#1: Panama Guide reports on Charity Expat Social:

…We ate dinner with Sister Griselda Rios who has been working with the orphanage for more than three years. They have about 160 children there at any one time. She came to the dinner with Felipe Arosemena (hijo) who has been at the orphanage basically his entire life. His father, Felipe Arosemena (padre) has been working there for 36 years. The highlight of the evening was a donation by 14 year-old Elliese Judge who has been saving her spare change for more than three years. Tonight she donated $303.00 to the orphanage. How cool is that? Read the complete article…

I personally know Elliese Judge, her brother Carlton, Naomi and Phillip Judge, their proud parents. Elliese, at the young age of 14, is working on her first fiction book. Like many others, the Judge family came from abroad a few years ago and made Panama their home. As a Panamanian, it makes my heart beat louder when I learn about events as rewarding for all participants as the one cited above.

#2:  Diablo Rojo brings up a crude reality, 3 Billion and Counting:

I was asked a strange question yesterday:  “What kills more people in Africa than African wars (which have been  going on for thousands of years)?” I thought, well, accidents? AIDS?  A nutritional disease? No, my experts at  3 Billion and Counting tell me — it is  malaria. And then they asked me another question I couldn’t  answer: “Was it unavoidable that these millions”  – mostly children, they emphasized  – “die of malaria?” I wasn’t about to try to answer  that one; I know when I’m in deep water  and walking on thin ice! Their answer shocked me:  “No, it was entirely unnecessary.”
That brought terrible thoughts to my mind and I started “thinking out loud”: What you are saying is, there is a cure for malaria, it is a proven cure and it’s not being used.” So then I had a question: “How can that possibly be? I cannot accept that.” Continue reading…

#3: Pasión por el Café wins Gourmand  Award!

We are very happy and proud to announce that Pasión por el Café, written by  IACP member Patricia McCausland, has won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for "Best Single Subject" in Latin America. The book will now be competing for the "Best in the World" Award. The results will be announced on April 7 in Beijing, China.

Patricia is of Colombian origin but moved to Panama seven years ago and is an active member of the Panamanian IACP group. She is passionate about coffee and travelled the coffee plantation regions of Colombia and Panama while conducting research for this book. Read more…