Panama Service Project partners with two main organizations: Nutre Hogar in Panama and our non-profit charitable organization Friends of Nutre Hogar.

Nutre Hogar

Nutre Hogar was founded in 1988 by Monsignor Ròmulo Emiliani to combat malnutrition among Panamanian children. Seven centers around the country care for approximately 285 children when at capacity. The organization’s goals are to provide balanced meals, physical activity, and attention and affection to suffering children until they completely recover. Most of the children come from underdeveloped and rural areas. These tiny mountain villages are rarely linked by more than paths, which neighbors must walk for hours in order to visit each other. On the Gira, we visit these homes and witness the isolation and poverty of these rural areas.

To reach this population, Nutre Hogar developed community centers in the larger mountainous communities where they provide medical attention and education to surrounding inhabitants. Children with severe malnutrition are identified at those centers and collected two to three times a year on the gira for treatment in one of the main centers. More frequent collections are difficult due to limitations of vehicles and roads, which are often impassable during the rainy season.

Operating costs for one Nutre Hogar center come to more than $6000 a month. Donations, the majority from Panamanian organizations and citizens, account for over half the yearly budget. These donations allow the center to feed and shelter the children they care for, but maintenance of the facilities is out of reach and improvements are inconceivable without further assistance.

Friends of Nutre Hogar

Friends of Nutre Hogar is Panama Service Project's non-profit charitable component. Through this organization we raise funds and supplies annually that are then distributed to Nutre Hogar on our annual trip. You can find out more about how to donate to Friends of Nutre Hogar at www.friendsofnutrehogar.org/