Robb Pickett’s -

Global Humanitarian Adventures—Volunteers in Action!

By Phyllis McNaughton

Here is the scenario: Needing something different in his stressful life, a young man decides to walk away from a quarter million job offer to create a non-profit organization devoted to helping people help other people. If Jennifer Aniston were his love interest, it would make a great plot for a movie set in New York City

“The Legend of Portobelo”

by R. Boyd

Each year on October 21, scores of people from all over Panama and other parts of the world converge on the sleepy little town of Portobelo, on the Atlantic side near the City of Colon. Some walk from all the way from Panama City, thousands walk the last 22 miles from the Transisthmian Highway, and many crawl the last mile on hands and knees to worship before El Nazareno. Many wear ornate purple robes that are discarded on the steps of the church at midnight. The robes announce that the wearer is responding to a divine command, doing penance for wrongdoing, or simply making an expression of faith.

The tradition dates back centuries, when a cholera epidemic was sweeping the Isthmus. The town residents made a vow to celebrate a feast day for the Black Christ each October 21, if the town were spared.

The epidemic bypassed the town and the feast has been celebrated each year since. Rumors soon spread about the healing powers of the image and pilgrims began arriving from nearby villages. As word spread, people from Panama City on the Pacific side of the country began to make the journey.