Girl Scouts always prepared, but could use your help by Eric Jackson
The weak economy has affected most of Panamanian civil society. Almost all of the groups that do good things have less money to do them with. This norm applies to Panama's girl scouts, the Muchachas Guias.
The Panama News, along with the Teachers of English as a Second Language, rents office space at the Asociacion Muchachas Guias de Panama building on Calle 3ra in Perejil. Other tenants have had to move out when they no longer could pay the rent, a situation that has put the squeeze on the scouts.
The building is a nice old Spanish-style house with a tile roof that needs to be replaced. If manna dropped from heaven, the organization could also use some of it to renovate the plumbing and electrical work, and generally spruce up the interior.
The group doesn't put a lot of money into the building, because its priorities are its campground in the Interior and its programs for girls. If the resources were there, the Muchachas Guias would serve more than the hundreds of girls that they do. They might even have the resources to set up some fundraising ventures that can give them a more steady income. (Here, they don't have Girl Scout cookies. My addiction to the American scouts' chocolate mint cookies has subsided over the years.)
The Muchachas Guias survive at a meager equilibrium, but the other day that balance was disrupted. Some neighborhood maleante threw stones through the glass sign in front of the Perejil headquarters, and there is no insurance to cover for the vandalism. With the broken sign, the Girl Scouts are just a bit harder to find.
Might you be able to lend assistance to the Muchachas Guias and their efforts to help Panamamanian girls to be siempre listos (always ready)? The first thing they need at the moment is money for a new sign, but beyond that the right combination of funds, materials, labor and cooperative relationships with scouting organizations abroad could do wonders to advance the cause in many different ways.
The director of Panama's Girl Scouts, Gloria Lawrence, is bilingual and can be reached on weekday afternoons at the office at (507) 225-5653. She's the person with whom to talk if you know of a scout troop abroad that would like to go camping at their Panamanian counterparts' retreat, or if you have time or resources to donate.
Those who want to contribute money should mail checks or money orders to:
Asociación de Muchachas Guias de Panamá
Apartado 7676, Zona 9
Panamá, República de Panamá
