Nuestro Amo, Panama
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General Information
| Population* | 256 |
| Number of homes | 78 |
| Avg # of people per home | 3-4 |
| Electricity | Yes |
| Province | Coclé |
| Corregimiento | La Pava |
| District | Ola |
| Corresponding Health Center | Sub-Healthcare Center |
| Distance from compounds | 1 hour |
| Road conditions | Good |
* Population does not reflect how many patients will be seen on medical
brigades as many people from surrounding communities come seeking
Medical Brigades medical attention.
Expressed Needs and Capacities
The community of Nuestro Amo is a rural, Latino community alongPan-American Highway. Agriculture, the lumber industry, and cattle farming are the primary sources of income for the distant community. The community leaders have listed the following as their greatest challenges: health, water, communication, and legal access.
Nuestro Amo has a basic elementary school in the center of the town that teaches the community's children between the grades of Kindergarten and 9th grade. The school has a little over 180 students that are taught by a team of 9 teachers in 8 classrooms. In addition to the classrooms, the school facility has a recreational area, a computer lab, and a meeting hall.
Water is transported to Nuestro Amo by a gravity-powered aqueduct from a water source that is about 1 kilometer away from the community. The system is about 30 years old and unfortunately is not sufficient for providing enough water to the whole community. The community maintains the system through the operations of a Water Committee; the committee consists of 7 members that chlorinate the water once every 2 weeks. All of the community is connected to this water system, and each family pays $2.00 monthly to access it.
Nuestro Amo is lucky enough to have a small sub-health care center in its community; this facility and its community health worker provide very rudimentary medical resources for the community. The illnesses most commonly seen in Nuestro Amo are common colds, vomiting, fevers, and chronic high blood pressure. There are currently no dental facilities available in Nuestro Amo. The Ministry of Health of Panama comes to Nuestro Amo twice a year to provide a medical clinic. Only about 75% of the community has cement floors in their homes.
Homes in Nuestro Amo are typically built with cement blocks, wood, metal sheets, and palm leaves. Approximately 80% of the community works in agriculture; the community produces beans, corn, rice, and yuca. There are no sources of credit within Nuestro Amo, but there is a bank in the nearby community of Natá that some community members use. The businesses within Nuestro Amo are small grocery stores and cantinas.
There is currently no environmental education provided within Nuestro Amo. Similarly, there is very little education available in the community concerning waste management; typically, the community members dispose of their garbage by burning it or burying it. However, the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM) is currently working on a reforestation project in the community's vecinity.
Legal assistance does not exist within Nuestro Amo. If the community members encounter any legal conflicts, they must travel to the town of Penonomé. The typical legal conflicts involve land titles and disagreements between neighbors.
Nuestro Amo has one representative in the local government: Aquilino Villareal. In addition, the community has committees that specialize in parenting, health, and water.
The main organizations that work in Nuestro Amo are governmental. As mentioned above, both the Ministry of Health and the Environmental program of Panama work in the community with medical clinics and reforestation efforts, respectively.
Nuestro Amo is excited to host its first brigade from the University of Kansas medical/dental chapter in May 2014!
Source of information: Key informant interview
Date of interview: April 9, 2014
Last Updated: April 25, 2014