Press Releases 2004

May 11, 2004

Navy Crew Opts to Spend Their Free Time Renovating Elementary School in Panama

People-to-People Coordinator Darcy Compton recently linked sailors from the USS MCCLUSKY with the staff and students of the Escuela Bique in Arraijan, Panama. A group of over 30 U.S. Navy volunteers used their Liberty Leave time to work side by side with citizens from the Arraijan community to renovate their school. In a single day they built a new wall in one of the classrooms, revised the electrical system, updated the plumbing, dug a trench for water passage, painted a basketball court and installed new basketball hoops. The community showed their appreciation by providing the hard-working volunteers with a traditional lunch of sancocho, Panama’s famous chicken soup with rice and beans.

This service project is part of the U.S. Navy’s Community Relations Program, through which Navy crews are given the option to do charitable works during their free time at port. The U.S. Navy provides each ship $500 to spend on materials. The People-to-People Coordinator worked with Panama’s Ministry of Education to identify schools that needed renovations, and facilitated these projects by managing the Navy volunteers when they arrive at port. Four U.S. Navy volunteer projects have been completed in Panama in 2004.

The Navy crew of the USS MCCLUSKY also presented two sewing machines to an indigenous group's artesanial foundation based in Chiriqui. Fundamujer has provided training for the foundation and helped identify the need for these non-electric sewing machines. The donation was made possible through Project Handclasp, an NGO in the U.S. that accepts donations from all over the country, then places the donations on Navy ships to be sent around the world. Based on the success of this donation, plans are in the works for more collaborations with the embassy, Project Handclasp and the Navy.