Nutre Hogar and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) joined forces to improve the quality of life of Panamanian children with the Sow, Learn, Grow project. This initiative served the community of El Peñón, in the Ngäbe Buglé region, through innovative models of comprehensive early childhood care that promote quality nutrition and the strengthening of skills. For the first time in Panama, a community model of comprehensive care for children aged 0 to 4 years was implemented based on Jamaica’s “Reach Up and Learn” programme, which shows positive results in the cognitive and non-cognitive development of this group. Siembra, Aprende, Crece had the initial goal of impacting 100 families in the community of El Peñón and was responsible for equipping the school’s dining room and supplying vegetables.

Volunteers from our Panama office worked on this project since February 2018 and soon saw the fruits. As part of the project, a workshop was held for 35 teachers from the El Peñón School in the Ngäbe Buglé district. During this day, several volunteers led an Affinity Diagram Workshop to detect the knowledge and commitment of the school’s teachers to the project. The results were better than expected and the teachers became the first promoters of “Siembra, Aprende, Crece” within the community.