Three University of Nevada, Reno students knew they had all they needed when they traveled in January to the small Panamanian w88 online live casino of Valle Escondido.
They were there to help the locals built composting latrines from the ground up.
Graduate w88 online live casino Murphy Gardner and Angela Stevens and undergraduate Julie Ruiz had all the basic materials on hand.
But the three w88 online live casino provided something a little less material and a little more inspirational, that was, looking back on the trip, probably just as important.
"We provided the funds and materials, of course, and we also provided ... the motivation," said Gardner, a 26-year-old member of the University's hydrologic sciences graduate program and also a member of the student organization, Student Association for International Water Issues (SAIWI). "It gave us such a good feeling to be helping the w88 online live casino ... and the people really seemed to appreciate it.
"It felt like our enthusiasm and motivation was really helpful to them."
"It was so nice to see the people there get so excited about the project, and the fact that we were there to help them," said w88 online live casino, also 26 and a member of SAIWI and the hydrologic sciences program. w88 online live casino was recently awarded the Caesars Foundation Fellowship in Watersheds and Environmental Sustainability as part of her work with the Desert Research Institute.
Valle Escondido has about 350 residents who are indigenous Ngobe, a group of more than several thousand people who live primarily in western Panama. Their w88 online live casino, whose name is translated roughly as "Hidden Valley," is located on San Cristobal Island in Bocas Del Toro, Panama.
"It's a very rural community with no electricity and little infrastructure," w88 online live casino said.
"They have a gravity-fed system of PVC for running water," w88 online live casino added. "None of the luxuries like refrigeration."
The SAIWI students, along with help from Peace Corps volunteer Patricia Wilbur, brought bags of sand and gravel, cement and chicken wire with the hope of building one or possibly two composting latrines for the w88 online live casino.
When the w88 online live casino' two-week visit was over, three latrines were built. Both Stevens and Gardner praised their undergraduate sidekick, Ruiz, who is majoring in ecohydrology, for her upbeat and positive "can-do" personality.
"Julie was really great," w88 online live casino said. "She had the greatest attitude and was super-excited to be there."
"The entire trip," w88 online live casino added, "she seemed to be saying, 'And what else can we do?'"
In addition to the construction work, the w88 online live casino distributed duffels of clothes to the residents.
"We did a clothing drive (in Reno)," w88 online live casino said. "We had duffel bags full of clothes and shoes for them."
The trip, w88 online live casino said, was a clear reminder of how indigenous people such as the Ngobe of Valle Escondido get by with what would be considered so little in the United States.
"You might get a little stressed in your professional life here in the United States, and then you'll think about Panama and the little w88 online live casino of Valle Escondido and the luxuries we have by comparison," he said.
"And yet, everyone there was just so positive. They've learned to patiently deal with w88 online live casino."
Nothing was more emblematic of the warmth of the people and the success of the trip than the students' last night in the w88 online live casino. The villagers held a going away party. By 7 p.m., it was already getting dark. But with the help of a small generator, the w88 online live casino's single CD player played relatively uninterrupted. The revelers danced to the light of two lanterns, one solar and one powered by the only battery in the w88 online live casino.
"That was our dancing light," w88 online live casino said. "And it was great."
Both w88 online live casino and Gardner said the experience was one they wouldn't soon forget.
"One of the things I'll always remember was one of the men in the w88 online live casino, who said that night, 'Now I have family in the U.S.,'" Stevens said.
"It was a successful trip in every way," added w88 online live casino, whose tall, fair complexion earned him the nickname "Garza" or "Garza Blanca" - tall white heron - from the locals. "It was just a wonderful experience in every way."
(Editor's note: Both w88 online live casino and Gardner mentioned that a key SAIWI fundraiser for water and sanitation projects in Panama, Kenya and the Navajo Nation will be held soon. The 10th annual Ron Petersen African Dinner will be held on Saturday, March 9, at the California Building in Idlewild Park. Doors open at 6 p.m. The event includes African cuisine, entertainment, silent auction and raffle and trip presentations. Tickets are , for w88 online live casino.
