March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Guardsmen bring educational hope to Panama

CAMITILLO, Panama — In the exotic, tropical interior of the Republic of Panama, the sounds of the jungle are disrupted by the noise of hammers, saws and heavy equipment.

Soldiers from the 240th Engineer Group of the Maine Army National Guard have been building for Panamanian education and forging international memories to last a lifetime.

Dubbed Team 240, they devoted their two weeks of annual training to rebuilding the school at Camitillo.

The team members came from companies of the 262nd Engineer Battalion (Combat Light) from Bangor and the 133rd Engineer Battalion (Combat Heavy) from Portland.

The 240th jumped at the chance to do the Camitillo project after they were given a list provided by the Panamanian government of proposed humanitarian construction projects.

The village is located about two hours from Panama City. The last six miles are accessible only on foot or on horseback.

The Camitillo school services approximately 60 children who were driven out of their original school house after a storm caused the roof to collapse. Classes were transferred to a tent provided by the U.S. Army.

On Monday through Thursday, students walk or ride on horseback, arriving dressed in brilliant white shirts and crisp blue skirts or trousers. They attend class from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Blanca DeFranco and Rosa Reyes, the two teachers at the school, also arrive each morning on horseback. DeFranco stays in a nearby village during the week, but lives in Panama City on the weekends.

The remoteness of the area and the lack of any real road into the village means most supplies must be delivered by helicopter.

“Chopper’s coming in at 1100 hours today,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Caron, communications chief for Team 240. “They’re delivering a water buffalo (water trailer) and some more cinder blocks.”

The helicopter is the lifeline from Camp Rousseau, Panama, for the soldiers at Camitillo.

Food, mail, clothing, fuel, water, building supplies and everything else needed to complete the mission is airlifted to the engineers.

The work is hard manual labor with the sun shining one minute and the rain pouring the next. Despite these hardships, the soldiers’ spirits remained high.

“I’m not leaving until they make me go,” said Staff Sgt. Daniel Petit. “Everyone else I know feels the same way. Nobody wants to go back to the base camp. They feel great about what they are doing.”

Rebuilding the school provided the team members with a unique logistical challenge and brought a sense of pride for the crew and connected them emotionally to the villagers.

“We work side-by-side with the villagers of Camitillo,” said Sgt. Roscoe Presley of Jonesboro. “It’s been great. These people are the most honest and hard-working people I’ve ever seen.”

The entire village turned out to assist the engineers by carrying cinder blocks, mixing cement and doing whatever tasks had to be done.

“They’re grateful for everything that is done,” said Sgt. 1st Class Richard Commeau from Old Town, “because they know it’s for their future and their kids.”

“I would like the citizens of Maine to know that I am extremely pleased with the efforts of the Maine Army National Guard in completing our school,” said Jaoquin Martinez, mayor of Camitillo. “Education is the key for success of my people, and this will allow our children to continue their education.”

“We are using our military skills to help people who are truly grateful for the help,” said 1st Lt. Jeffrey Morton, the team leader. “We get more results for the dollar spent than on any project we have ever seen.”


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