...hemos llegado a Panama!
It is so exciting to be on the WaterStep team this day as we begin our journey in Panama. We are honored to be joining other WaterStep teams in the field: representatives in Costa Rica, Honduras, Kenya, and Ghana! What a great summer. In June WaterStep won it's first international award as 1 of the world's 100 most sustainable and impacting solutions in the world of 2013. If you haven't read about this award check out the WaterStep blog for details - this is a season of WaterStep energy that you don't want to miss!
Today was driven by the energy of academic excellence, coffee, and the message of #aguapotable.
Victoria and I have embarked on a journey with two incredible partners: Quality Leadership University (QLU), an academic partner of the University of Louisville, and the Fundacion Pro Ninos de Darien (hopefully I will figure out how to type accent marks on here later).
We arrived at QLU Thursday morning excited to see the campus and meet our hospitable friends. We were shown the upstairs hallways and then found ourselves in front of an international business class full of students wondering who we were. Tori and I smiled and began talking about WaterStep: what we do, why we're in Panama, and the importance of #safewater in places as far as Africa and as near as the region of Darien. The class was engaged and asked many questions. I was delighted to talk about WaterStep's water purifier, the M-100, and its high capacity while only requiring a handful of salt and a common car battery to work .
Tori presented our distance learning program, D-Learning, to the class. This is our virtual training program that helps WaterStep's asset of training connect with people all over the world through technology. Thanks to Ivy Technical Corporate College, WaterStep has a health and hygiene online program that we are testing here at QLU! Honestly, everyone looks at us like we're nuts when we introduce virtual training - like we're going to brainwash them or use holograms. It's much simpler than that - I'd say we add the holograms later though. For the university students here we will call our virtual learning event: "The Social Responsibility Virtual Workshop"...sounds like something you would want to go to, right?? We can't wait to try out all that our virtual training program has to offer.
The classes we visited were so awesome today! Thank you all for asking questions and helping us learn about and look for solutions to water issues in the world! It's where sustainable development begins!
Tori and I are learning that in Panama City, Panama many people don't realize there is a water crisis in the world. It is a perspective that the whole world is fighting - we don't know what is going on in our own backyard. Even 20 and 30 minutes outside of Panama City there are communities without safe water. This week, we are opening the doors to WaterStep/Panamanian collaboration to delve into the water crisis that is facing our neighbors.
The students, staff, and faculty have already done so much to welcome WaterStep into the city! Thanks to international study abroad coordinator/school nurse/Sigma Kappa sister Stephanie Lievano we have a wicked itinerary developing! Thanks to President Oscar Leon at QLU, we have a great voice in the community and in collaboration with other organizations in Panama!
After a packed day of presentations, an authentic Panamanian meal, walking the streets of the city, and speaking loads of Spanish we are excited for another day of a unique WaterStep trip.
I have worked for WaterStep for quite some time now, so I recognize that our stay in Panama is outside of our norm. We are here not only seeking opportunities to install water systems, but also to network and open doors in Panama. It feels strange to be on a WaterStep trip in the city, but we are excited to pave more ways WaterStep can impact the world - one being the empowerment of a people who can maintain momentum around water projects in their own countries. We are excited about the opportunities to explore regions that are more rural; however, the most undeniably essential aspect of this trip is to create initiative. #Panama will be better because of the passion and dedication of its own people, with WaterStep as a unique partner along the way.
Keep up with WaterStep and all the other happenings: http://waterstep.org/blog/
#aguapotable
Hasta pronto!
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