PAN Missions Canada Inc. (PAN) is a multi-denominational Christian mission serving in Nicaragua.
Pan is the Spanish word for bread, which the organization focuses on, sharing the bread of God (the good News) and daily bread (aid). The not-for-profit organization ministers to the people of Nicaragua and is committed to equipping local churches to meet the needs of their own communities. As they work towards improving life, organizers state they hope to demonstrate God’s love and compassion in a practical way.
Annette Vickers founded PAN in 1997 in order to assist and partner with Child Evangelism fellowship in spreading the gospel. The organization continues to grow and send workers to build churches and Sunday schools, to work in hospitals, orphanages, clinics and feeding stations; also to minister through Sports, drama, puppets and music.
Each team provides basic life and economic skills training, access to clean drinking water and medical care. Local Nicaraguan organizations partner with PAN to meet the needs of Central America’s poorest people, including the need to know Him. The Board of Directors and all of the Canadian workers and team members are volunteers.
“As a Christian Mission organization we are proud that over 90% of all donations received are used for the program designated by the organization,” Vickers said.
After the loss of warehouse space in Guelph, Liz and Reg Samis offered temporary space on their Mapleton farm to the organization. Members from Milverton, Guelph, Woodbridge, Fergus and London travelled to Drayton to sort and pack donated items to be placed in a container and shipped to Nicaragua.
A company from Mapleton Township has supplied the funding for the container’s transportation, once it is full. Usually the organization ships two containers weighing over 2,000 pounds filled with donated items. The shipments include fabric, bedding, clothing, sewing machines, walkers, sporting goods, medical and school supplies and pulpits from two recently closed churches.
Nancy Hayes, sewing co-op facilitator, has been involved with mission work in Nicaragua for over 14 years. Recently Hayes has been teaching Nicaraguan women basic sewing and simple projects. Once they have mastered this step, they are encouraged to sew elastic into diapers, top stitch, sew French seams, use bias tape, make button holes and apply zippers.
“The organization’s goal is the provide a hand up, not a hand out,” Hayes said.
Donated sewing machines are repaired and cleaned by a volunteer in Guelph who works on two machines per week. Co-ops, some as small as two members to others facilitating 20 members, are formed with the women of Nicaragua and PAN in local churches. Machines are not given to the co-op. Members must work by giving back to the community in the form of a sewing donations to a local hospital. The co-op’s members choose what article they will sew and PAN decides on the amount. Fabric and notions are supplied by PAN.
Upon completion of the project, the co-op’s debt is paid and the church owns the sewing machine. Under this agreement, called The Payment Project, the co-op benefits by receiving sewing machines and the hospitals benefit by receiving much needed supplies. Items usually sewn for hospitals are crib sheets, hospital gowns and pajama bottoms. Women also learn how to run a co-op, manage money and vote. Upon completion of the program a serger sewing machine is given to the group to help make their projects look more professional.
“I return about every six months just to check on the co-op and help in any way I can,” Hayes said. “Although most of us are not fluent in Spanish we communicate through sewing.”
A second project called The Contract Project is available to the co-ops upon the initial project being completed. This project involves the co-op making crib sheets, hospital gowns, hospital pajama bottoms, isolet sheets, and warming bed sheets for children’s hospitals in Nicaragua. All supplies are given to the co-op and in turn they provide the labour. A written contract is paid when the sewing projects are completed. Any money earned is seed money for the co-op.
Some co-ops have started stores in their communities selling clothing. Each time a group travels to Nicaragua, they are able see the changes that have been made. Nicaraguan women are teaching other women to sew and have fashion shows planned for the Canadian team.
Each PAN team has a contingency fund that helps with other needs during their mission trips. The fund can provide items including pillows for shelters where women stay while receiving cancer treatments, eye glasses, extra food at feeding stations and bed guard rails for orphanages.
For more information on PAN Missions Canada Inc. visit www.panmissions.org.
