EDUCATION

Scholarships and other programs need to be developed with a stipulation that the participants take their skills and return their towns and make use of them. This one area is probably the most helpful (and easiest) those living in the states can do. There are several areas of education to be considered but from my perspective after visiting, here are my top ones:

1.Environmental Engineers- to design ways of gathering clean freshwater and properly discarding of wastewater and other waste products.

2. Lawyers (in Panamanian REal Estate and Property Rights)- The land and homes are being bought up and I suspect that as Panama rushes the country to a ceritified tourist trap status, foreigners will continue to buy the land and use it for their own purposes whilst kicking the people (who've been there for hundreds of years) off the land.

3. Agriculturalists/Agrarians- There is alot of land down there that is not being used to GROW food. Most of the land that I witnesses was used for cattle-grazing. Considering that much of the food grows without tending, their is much opportunity to grow other crops and possibly grow them for a small but significant profit.

4. Persons adept in Panamanian Business Practices (This prolly goes under the lawyer category)

5. Different Perspectives- Being an outsider from the States, I could see that for the most part the Congos had everything they needed to live comfortably. However that is "comfortably" by my standards. I mentioned Victor's desire to "eat good" which is an example. Instead of going to the trees and ground for food, He and his cousin will go for a day without eating because they didn't make any money. Also buying overpriced lye relaxer is a goal even though people have little to no money. In that way they weren't much different than Afrikans in America who take for granted what they have and desire for what they don't.

In general the biggest issue that I saw was the Congos increasing dependence on outsiders for sustenance. the local markets were all owned by chinese and most of their income was based on the tourist industry.