Buenos Vecinos de Boquete May Newsletter

[Buenos Vecinos de Boquete]

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N&N Catering Company N&N Catering Company started in 2015 when two good friends, Nancy Halbert and Nairn Cutten, were discussing how they could contribute to the Boquete community. Both friends are excellent cooks, and Nancy had experience in the States with a Christian ministry that fed the homeless, serving up to 200 meals a day. Soon N&N Catering was born. Over the ensuing years, N&N catered many events, both intimate home dinners and large public occasions. They charged only for their food costs and profits earned from ticketed events were donated to their three chosen beneficiaries: Buenos Vecinos de Boquete, The Handicap Foundation, and Boquete Health and Hospice. On many occasions the ladies absorbed their food costs and catered free of charge. In addition, they donated funds to individuals and groups that needed immediate assistance. Nairn says that “Buenos Vecinos has always been an organization close to our hearts; we love the work BVB does for the community and beyond.” Buenos Vecinos certainly appreciates the generous and consistent support from N&N Catering. The monthly food packs provided by BVB to our families are not as delicious as the food prepared by N&N! But Nancy and Nairn share the BVB focus on food as a tool to assist the needy, or simply for sheer pleasure. Thank you, N&N Catering, for all you do!   Family of the Month  May 2020  Manuel's Family What Manuel lacks in height and weight he makes up in character, heart and humility. Now sixty-two, he has always been the sole income provider for his family. His wife Florentina stays home to care for their two-year old grandson Victor while their daughter Flor attends classes in David. As the only male model in this family, Manuel takes great pride in helping raise, guide and love this little boy. Last fall, before his sudden illness, subsequent surgery and long recovery period, Manuel was the gardener and groundskeeper for three local families. He had already shown himself to be a reliable and capable worker. He ably demonstrated those qualities when one of his employers, an elderly woman in her 70s, fell during the night and lay on the floor until Manuel’s arrival at 7 a.m. After making her comfortable he called the neighbors and an ambulance to take her to the hospital. He is so much more than an “employee”; he is a trusted friend and assistant. All of them very much miss his diligent work on their properties, his cheerful outlook and his thoughtful ideas. Manuel assures them that he is looking forward to resuming his work as soon as he regains his full strength. He says that he is not use to looking to others to help feed his family and he feels embarrassed, but he also admits that he is grateful for every bag of rice and basket of staples. With Victor standing beside him, Manuel shared how excited everyone gets when the Buenos Vecinos volunteers arrive each month. He added, “We thank God that you always remember us and give us this food with a smile.” Buenos Vecinos and Handicap Foundation Emergency Food Packing The past six weeks have been a challenging time for our community and especially for those who already live in poverty and are served by Buenos Vecinos de Boquete and Fundacion Pro-Integracion (Handicap Foundation). Because of the quarantine and social distancing restrictions we have been unable to provide for our families with our usual food services. We were, however, able to reach a number of our families through the efforts of volunteers in a small community close to Boquete and Migdalia at the Handicap Foundation.   In March and April Buenos Vecinos packed and delivered food to 25 families that live in an area just outside of Boquete. Volunteers included BVB members as well as community members. This was accomplished observing the social distancing guidelines and staying within the two hour time allotted to them by the government.   In March Migdalia, the office manager of the Handicap Foundation, packed food for families that are clients of Buenos Vecinos and the Handicap Foundation She did the packing alone using her two hours on her allowed day.  She was able to get a permit from the mayor on the second packing day to be able to work the full day and complete the job. In total, Migdalia packed food for 39 families with food received from Ro-Her on the Buenos Vecinos de Boquete credit account.  In April Migdalia was able to get a permit from the mayor to work all day on “ladies’” days to pack the food.  This most recent purchase was paid for by Fundación Pro Integración and will include the 6 families that receive food through Amigos de Boquete, for a total of 45 families.  Amigos de Boquete has assumed the responsibility of delivering the food to their people.  With our combined efforts we were able to reach most of our clients the past two months. We are looking forward to the day when we can meet and pack for all of our families and make our deliveries as usual.   How to Help   If you would like to help our clients and the efforts of Buenos Vecinos de Boquete, we would appreciate your donation of any size. It’s important for you to know that we are a small all-volunteer force with no administrative or overhead costs. Every dollar of your donation goes to the purchase of food for out clients. When you make that important decision to help feed the less fortunate in our community, you have truly become a “good neighbor”. When you donate $400 a year or a little more than $33 a month, you become a Coconut Foundation Member as an acknowledgment of your concern and generosity. Donate Online: We use PayPal for easy and secure transactions.    If you prefer to donate by cash or local check, please contact Louise Orr panamaleo@gmail.com for arrangements.   Be sure to check out our website and Facebook page:   Face book page: https://www.facebook.com/BuenosVecinosDeBoquete/   Website:  http://www.buenosvecinosdeboquete.com/ Thank you!

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