“How Good It Feels To Be Loved” says Parque Simon Bolivar

The fresh paint has dried, the dust has settled, the cones and caution tape have been removed and the people in Bocas del Toro are now able to enjoy a cleaner and more esthetically pleasing park.  The efforts of the weekend were absolutely successful: at least 60 different volunteers came and shared the responsibilities of sanding and painting 33 park benches, as well as raking debris, picking up trash and promoting general tidiness in the place.  Not to mention, murals were painted and new plants were planted!

Fulo Coqueño painted a message on one of the benches that sums it all up quite nicely:

“Yo cuido mi parque” is Spanish for “I take care of my park” and that is exactly what these volunteers and donors were doing this weekend. Some in the community were skeptical about the campaign, asking “Why should I help? Isn’t this the responsibility of the local government? Don’t taxes cover this? ” etc. etc. All valid points, however it hasn’t been taken care of by anyone else in a long time. So that’s when B.E.L.L.O. stepped in and did everything they could to make this initiative possible.

They have a good attitude about it all. Maiky Coronado put it best “The park is for everyone so it’s everyone’s job to take care of it.” Congrats B.E.L.L.O. and especially to Maiky, Yorlenis and Karrol, who volunteered all three days.  Good job chicas, way to lead by example and take care of your park!

B.E.L.L.O. and all the volunteers accomplished a lot this weekend, but they didn’t get around to painting the light posts. That’s why they’ll be at it one more day, which is tomorrow Wednesday October 16th from 8 AM to 4 PM.  Join the good people of B.E.L.L.O. in putting the finishing touches on the clean-up and beautification of Parque Bolivar. In other news, its rumored that another organization in Bocas will be renovating the light fixtures in the park…