More than 800 volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worked with their neighbors and friends to serve in their communities for the National Day of Service on April 22.
A total of 4,054 hours of service were recorded on that day, reported the Church’s Panama Newsroom. Church members of all ages took part in service while wearing yellow “Helping Hands” vests with the name of the Church on the back.
Throughout the day, volunteers:
- Cleaned up more than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of the coastal section of the Pasemo Marino in Colón.
- Provided building maintenance, removed debris and cleaned the therapeutic equipment of the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center in La Chorrera.
- Collected food and basic necessities, then packed hundreds of kits for a shelter that provides support to migrants and refugees in Panama City.
- Worked with students and other volunteers to clean and maintain areas of two educational centers, including gutters, pavilions, fields and other green spaces in Tocumen and San Miguelito.
- Gathered trash, pruned trees and cared for the gardens in public places and tourist spots in Chiriquí and La Concepción.
- Served at a home for the elderly in Bocas del Toro.
- Delivered personal hygiene kits in Arraiján.
- Cleaned up a park and fixed the roof of an elementary school in Guna Yala.
Other service around Panama
Besides the day of service, members of the Church in Panama have been involved in other humanitarian efforts recently.
On March 25, members of the La Chorrera Panama Stake organized a health fair and blood donation drive. Around 250 donors came, including neighbors and friends of the Church.
Bishop Denis N. Calderón of the Las Mendozas Ward said, “I was able to see with joy and delight each one of the faces of the people who donated without knowing who would be the person who would need to receive this blood.”
He continued, “Donating blood is giving life, and as disciples of Jesus Christ [this] is a way of showing love for our neighbor.”
Also on March 25, members of the Ciudad Bolívar Ward of the San Miguelito Panama Stake served at the Las Cumbres Nursing Home. They brought food and hygiene products to donate and spent the day cleaning and gardening to help the residents.
In commemoration of World Water Day on March 19, representatives from the Church held a meeting in the Wala community in the Emberá-Wounaan region to learn about drinking water challenges for the population — especially children and the elderly.
The Church will work with Solea Water to help the community have more access to safe drinking water. This effort is one of several projects the Church has been helping with in the region.
