About

A LITTLE ABOUT HELPING HANDS OF TRISKER

LAS MANOS PARA TRISKER

¡hola desde panamá!

volunteers dina, tom, and brandon herrick, colette finegan, kristhian miranda, and elizabeth monterrosa comprise helping hands of trisker (las manos para trisker) at casa hogar trisker, a children’s home in alto boquete, chiriquí, panamá.  as a united group of volunteers dedicated to trisker, our mission is to coordinate with the trisker staff to help cultivate the best possible environment for the trisker kids we adore!

as volunteers, we supplement the trisker staff in any way it sees fit at any given moment.  the children’s needs are constantly evolving and the staff and volunteers must continue to evolve with those needs.  we often simply serve as extra bodies to watch and engage the kids but we also have our own little niches.

with extensive preschool and kindergarten teaching experience, colette finegan spends the majority of her time with the babies and toddlers and is a favorite volunteer among the trisker staff.  colette has also proven an amazing hundraiser, bringing in over $4000 from her efforts in the states!  tom herrick has been the unofficial trisker handyman for about a year and a half, fixing and maintaining the premises, as well as constructing new additions, such as extensive shelving in the store room allowing for more effective storage and organization.  luckily, as of recently, tom has help from kristhian miranda, our newest group member and home-grown boqueteño, who also helps maintain the trisker facilities and construct new projects, such as the fountain stairs, as well as assisting in helping hands activities, such as the checkers and chess practices and tournaments.  kristhian is also extremely helpful in coordinating with local businesses and contacts to aid in our efforts on behalf of trisker.

elizabeth monterrosa engages kids of all ages, as needed in the given moment.  she also is the director of the new local scout troop, Grupo 55: Los Quetzales de Boquete, comprised of 10 trisker kids.  as director, she must coordinate all activities and details, including uniforms, camping trips, participation in parades, etc.

brandon herrick and dina herrick have relocated to the united states.  before their move, these two were a tremendous help and presence at trisker.  with extensive experience as a preschool teacher and owner, dina herrick usually engaged the preschoolers in very needed educational and creative activities for the toddlers and pre-schoolers, while and brandon herrick engaged kids of all ages, providing important and necessary peer contact.  lucky for us, these two are still members and help collaborate from the u.s., as well as fundraise for our trisker kids!

there are many volunteer and fundraising groups at trisker.  all have their important and necessary role.  as helping hands of trisker (las manos para trisker), we try to address our kids’ immediate needs with our consistent presence at trisker and our fundraising efforts.

we love the time we spend with our trisker kids and staff and we hope to share our stories with family, friends, and donors throughout the world.

*all children are referred to by pseudonyms, rather than their real names, in our blog.

A LITTLE ABOUT TRISKER

casa hogar trisker is a government-run children’s home built for 40 abused, abandoned, neglected and/or orphaned children from ages 0 to 12. trisker currently houses 50-70 children from ages 0 to 18.  the number of children fluctuates often, usually with more entering than ever leaving.  for these children who now call trisker “home,” it is the only safe haven they know at this tumultuous point in their young lives.

the trisker funding sources

the physical trisker property was donated by dennis trisker to el club rotario de david.  el club rotario de david then agreed with the panamanian government to allow mides, el ministerio de desarollo social, to run a children’s home on the premises.  while the government carries the brunt of the funding responsibility, the trisker patronato, or board of directors, is composed of mides representatives, as well as a trisker family liaison, david rotarians, and other members of prominent social organizations in panamá.  all these parties must cooperate to provide proper funding for the home.

despite the numerous prominent parties sitting on the patronato, working cooperatively towards a sustainable funding structure remains difficult and funding tight.  without proper funds to employ more staff and provide for unmet needs, the children’s growth will remain stunted.  therefore, volunteer onsite service and offsite fundraising, coupled with generous and necessary donations, help address the immediate funding deficiencies and provide for the children’s basic needs.

each child has entered trisker’s doors under unfortunate circumstances.  and for better or for worse, the time spent at trisker will affect the life of each child.  please help us ensure that the experience will bring joy, laughter, and growth to these children.  let’s give them something to smile about.

the trisker children and staff give their deepest thanks and appreciation to you in advance for your time and concern.  and i personally would like to say thank you for being conscious, involved, and proactive human beings.  this is what life is about!

the trisker children

now before reading further, we would like people to think of all the children they know personally; those who giggle, throw fits, whine, hold your hand, complain, smile, pout, and love.  children are strikingly complicated and simple creatures all at once.  and all are the product of their environments.

two parent households struggle to raise their child/ren with the proper balance of love, discipline, and structure.  and these parents are loving, have the best intentions, and sacrifice copious amounts of time and money to implement their chosen child rearing preferences.

now take those average child rearing difficulties and multiply them by about 100 for all the emotional and behavioral issues that accompany a child who lives in such a government-run home.  and then multiply that number by 50-70 for the number of children at trisker.  this is the task at hand: to raise 50-70 children with love, discipline, and structure.

the trisker children come from a variety of backgrounds.  some are orphans.  some were taken from unfit homes by court order.  some are in protective custody.  and some were voluntarily abandoned by their families.  some are mentally and/or physically challenged.  and some are severely underdeveloped due to premature births and/or malnutrition.  some are beaming with joy, smiles plastering their faces.  and some are fragile and guarded, fearing possible further abandonment.  most are somewhere in between, moving from laughing uncontrollably to throwing tantrums at impressive light speed.

for some, trisker will be but a transitional home before they are shuttled back to their families.  for others, trisker will be a long-term placement home.  and for the rest, trisker is the only real home they have ever known.  but above any circumstance, deep down, all yearn for the love, affection, and structure that their parents and families cannot give them at this time.

the trisker staff

as stated earlier, as a daily volunteer, i supplement the trisker staff in any way it sees fit at any given moment.  the staff are employed by mides, el ministerio de desarollo social, a government entity.  the children’s needs are constantly evolving and the staff and volunteers must continue to evolve with those needs.  i often simply serve as an extra body to watch and engage the kids.  other times, i help the tías in the office, streamlining administrative processes.

with often only one to three women on duty to engage all the kids at any one time, the trisker staff works with amazing endurance, providing the love, structure, and discipline that every child innately craves.  however, even with such an admirable staff, trisker simply lacks the monetary support to guarantee a child’s optimal physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual growth.

dina teaching colors to a toddler

our trisker scouts in group 55: los quetzales

inspiration for our logo? our kids, of course!

dina’s handywork in the nursery

the checkers tournament in action!

a “movie day” donated to trisker!

practice makes perfect.

our scout troop, los quetzales 55 de boquete

A LITTLE ABOUT DONATING

please note that donations to helping hands of trisker (las manos para trisker) are not tax write-offs because we do not have non-profit 501(c)(3) status.  we are just a group of volunteers doing our best to serve our trisker kids.

to donate, go to our piryx account to securely make a single or recurring donation of any amount through your bank account or credit card: https://secure.piryx.com/donate/dmuaVUNW/helping-hands-of-trisker/.

aside from the 4-5% surcharge for processing donations on this site, banking fees for withdrawing donation money from the atm (usually $8 in total), and any transportation costs incurred to deliver volunteers and/or donations to trisker, helping hands of trisker (las manos para trisker) pledges that every penny will be spent to address immediate needs at trisker.  also, we provide a detailed donation monies, purchases, and receipts log on this blog at: https://helpinghandsoftrisker.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/donation-monies-purchases-and-receipts-log/.  we believe in transparency and accountability and hold ourselves to the highest standards!  thank  you for your interest and support!

¡esperamos que todos disfruten del blog!

con amor y cariño,

helping hands of trisker ~ las manos para trisker  https://secure.piryx.com/donate/dmuaVUNW/helping-hands-of-trisker/ helpinghandsoftrisker@gmail.com