{"id":4777,"date":"2025-12-11T04:50:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T04:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepanamaproject.org\/?page_id=4777"},"modified":"2026-07-03T05:41:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T05:41:00","slug":"a-mission-interrupted","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/our-story\/a-mission-interrupted\/","title":{"rendered":"A Mission Interrupted"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"4777\" class=\"elementor elementor-4777\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2344b186 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2344b186\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;gradient&quot;}\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d5d297 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6d5d297\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-32a1610d elementor-widget elementor-widget-elementskit-heading\" data-id=\"32a1610d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"elementskit-heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ekit-wid-con\" ><div class=\"ekit-heading elementskit-section-title-wraper text_center   ekit_heading_tablet-   ekit_heading_mobile-\"><h1 class=\"ekit-heading--title elementskit-section-title \">A Mission <span>Interrupted<\/span><\/h1><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1e5f1fb4 elementor-section-content-middle elementor-reverse-mobile elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1e5f1fb4\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6cfc0b7b\" data-id=\"6cfc0b7b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-387ff5a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"387ff5a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>From Isolation to Global Impact :<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2eb1d09 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2eb1d09\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The\nPanama Project<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-26f370b4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"26f370b4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>How one Rotarian turned a pandemic lockdown\u00a0 into a blueprint for global change.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-319b30af elementor-section-content-middle elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"319b30af\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-48980c28\" data-id=\"48980c28\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7c8d434 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7c8d434\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">A Mission\nInterrupted<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7cf7da7a gallery-spacing-custom elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-image-gallery\" data-id=\"7cf7da7a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image-gallery.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-image-gallery\">\n\t\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-4777 gallery-columns-1 gallery-size-large'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"7cf7da7a\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"31.png\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6NTM2NiwidXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6XC9cL2RpdmFpbmQuY29tXC95YXMxXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDI2XC8wN1wvMzEucG5nIiwic2xpZGVzaG93IjoiN2NmN2RhN2EifQ%3D%3D\" href='https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/31.png'><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"462\" src=\"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/31-1024x462.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/31-1024x462.png 1024w, https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/31-300x135.png 300w, https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/31-768x346.png 768w, https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/31-1536x693.png 1536w, https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/31-2048x924.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"7cf7da7a\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"29.png\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6NTM2NywidXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6XC9cL2RpdmFpbmQuY29tXC95YXMxXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDI2XC8wN1wvMjktMS5wbmciLCJzbGlkZXNob3ciOiI3Y2Y3ZGE3YSJ9\" href='https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/29-1.png'><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"713\" height=\"417\" src=\"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/29-1.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/29-1.png 713w, https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/29-1-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 713px) 100vw, 713px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-slideshow=\"7cf7da7a\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"28.png\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6NTM2OCwidXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6XC9cL2RpdmFpbmQuY29tXC95YXMxXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDI2XC8wN1wvMjgtMS5wbmciLCJzbGlkZXNob3ciOiI3Y2Y3ZGE3YSJ9\" href='https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/28-1.png'><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"689\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/28-1-689x1024.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/28-1-689x1024.png 689w, https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/28-1-202x300.png 202w, https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/28-1-768x1142.png 768w, https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/28-1.png 861w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 689px) 100vw, 689px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1ccbd3a4\" data-id=\"1ccbd3a4\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6cfa15ad elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6cfa15ad\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In early 2020, as the world braced for the COVID\u201119 pandemic, Steve Bender \u2014 President of the Rotary Club of<\/p><p>Newport Beach \u2014 was in Panama preparing for another global outreach mission.<\/p><p>Bender, the CEO of Ayuda International, leads a team of volunteer dentists and dental students from the<\/p><p>University of Southern California (USC). Each year Ayuda provides more than a million dollars\u2019 worth of free dental<\/p><p>services to underserved communities in Southern California and abroad.<\/p><p>As was his custom, Steve flew out two days ahead of his advance setup team to prepare equipment and supplies<\/p><p>and coordinate local logistics. But this time, everything changed overnight.<\/p><p>When Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) abruptly shut down due to global travel restrictions, Steve\u2019s team<\/p><p>was stranded in California \u2014 and Steve himself was stranded on Isla Col\u00f3n, a small Island in the Bocas del Toro<\/p><p>archipelago off Panama\u2019s Caribbean coast.<\/p><p>Cut off from his team, from air travel, and from the rhythm of his humanitarian work, Bender faced an unthinkable<\/p><p>pause. But what might have been a period of helpless isolation soon transformed into something far more<\/p><p>powerful: a seed of innovation and community impact that grew far beyond the island<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Mission Interrupted From Isolation to Global Impact : The Panama Project How one Rotarian turned a pandemic lockdown\u00a0 into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4198,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4777","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4777"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5506,"href":"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4777\/revisions\/5506"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/divaind.com\/yas1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}