because they've put their time into getting it.

[13:08] The people I've connected with are, you know, they know some English.

[13:16] Those are the people I was able to connect with because we were able to really communicate

[13:22] and share some of our lives with each other.

[13:26] You start to learn how to communicate without words and realizing that you can work with

[13:32] people and you can work together towards a common goal even though you can't speak.

[13:38] Like what we are doing and have done, I could only imagine that, you know, they have less

[13:46] health problems because they have cleaner water sources.

[13:50] It's life changing.

[13:52] Absolutely life changing.

[13:53] You will see things you can't see here.

[13:56] I can tell you that.