C. Beneficiaries
General Characteristics of the Ngöbe-Buglé
The Ngobe group is the
largest indigenous group in Panama with about 180,000 members, and together with the
Bugle inhabits the majority of the Comarca Ngöbe-Buglé, an autonomous region that covers part of the provinces of Chiriqui,
Veraguas, and Bocas del Toro. The Comarca Ngöbe-Buglé is the result of a 40-year
struggle by the Ngöbe-Buglé people to attain the right to govern their own territory.
The Comarca Ngöbe-Buglé
is one of five Indigenous Comarcas that currently exist in the Republic of Panama. The Comarca was established by the 10th Law of March 1997, and is governed through it’s
own carta organica, or regional constitution by parallel traditional authorities and representatives of the Panamanian government. The guiding principles of the Comarca aim to maintain cultural homogeneity, the traditional
cultures and traditions of the people.
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On small farms, Ngöbe-Buglé
men practice a style of sustainable farming that utilizes slash and burn techniques and through this produce: corn, yucca,
rice, bananas, pixbae, and other fruits. During harvest season more than
half of the population migrates to coffee, banana, and sugar plantations where they are able to earn a salary (about 3-4 months
of each year). The administration of the home and the production of traditional
crafts are performed primarily by the Ngöbe-Buglé women. They also support the
men strongly in agricultural tasks and replace them in their absence from the farms.
The National Census conducted
in the year 2000 registered a population of 110,080 persons in the Comarca. Within
the last 10 years the growth rate for this population has been 4.27%, compared to a national rate of 2%. This equates to a youth population (under the age of 18 of age) consisting of almost 60% of the total population.
The population in Altos
del Valle and El Valle Abajo is comprised of approximately 400 people, distributed by sex and age as follows:
Table 3: Community of Altos del Valle. Population by Sex and Age (April
2004)
|
|
Female |
Male |
Total |
|
Under 5 years
of age |
15 |
9 |
24 |
|
5-19 years of
age |
16 |
18 |
34 |
|
20+ year s of
age |
47 |
25 |
72 |
|
Total |
78 |
52 |
130 |
Table 4: Community of El Valle Abajo. Population
by Sex and Age (April 2004)
|
|
Female |
Male |
Total |
|
Under 5 years
of age |
35 |
32 |
67 |
|
5-19 years of
age |
31 |
45 |
76 |
|
20+ year s of
age |
28 |
16 |
44 |
|
Total |
94 |
93 |
187 |
Altos del Valle has both
Latina and Indigenous members,
while in El Valle Abajo the population is 100% Indigenous. At the time
this proposal was completed, approximately 317 members of the community were visited and statistical information gathered
from each.
Culture and Religion
Throughout the years,
the Ngöbe-Buglé have managed to maintain their core religion, social organizations, and traditions but they are a dispersed
population. They live in numerous separate communities and speak no less
than five distinct dialects. The Ngöbe-Buglé male can have as many wives as he
can afford to maintain. The head of the tribe is called the “Casique”
and serves as a priest, advisor, and natural healer. Once a year, the members
of the community gather together to perform “La Balseria”, a traditional dance that coincides with the harvesting
of corn and pixbae. This last activity is seen more frequently among
those tribes living in the mountainous regions. In the coastal areas of Bocas
del Toro where the communities in which MOCELVA works are located there has been a greater loss of traditional culture, but
efforts are being made to revive this.
Access
Altos del Valle is located
along a paved road that runs to several larger cities and is therefore easily accessible by car or bus. Transportation by bus from the main transportation center of David is $4 each way. To reach Chiriqui Grande, which is home to the nearest medical center is $2.
The community of El Valle
Abajo has no vehicle access and can only be reached through a dirt path of about 30 minutes in length, which is entered in
Altos del Valle
(the trail goes down
to reach the community and up to reach Altos del Valle). The path is quite steep
and in poor condition, made worse by frequent heavy rainfalls and large amounts of mud and corrosion. Maneuvering the path is not an easy challenge when conditions are good, and presents an enormous
challenge to those climbing up in the event of illness, pregnancy, or other medical emergencies.
Living Conditions
Construction of Homes
The majority of people
live in wooden huts with palm leaf roots and dirt floors. Some of the homes have
wooden floors, which are suspended by poles to avoid flooding. Homes have one
large communal room, and an open pit fire inside which is used for cooking. The
huts generally have no walls and henceforth, those living in them are very vulnerable to insects, made worse in El Valle Abajo
as they live next to a river. They sleep on the floor or in hammocks. There is no electricity, nor telephone lines.
Access to Water
Less than 50% of
the population has water available to them through pipes, and
In El Valle Abajo, the
people drink from the river, in which they also defecate, bathe, and wash their clothes.
Disposal of Feces
There are a limited number
of latrines in the communities, with the majority being in Altos del Valle. As
stated above, the tendency in El Valle Abajo is to use the river as a lavatory.
Previous efforts by a Peace Corp volunteer to encourage the members of the community to use those latrines in existence
were unsuccessful.
Social-Economic
Situation
The socio-economic situation
in the Comarca is poor: the average annual income is around $500 (compared to a national average of $2,500); illiteracy is
at 46% (7.6% national average 50% infant malnutrition rates (22% national average); and a life-expectancy rate of 63 years
(74 national average). Finally, 95% of the population in the
Comarca lives in poverty, with 86.5% falling under the category of extreme poverty – the highest rate in the country.
The 2000 Census found
the following to be the situation in Los Valles:
§ 14% illiteracy rate in Altos del Valle
§ 55% illiteracy rate in El Valle Abajo
§ 33% unemployment rate in Altos del Valle
§ 49% unemployment rate in El Valle Abajo
Basic Services
Education
Altos del Valle has a two-room school, two teachers, and is various grade levels. El Valle Abajo has a three-room school, three teachers, and also is multi-grade. In general, the quality of education is poor and the teachers fail to come to
the community on a regular basis (lack of motivation and desire on their part). Nutritional
and environmental education is non-existent. MOCLEVA has solicited funds
to construct an educational center in Altos del Valle, which will be inaugurated in August of 2004. Furthermore, an AFS participant (Jessica Erler) has been providing the children with a 12-week series of
nutritional education.
Transportation and Communication
Los Valles are on the way to Bocas del Toro, between kilometers 62-76. There
is public transportation, but as previously mentioned it is expensive. The Indigenous
primarily use walking as their sole means of transportation.
There are no telephone lines in the communities nor is there a public phone.
The nearest public phone is located in the town of Punta Peńa, which is 25 minutes (and $1) by bus, or three hours by foot.
Health and Nutritional Status
General
Aspects
In
Panama, the
infant mortality rate is 17.6 for every 1,000 live births. In indigenous areas
the rate is at 60 for every 1,000 with some communities registering 84.1.
Vaccination
rates are poor among the infant population, with about 80% of children going without immunizations and statistics indicate
that 7 out of every 10 deaths in children under five in these areas are from illnesses preventable by vaccination, or related
to lack of hygiene (primarily parasitic infections).
Malnutrition,
as noted earlier, is also an extremely grave problem among the Ngöbe-Buglé communities, and certainly a concern in Altos del
Valle and El Valle Abajo. While malnutrition affects 18% of the national population,
indigenous areas on average rank at 68%. One of every two children in indigenous
areas suffers from some degree of malnutrition, while this rate is only 1 out of 10 in the rest of the country. This patterns correlates to the presence of poverty in the Ngöbe-Buglé communities, as well as limited
access to health services.
Situation in Los Valles
The illnesses that most affect the communities are:
§ Malnutrition
o As
thoroughly discussed previously, our studies of the community have found this to be a grave problem in Los Valles, especially
among those children under five
§ Intestinal Parasites
o Due
to lack of good hygiene, dirty water, and lack of shoes for most members of the communities they tend to be frequently afflicted
by two types of parasites:
§ Ascaris lumbricoides is a roundworm that usually enters the body through the skin or
feet, or through fecal contact. It produces chronic anemia due to loss
of blood in the intestines. If the parasites grow and decide to emerge, they
can cause death. The treatment of choice for this is piperazine, which is expensive
and somewhat toxic.
§ Giardia lamblia is another frequent cause of diarrhea among this population.
§ Skin Infections
o Piodermitis, furunculous,
and abscesses are frequent.
o Leishmaniasis: Carried by sand flies this parasite enters the body where it can
remain for six months without symptoms. Once it manifests, sores can develop
anywhere on the body, even the corneas. First resembling a pimple, sores swell
and grown into festering wounds causing pain, disfiguration, and sometimes death in this population. Treatment involves a series of injections of glucantime, which is available through MINSA but difficult
for the community to access.
§ Diarrhea
The use of non-drinkable water is an enormous problem for these communities as earlier stated,
and illnesses resulting from the usage of contaminated water sources often lead to illness and death among young children.
§ Tuberculosis
A combined result of
the poverty and poor living conditions in the communities has resulted in a presence of this disease, which causes frequent
deaths among the indigenous persons here.
