Fight Poverty: Educate Women in Panama

“In CAPTA I learned to break the pattern of violence”

“I am a domestic violence survivor and grew up in a violent home, no woman should have to live in fear”. When Agustina joined the program, she was an unemployed mother of 2 children. She came to Fundacion Calicanto depressed and with low self-esteem but eventually pieced her life back together.

The Mission of our Women, Gender and Identity Workshop is to break the cycle of domestic violence by providing the tools which allow women to make positive choices and lead their lives without fear of the future. As Agustina said: “In CAPTA I learned to break the pattern of violence. I opened my eyes and realized I deserve respect and that I must make that decision myself.”

Agustina is one of our graduates. She persisted until the CAPTA vocational phase and took the intensive Housekeeping Training. As a very strong woman, she pursued her dreams and now she runs her own housekeeping service company, where she hires CAPTA graduates and other women in the community.

Women like Agustina motivate us to continue our work with CAPTA. We are currently training 30 beneficiaries from different communities in the CAPTA 49. These women have stood out for their desire to learn and at the same time have encouraged us with their openness.

The first phase of the program is about to be completed with a focused on Human Development. It has been like an awakening because through the trainings in Emotional Intelligence, Assertive Communication, Gender and Women rights, and others, the women are prepared to deal effectively with their inner conflicts, self-esteem and their misconceptions about themselves and others.

In CAPTA, Human Development is thought to be cultivated and enhanced throughout life.

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On August 1st, we held the 48th graduation of CAPTA participants. On this occasion we would like to share with you the graduation speech of one of our students:

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world – Nelson Mandela

Good day: Members of Fundacion Calicanto, dear teachers, family, friends, colleagues and everyone who is proud of us today. A thousand thanks for joining us, this achievement is not only mine, but my relatives who gave me their support.

Nothing is easy, nothing is given free in this world, everything must be learned with great effort. Despite the initial difficulties faced, I have faith that we can make profound changes in this process, and this faith gives me hope.

It is a great honor for me to represent my classmates. We had difficult moments, we struggled, but to reach the finish line is an exceptional reward that will remain in our memory.

By working and healing together through CAPTA 48, we developed new friendships, a new outlook and understandingof life that will influence us to be creative in our everyday lives. We believe we have what it takes to get ahead.

CAPTA showed us that we are strong and have the capacity to do the things right. The program taught us to be responsible and to share with others what we received. We are women who want to inspire hope and make a small contribution to our families and neighborhoods.

Knowledge and training as elements of freedom, are essential for so many human activities and values. On the day I entered the doors of Fundacion Calicanto I had numerous questions and numerous fears, that over the past weeks were transformed into answers and make plans, “the actions we take today are the foundations of our future.”

I am thankful to our teachers who not only provided excellent teaching but also boosted our morale and confidence. Finally, I should thank our families that have always been supportive, giving us courage to move forward. 

We are almost at the starting point of a new stage in our lives, one that fills us with optimism and enthusiasm. We learned from CAPTA that work is rewarding, dignifies people, creates health and creates opportunities for us to be leaders.

Yes, we can CAPTA girls!

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