I honestly did not know exactly what to expect when we arrived in Panama, but I was truly excited about the project and what would lie ahead.  To say that my expectations were exceeded, would be an understatement.  

Rishabh, Riley and I arrived in Panama City and met part of our Panama Beauty Project team for dinner. Cecelia (Director) and Alicia (Member) from the CEMP organization, Chris Humberstone (Humberstone International), Jessica Carter (Make-up Artist), and Jorge Galvez (ChemSol) attended our “welcome to the project dinner.”

On Friday, February 7^th, we met the rest of the team from CEMP- Marcia, Sandra, Luz and Vallet and began our journey to the place that would provide an experience that was priceless. We arrived in the small town of Portobelo, Panama  and settled into our accommodations with our team of 10. Jorge, and his colleague Rolando would arrive the following day. Prior to our welcome dinner, we had never met Jorge in person, only a few emails and conference calls. Jorge turned out to be an amazing asset to the team, and we all could not have been more thankful that he joined our project. He is a chemist by trade, and the synergy that he and Rishabh had during the training session was nothing less than amazing! 

Bright and early on Saturday morning, we walked over to our venue, La Escuelita del Ritmo, which translates to the School of Rhythm in English. Apparently, it was quite an improvement over the venue that was utilized last year, as one of the first things that we noticed is that the room was equipped with air conditioning. You can only understand the importance of this, if you were there in the 100% humidity and 92°F temperatures. Already, we all had begun to realize the many luxuries we are afforded in our “first world” life.

We busily began our set up process which entailed locating some tables throughout the town, unpacking our materials and analyzing the best set-up for the room. Before much time passed, our guests began to arrive, one by one…until we reached a room full of excited attendees totaling about 20 women from the community. We were thrilled! Before long, Rishabh and Jorge began their presentation Rishabh speaking in English and Jorge translating. Technical chemical translations can be challenging if you are not trained in the art of cosmetic formulation. With Jorge’s experience as a formulator and position within ChemSol, he was really the perfect translator for this job. Rishabh and Jorge started the training with the formulation of a body lotion, followed by a massage oil, and wrapping up the day with a bar soap. The energy in the room was palpable and the women were so engaged it was marvelous to witness.  

We came prepared with two soccer balls and many packs of crayons and coloring books in order to be ready for the arrival of any children. In the later morning, during the trainings, a young boy named Jorge joined the room as both his grandmother and mother came for the event. In addition to Jorge, another grandmother joined us and in tow were 4 little children- one boy and three girls.  The boy and two of the girls were siblings and the 4^th was a cousin as we would later learn. They did not speak English, aside from knowing their colors and some numbers.  Chris located an open space on the second floor of the cultural center in town where Riley could go with the children to play and color with them, while the formulation training continued.  I joined Riley and we took the 3 little ones over to the center around the block.  One of the CEMP ladies joined us in shifts to help the communications and Chris also joined us to make sure all was well. Eventually, little Jorge joined, and before we knew it a football (soccer) game ensued.  We all had a spectacular time, especially Riley and the children. Although the little ones and Riley could not speak fluently to one another, a bond began to form between them, which really showed the power of human interaction.  Eventually, we returned to the venue with the children so that we could all take a bit of a break for lunch.  

When we returned from the group break, we began the session with an impromptu Congo session with drumming, dancing and singing.  The attendees wanted to share an important piece of their local culture with us.  I truly felt that they were giving us a gift of appreciation through that experience. 

After the music had finished, the only child that returned to the session was little Jorge.  As the training continued, Jorge began to become more and more engaged in the production of the products and he eventually requested his own lab coat, gloves and protective eyewear.  It was fabulous for us to see his interest in also learning what the women were learning.  Another young lady also joined the training, who was in her early teens. She too was so engaged and interactive, and you could see her desire to be included was marvelous.

At the end of the session the first day, it became quite clear which of the ladies had a strong desire to learn more and more, with the aspiration of creating a line of their own. The questions were well thought out and very detailed as were the answers given by the team.
Day two of the training was also quite phenomenal, with both little Jorge and the young teen arriving for the start of the event.  Two formulations were prepared, and Riley also had the opportunity to learn a bit more about product formulation as well.  Some of the women that were part of our CEMP team, with whom we were housemates, were also incredibly interested in what we were doing.  I did not realize the impact we were also having upon each and every one of them.  What was wonderful about this was that our conversations with them continued each day and evening that we were together.  

At the end of the training session on day two, we showed the attendees how to package and label their products. Each participant walked out with a sample of what they manufactured.  The room was so alive during this phase and it was obvious how hungry they all were to continue this journey.  They expressed such deep gratitude to all of us and, we to them, as the lessons we all learned were indeed priceless. 
Even though we were in an area that is, for all intents and purposes, “third world” the thing that struck me most on a personal level was the happiness of the people, how they care for one another, and how deeply they care about their culture.  We that exist in more affluent countries, have a drive to collect materialistic things.  They do not seem to have that same desire, or at least not with the same level of importance, but their appreciation for what they do have runs deep. 

Towards the end of the seminar, Riley asked Chris how to say - “This soccer ball is for you to keep” in Spanish, as she wanted to speak and give the ball to Jorge.  She presented the ball to him, with her sentence in Spanish, and the smile on this child’s face could have lit a city!  When the event was over, he told Cecilia the best part of this seminar was that he had gotten a football to keep, and he had never had one of his own before.  Talk about a heart-melting, profound moment...from that moment on, anytime we saw Jorge (which was several times before we left) he had that ball in hand.  He hugged each and every one of us which we all will never forget.

Rishabh and I had some time to reflect and both realized the many lessons we learned throughout this experience. One of those lessons, is that we have knowledge and experience to share. Knowledge and experience that can really make a difference in the lives of people who need and want something more. After all, it is a way for us to help take care of families…because that is what we do here at Acme-Hardesty.


About the Author
Caren Dres-Hajeski is director of personal care at Acme-Hardesty, Co. Prior to that, She was global marketing director at Vantage Speciality Ingredients, Inc. During her career, Dres-Hajeski has worked at Active Organics, Lipo Chemicals, Active Concepts and Brooks Industries in roles of increasing responsibility. She has a BS in biology from Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. She can be reached at cdreshajeski@acme-hardesty.com