TIME
MAGAZINE - November 12, 2007
Postcard: Panama
A bitter dispute over a wealthy American's will has become a metaphor for this nations big divide.
Inside the fight for $50 million
Posted, Friday, Nov. 02, 2007
By TIM PADGETT
These are heady days for tiny Panama. It is undertaking a massive expansion of the Panama Canal, luring billions of dollars in maritime and high-tech investment that could make it the Hong Kong of the Americas. But here's the other side: in the past few months, scores of toddlers have died of malnutrition in villages around the country. More than half of Panamanian children under 5 are at risk of suffering the same fate. That's why, say friends of Wilson (Chuck) Lucom, who died last year at 88, the eccentric U.S. millionaire left as much as $50 million in his will for poor children's charities in Panama. It's the largest private gift ever made here. The will doesn't single out which relief organizations will be recipients. But, as the director of a charity that may benefit says, it could have a "tremendous impact on our ability to save these children."
READ FULL STORY online: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1680177,00.html
DOWNLOAD TIME Article as PDF: http://www.lucom-ninospobresdepanama.com/pdf/TimeMag_lehman_lucom.pdf
