When a Program Director Doesn't Direct Programs

Uncertain. Tumultuous. Standstill. Liberating. Whatever adjective is your go-to descriptor for the current climate brought on by COVID-19’s entry into our lives in mid-March I can certainly relate to it. Let me share with you a little bit of why that is...

When the coronavirus first made its appearance in the United States, I was happily sitting on a beach in Panama without a care in the world, loving every aspect of my life as LtN’s Panama Program Director. When COVID-19 hit the US, I was forced into considering one of the most challenging, heart-wrenching moral debates that I have encountered thus far in my life: to stay in Panama or to return to my US home and family. At that point, all I could think was that Bocas had become my home, its community my family and my work with LtN so much more than just “work.”

Two weeks later, Panama announced that it would be closing its borders to all commercial travel. So, armed with a return flight to Bocas at the end of May, I found myself on a plane headed back stateside. 

When I landed, I was united with my family along with a flood of unexpected and unknown. Not only had COVID-19 sent me away from the people and the programs that I had dedicated myself to for nearly a year, it had altered my role within LtN as well. How could I be an influential member of our team if I couldn’t run our programs in Panama?

Over the past four and a half months (and a cancelled May return flight), I have had the privilege of finding a very profound answer to this question… well several answers to be exact. 

On the macro-level, I have had the opportunity to dig into more facets of Lacrosse the Nations with tasks that hadn’t previously fallen within my PD purview. On the micro-level, I have created professional development tools for our international coaches, dived into the nitty gritty of donor relations and data entry, and learned what really lies behind managing websites and analyzing their traffic. I have helped evaluate what matters most in our programs and established with coworkers how we can best prioritize our goals.

I have found myself connecting more with our mission and the people that tirelessly work to achieve it than I had while I was on the ground. 

Taking a step back now, the adjectives I would use to describe “quarantimes” for me are surprising and enlightening. The virus that I thought had completely upended a years’ worth of hard work and uprooted me from a life full of freedom, self-discovery and gratitude on an island in Panama has actually opened my eyes to more confidence, joy and connection than I had ever imagined. For that, I am grateful.

-Maria McDonough, Program Director

The Versatility of the LtN Experience: Rachel Ziemba

With my return to school rapidly approaching, I can confidently look back and say, what an awesome summer! I luckily got to spend June and July working for LtN in the sweaty yet beautiful Bocas. Seeing LtN’s Panama presence turn just one year old, my fellow interns and I were all reminded of both the progress that had been made in such short time and the great potential to grow that still remained.

Taking this potential as inspiration for action, we all divvied up the many things we hoped to accomplish in order to leave LtN Panama a little better than we found it and got to work. I took the lead on analyzing and reorganizing LtN’s metrics and evaluation methods in place for Nicaragua programs. In addition, I developed a similar system for Bocas, something that had yet to materialize due to the growing nature of our programs there.

Working in a foreign country for a small non-profit with a relatively new presence in the area, this summer proved to be equally as challenging as valuable. I learned to navigate working with limited resources, mastering the art of improvisation and problem solving. Cultivating genuine trust with the local community by immersing myself wholeheartedly also required me to take a few worthwhile steps outside my comfort zone.

“For a Biology major with aspirations to become a physician one day, what struck me most about my time with LtN was how I will be able to transfer all that I learned to my academic discipline and intended career path."

For a Biology major with aspirations to become a physician one day, what struck me most about my time with LtN was how I will be able to transfer all that I learned to my academic discipline and intended career path. While the actual work I do will change one day, it will do so in name only, as the principles that govern working to improve the lives of others using creative, modest methods and solutions will remain the same. Similarly, I know one day I’ll be able to point to my experience connecting with the players and parents of Bocas as a strong foundation for the ability to establish honest, natural relationships with patients and families.

While interning with LtN this summer, I learned to make the most of the available resources to maximize the benefit of my presence anywhere for whomever I may serve.  My biggest dream for the future is to be able to care for people in the greatest need, and I’m grateful to LtN for giving me the tools to accomplish my dreams. I sincerely hope that one day I may be able to use my newly-minted background in a small, international non-profit organization to work for a humanitarian cause and help make the world a better place. 

As a final sendoff I must say THANK YOU to LtN for an amazing and valuable summer. I will forever carry with me the countless lessons learned in Bocas.

A 10 Year Old Heads Our International Program Development

International program development is no easy task. LtN has been in Panama for almost one year since we began our pilot programming, and we’ve had our fair share of hurdles - from conflicting partnerships and limited volunteer resources to site relocation for our Bocas practices. Although international development means having to accept some challenges, those challenges are usually the catalysts for incredibly beneficial growth. And that’s just what we’ve found in our Bocas community, with the help of a 10 year old.

Coming back after winter break, LtN had to find a new location for our Bocas practices, so I (Panama PD, Caroline) with the help of our volunteer, Shauna, searched high and low for a place that kids would know that’s also easily accessible to all kids who want to play. In the process of this literal scorching and sweaty bike search, Shauna and I decided to take a break and plop ourselves down by a basketball court in front of the beach to throw the lax ball around.  As we were passing around, there were a couple of kids playing basketball on the court adjacent to us. Little did we know at this moment that a ton of kids live across the street and play there everyday.  We thought, hey, this is a cool sport for some lacrosse, so we made it one.

Practices started out slow, but eventually more and more kids were running from across the street from their homes or leaving their soccer games on the other court to come and play with us. This is when 10 year old Laisha, became a part of the LtN family.  

One afternoon, three girls were playing a game of tag on the court.  Shauna and I began to talk to them and eventually asked if they wanted to play lacrosse with us.  At first they were tentative, but it was Laisha who took onto the game fast. She was passing and catching in the matter of 5 minutes, helping explain the fundamentals to her two younger cousins, Karla and Reychell.  From then on, she has been dominating the court!

Every practice she picks up a new skill or drill so quickly.  It’s incredible to watch the progress Laisha has made in just a matter of two months. Not only has Laisha conquered the game through her skills; the lacrosse “court” has become a place where she shows great discipline.  In the beginning of April we implemented a rule that if a player shows up late for practice, they have to run a lap before joining the team.  Laisha showed up a couple minutes late and immediately knew what she had to do without us reminding her. She got on the line, ran a lap, went to the bag to pick up a stick and got in line for the drill.  As a coach, it’s exciting to see your player embody a strong work ethic and put forth effort. What’s even more exciting is knowing that lacrosse practices are now a time where other players can observe Laisha’s work and follow by example.

Beginning this month, we’ve started handing out sticks for our players to take home at the end of the week.  We decide on two players and have the team vote who they believe most deserves the stick. These players need to exemplify good sportsmanship (on and off the field), listen and be respectful during practice, and come to practice with a positive attitude.  Not sure if this will come as a surprise to you at this point, but the team voted on Laisha to be our first player to receive her very own lacrosse stick.

Since receiving her own stick, Laisha has brought it to every practice with a huge smile on her face, ready to go.  Seeing her run across the street for practice, stick in hand, fills me with joy because I can’t wait to see what new tricks she has up her sleeve for that day’s practice.

Hurdles in our path of program implementation brought LtN to Laisha. Laisha, in turn, has brought passion, learning, and high numbers of kids to our programs ever since. Coaching a player like Laisha is a true prize and I can’t wait to see where this game takes her. She has so much greatness ahead and has brought so much light to this program with her positivity and radiant demeanor. LtN’s international programs serve a variety of purposes; but perhaps above all, our practices give children like Laisha a platform to grow, to share her light, to push those around her forward, and to enjoy every second of the process. Thank you Laisha, we should call you LtN’s new Director of Program Development, but simply calling you our teammate is more rewarding.

Caroline Rath

LtN Panama Program Director