A sad but common occurence in the comarca

A sad but common occurrence in the comarca. We were bringing 5 yr olds from a predominately Ngobe school to the dental clinic. There was typical child talk, “look a big yellow taxi, look a pretty brown horse, look a big truck full of potatoes, look a bus full of children.” Then my heart ached when one child said”…

"My father got drunk last night."  I asked why? He said, "he drank beer at the bars in town. He and another man got into a fight over a woman. He beat my father up real bad and my uncle found him in a ditch asleep. When he got home my mother was crying." Many Ngobe men frequently get drunk and spend precious little money on booze. It is common to fight and carry on with women. The families suffer both emotionally and financially. Children are often abused both sexually and physically and heath suffers. It breaks my heart. No 5 year old child should have to live that way here or anywhere.