A fight against poverty and
vandalism in Panamá
RA fight against poverty and
vandalism in Panamá
The program called "Tourist
Assistants", is an idea the
Minister of Tourism of Panama,
Rubén Blades had at the end of
the year 2004. He met with a
group of younsters, all of them
former gang members from popular
areas of Panamá in the
Washington Hotel in Colon City.
In this meeting he explained his
desire to implement a program
where they could become tourist
assistants after receiving full
and complete training.
Once the program was
accomplished with the former
gang members from the San Felipe
area who had been trained in
tourism and the history of
Panama, good manners, safety
rules and basic english during a
6 month period, during which
they received a monthly basic
payment with the purpose of
helping them leave their old
habits and start a new and
better life.
The program was intended to last
6 months only, but due to the
positive response it had, it was
extended indefinitely and it is
still carried on successfully
with about 100 participants.
The program now includes others
who are in social risks like
university students and high
school graduates. This program
is also being implemented in
other areas of tourist interests
like in the highlands, beaches,
central provinces and in the
International Airport of Tocumen.
After interviewing the
assistants in their working
environment, we realized they
were feeling safe and grateful
to the program.
Andrés Beckford, a 28 year old
who has been working as a
tourist assistant for two years
and a half said: "This program
has changed my life and the life
of my family. My wife was 5
months pregnant and I was
unemployed when I was offered
this opportunity. In that very
moment I felt it was my chance
to improve myself. They taught
me real values and place in
society. Then, they trained me
in different areas like basic
english, history of the Old
Quarter, communication skills,
and much more.
José Uno, another 24 year old in
the program, mentioned: "People
have no idea of how many
tourists comes by every day.
Thanks to this program, we are
able to give them full
information about the place and
the historical monuments. It
would be great that more people
could know about us, since most
of the tourists, when they get
here, already have a tour
operator or a guide. We are here
in the Old Quarter every day
working as a team and there
exists great communication
between all of us. And the most
important fact is that we are
being paid for this work and
this allows us to stay away from
crime and vandalism.
So far, the success of this
program has been measured based
on the satisfaction of San
Felipe residents, tourists, and
especially the tourist
assistants, who have been able
to change their lives. In some
cases, tourist assistant
services have permanently hired
them to work in their business.
Panamá, April 2009
Media Contact:
Michelle Hatch
mhatch@publicuatro.com
(507) 300-6015
www.visitpanama.com
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