Colon women walking a tough road together

by Emily Zhukov

Woman, you have the right to be happy," reads the sign as the visitor walks into the vestibule of the Center for Colon Women Walking Together (MUCEC in Spanish). Other signs project words of optimism and empowerment, especially the center's motto "Yes, we can!"

MUCEC began twelve years ago when Sisters of Mercy Barbara Ozelski, RSM and Dina Altamiranda, RSM and a small group of six women sought to find a solution to the

Graduation day at the women's jail in Colon: MUCEC holds holistic workshops in handicrafts, sewing and other skills for the inmates. Photo courtesy of MUCEC

crushing poverty experienced by many women in Colon. Their goal was to create a program that would teach women skills, self-help and solidarity, so that they could change their lives and offer a better future to their children.

Sister Barbara, as she is fondly called by all who know her, had already spent 14 years teaching and working with the poor and needy in Panama when she was invited to Colon in 1985. For the first few months the Brooklyn native walked Colon's streets, wondering what her mission would be in that city. She was struck by the faces of the women and children. "Colon's social, political and economic situation was reflected in their eyes. The Sisters of Mercy serve the poor, the sick and those most in need, and here they were." recalls Sister Barbara.

The Episcopal Church gave her a room with a kitchen and bathroom and Sister Barbara started with six women who came, bathed and had breakfast. They also made empanadas to sell on the street. Sister Barbara noticed that the empanadas were not selling. It became clear that the women lacked the basic skills and hygiene principles necessary for success. With Sister Dina and several volunteers, she rented a place to start a program of holistic integrated formation that would cover the whole person: psychologically, physically, culturally, and spiritually. The Center for Colon Women Walking Together was born.

"We include them in the process," explains Sister Barbara. "The rest of the world is male-directed. Here the women learn to lead their own lives." Constant evaluation with the group is an essential part of the program. Integral training workshops held Friday mornings teach everything from hygiene to child care, stress relief techniques and spiritual exercises. Consistent attendance is rewarded with privileges. Their children are accepted into NICEC, Colon Children Walking Together, a similar program that teaches the kids social skills and study habits. The women can participate in workshops in cooking, sewing, crafts, carpentry and electricity. Another program, JOCEC, for pregnant teenagers, acts as a springboard into MUCEC.

The center has rooms for meetings, workshops and classes, a daycare, a library, and a soup kitchen. From the original six women, the center now registers 114, with 80 to 85 steady participants in its program. Certain women self-selected from the workshops have formed a mini-coop to sell their food and handicrafts. They sell from the center and on the street, as well as to tourists in Colon 2000. This year, the usual Christmas ornaments, dolls and home accessories sold out well before the holidays. The earnings are reinvested in the coop.

MUCEC relies on donations and volunteers to carry out its programs. Sister Barbara is constantly fund-raising. She has received support from USAID, and Free Zone companies who donate shoes, clothing or fabric for the sewing workshops, as well as private individuals and businesses, and many, many volunteers. Doctors, teachers and government workers have given of their time and talents. INAFORP leads sewing and cooking workshops, a local radio station offers free publicity. And finally, the government has given MUCEC its own land to build a much needed new facility.

Groundbreaking at the site of the new center in Colon. Photo courtesy of MUCEC

The first block for the new center on Second Street and Amador Guerrero was laid Friday, December 15 in a jubilant ceremony. But much work lies ahead. "I need funds to keep the place going. I need a secretary. I am spending all my time in the office and I want to get back on the street in the slums," comments Sister Barbara. "Our new center will have an alternative health program incorporating counseling, herbal medicine and massage. We will expand our library and soup kitchen, and have a kiosk selling directly to the street. We have to consider the special needs of some of the women we serve, like the eight blind women from the Club de Ciegos or the whole row of teenage Kuna moms on Friday mornings. You should see how some of them live. It's not living, it's existing. Some are prostitutes, some are dealers, some used to work in the women's prison. We help them put a bridge between hopelessness and hope."

Sister Barbara has learned to measure success in small increments. A child who learns to smile, to say "please" and "thank you," a mother who gives her child a tender look instead of the back of her hand, a graduate from NICEC who returns to volunteer at the center. The motivational signs will be re-installed in the new Center, the mural will be started afresh, the classrooms, library and workshops refurbished. The challenges of funding and operating the center will continue. But the most significant individual and collective challenge will be the daily renewal of hope that brings change to the lives of Colon's women and children.

Individuals who donate a 50 cent block toward the construction of the new center will have their names included on a "solidarity wall." Contact Barbara Ozelski or Dian Altamiranda by mail at Apartado 0301-00247 Colon; by phone at 447-0828; by fax at 447-1820, or through an email addressed to bozelski@sinfo.net