Panama
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Panama - Ministry
We will have two main areas of ministry while we are in Panama.
Panama Church - We will be working with the church in the area of leadership development and ministry. Our job will be to assist as needed in these areas.
Jibacam - We will be based in Panama to facilitate our work with Jibacam and to facilitate travel throughout the region.
2008 - At this time we are busy learning more spanish and getting involved in the ministry here. Nancy is teaching ESL to three different groups and Perry is teaching a seminar on leadership in two of the churches.
Country Information
PEOPLE
Panamanians' culture, customs, and language are predominantly Caribbean
Spanish. The majority of the population is ethnically
mestizo or mixed Spanish,
Indigenous, Chinese, and West Indian. Spanish is the official and dominant
language; English is a common second language spoken by the West Indians and
by many businesspeople and professionals. More than half the population
lives in the Panama City-Colon metropolitan corridor.
Panama is rich in folklore and popular traditions. Lively salsa--a mixture of Latin American popular music, rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock--is a Panamanian specialty, and Ruben Blades its best-known performer. Indigenous influences dominate handicrafts such as the famous Kuna textile molas. Artist Roberto Lewis' Presidential Palace murals and his restoration work and ceiling in the National Theater are well known and admired.
More than 65,000 Panamanian students attend the University of Panama, the Technological University, and the University of Santa Maria La Antigua, a private Catholic institution. Including smaller colleges, there are 14 institutions of higher education in Panama. The first six years of primary education are compulsory, and there are about 357,000 students currently enrolled in grades one through six. The total enrollment in the six secondary grades is about 207,000. More than 90% of Panamanians are literate.
HISTORY
Panama's history has been shaped by the evolution of the world economy and
the ambitions of great powers. Rodrigo de Bastidas, sailing westward from
Venezuela in 1501 in search of gold, was the first European to explore the
Isthmus of Panama. A year later, Christopher Columbus visited the Isthmus
and established a short-lived settlement in the Darien. Vasco Nunez de
Balboa's tortuous trek from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 1513 demonstrated
that the Isthmus was, indeed, the path between the seas, and Panama quickly
became the crossroads and marketplace of Spain's empire in the New World.
Gold and silver were brought by ship from South America, hauled across the
Isthmus, and loaded aboard ships for Spain. The route became known as the
Camino Real, or Royal Road, although it was more commonly known as
Camino de Cruces (Road of the
Crosses) because of the abundance of gravesites along the way.
Panama was part of the Spanish empire for 300 years (1538-1821). From the outset, Panamanian identity was based on a sense of "geographic destiny," and Panamanian fortunes fluctuated with the geopolitical importance of the Isthmus. The colonial experience also spawned Panamanian nationalism as well as a racially complex and highly stratified society, the source of internal conflicts that ran counter to the unifying force of nationalism.
Building the Canal
Modern Panamanian history has been shaped by its transisthmian canal, which
had been a dream since the beginning of Spanish colonization. From 1880 to
1890, a French company under Ferdinand de Lesseps attempted unsuccessfully
to construct a sea-level canal on the site of the present Panama Canal. In
November 1903, with U.S. encouragement, Panama proclaimed its independence
and concluded the Hay/Bunau-Varilla Treaty with the United States.
The treaty granted rights to the United States "as if it were sovereign" in a zone roughly 10 miles wide and 50 miles long. In that zone, the U.S. would build a canal, then administer, fortify, and defend it "in perpetuity." In 1914, the United States completed the existing 83-kilometer (52 mile) canal, which is one of the world's greatest feats of engineering. The early 1960s saw the beginning of sustained pressure in Panama for the renegotiation of this treaty.
The 1977 Panama Canal Treaties entered into force on October 1, 1979. They replaced the 1903 Hay/Bunau-Varilla Treaty between the United States and Panama (modified in 1936 and 1955), and all other U.S.-Panama agreements concerning the Panama Canal, which were in force on that date. The treaties comprise a basic treaty governing the operation and defense of the Canal from October 1, 1979 to December 31, 1999 (Panama Canal Treaty) and a treaty guaranteeing the permanent neutrality of the Canal (Neutrality Treaty).
Geography
Area: 78,200 sq. km. (30,193 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than South Carolina.
Panama occupies the southeastern end of the isthmus forming the land bridge
between North and South America.
Cities: Capital--Panama City
(1.1 million). Other cities--Colon
(193,263), David (135,378).
Terrain: Mountainous (highest elevation Cerro Volcan, 3,475 m.--11,468 ft.);
coastline 2,857 km. (1,786 mi.).
Climate: Tropical, with average daily rainfall 28 mm. (1 in.) in winter.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Panamanian(s).
Population (2004 estimate): 3.2 million.
Annual growth rate: 1.7%.
Ethnic groups: Mestizo
(mixed Amerindian and European ancestry) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West
Indian) 14%, Caucasian 10%, Amerindian 6%.
Religions: Roman Catholic 84%, Protestant 15%, other 1%.
Languages: Spanish (official); 14% speak English as their native tongue;
various indigenous languages. Many Panamanians are bilingual.
Map of Panama
Flag of Panama
Copyright © Perry J. Hubbard