Back in Panama and back to work 2022-2023. We left summer 2019 with the library wall up and roof on in a safe and stable condition. The community had the resources to continue the work until 2020.
Except …
The building did provide much needed community space during the pandemic. Initially as a Covid relief center for storage and distribution of food and supplies for the families who could not travel for work. With families staying in Rincon, they needed more space to run the school for 60+ additional students.
In November 2022 we started a series of trips to continue the construction and finishing. Windows, doors, and closing the eaves and gable ends got started. The community now had resources to do the exterior stucco and finishing masonry. In January, the porch was completed, the windows and doors were completed, and some simple furniture from the remaining lumber assembled.
The community was busy getting support from the Panamanian government to setup a Workforce Development program in Rincon using the library as a learning project. Now they have a sustainable knowledge base to pull from. During the spring of 2023, the community and the Workforce students completed the exterior stucco and started preparing the interior for finishing.
The big push to complete the structure happened over a 2+ week with all hands from the community, Workforce students, school teachers, and EWB engineers. The work included building a masonry dividing wall, concrete beam, and a column to install a sliding door, also building furniture (bookshelves, benches, and tables) and installing roof gutters, finishing interior stucco, and exterior painting.
Two major events where celebrated at the end of this all-out-work-out, the workforce students had their first graduation with speakers from the Panamanian department of education, Workforce program leaders, and leaders from the Comarca of Ngobe-Bugle. The event was held in 2 languages and 3 when the EWB team lead spoke with the community leader and the local NGO representative. This event also opened the library to the community while declaring that construction activities on the building are substantially complete.
The Library is open for business.
But, there’s work to get done. EWB’s role in construction is to design and guide the installation of the Solar PV system. We did install a small 100watt system to power some lights and charge the tablets that were donated to the library from a Panamanian business. The community now has a tangible idea of what the building is and the power needs. We have the basic design ready to go to be optimized for the needs. The design includes training for maintenance, repair and replacement.
The final push to complete this program is now. We need to help raise the funds, complete the design, and get it done. We are planning on travelling again in summer 2024.
Money.