Our Story
Elementary students from the
International School of Panama's Talent Development Program wanted to do something special this semester. The students participated in research efforts to learn about local communities. They quickly learned that many children in Panama do not have the same
opportunities and lifestyles that they have. They discovered that many children in communities nearby do not have access to electricity or education. They wondered, "Without electricity, how do the children do homework at night?", "what if they get scared
in the dark?", "how do they read?", "how do they walk to visit their friends at night?". The students made the decision to help others through an enlightening project.
The students have decided to create solar powered sun jars based off of a design that they researched online. Their goal is to raise money for materials, visit a rural Panamanian community without electricity, and teach the community members,
mainly children, how to make these sun jars with the materials they provide.
With the help of
Earth Train, an incredible group dedicated to promoting biocultural renewal, creating sustainable communities and institutions in harmony with nature, our students have the opportunity to see their
dream come to light!
Our Vision
Our vision is to help people in need. In this case, the students of ISP's Talent Development Program will be helping the children of a small community called
la Zahina. La Zahina is a rural community in the Mamoni Valley Preserve, in the eco-region of Chocó-Darién-Manabí located in Panama. The la Zahina community does not have electricity. Our project will focus on teaching the children of Zahina to make a sun
Jars. Sun jars are inexpensively made, small glass containers with a solar panels. The solar panel collects energy from the sun, storing the energy in a battery pack so that students can access light as needed through the night. We are going to create a fundraising
project in order to raise money for the resources that are needed to make the Sun Jars. The children will be able to use the Sun Jars to do their Homework, Read, for a Night Light, etc.
About Us
We are a small group of 7 students between grades 3-5 from The International School Of Panama. We are participating in a very special class called the Talent Development Program and have started our very own Service Learning Project. We are very excited
about being able to help other people. We are going to extend our learning on engineering & energy to help those who do not have opportunities we have had. We are all from various countries and are uniting to help others. One of our goals is to raise all of
the funds for this project on our own.
How You Can Help
By donating to this project you will be helping to give a Sun Jar, and also to allow us to teach our idea to the children the La Zahina community in the
Mamoni Valley Preserve. Your personal generosity will make it possible to do great/important/life-changing things.
We also need your help to spread the word. Please help support the project by promoting it on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Email, etc.
