Panama, Casco Antiguo
Casco Viejo, San Felipe


Heriberto Trejos had a big smile on his face. A group of women who live in San Felipe, Santa Ana and Chorrillo are being interviewed to participate in a hotel training course organized by Fundacion Calicanto. As the manager of the foundation, Heriberto has a diverse portfolio of social projects, all of them with a common goal: breaking the cycle of poverty in the local families of Casco Antiguo, allowing them to take control of their lives and be an active element of the thriving future of the historic city.

One of its most successful programs has been hotel training. For several reasons: it is focused to women, which immediately helps raise the lifestyle of an entire family. But also because of the high demand of their services, they are able to find jobs right out from the "professional practice" period.

Listening to them talking during the group interview held at San Felipe, it was encouraging to see their enthusiasm. "The main reason I’m doing this is for my children. I want to be able to give them an education and the things that were not available for me when I was their age." said one of the participants. But personal growth was also a big part of their motivation, although nothing competes against the children, as these are mothers of at least two or three.

Going through these programs changes them completely. These are women who regain their self esteem and the respect of their families. They go from being "just mom" to a valuable engine and a life partner to their husband, as they can now help administrate the family income and support him both emotionally and economically. The program includes several modes, which cover both personal growth and professional. According to Heriberto, he learned this during the first generations, as they were mainly professionally trained but not much attention was paid to deal with humanist subjects. The result was that many of them were not able to hold their jobs, and their self esteem didn’t really made too much progress. New professional tools alone won’t get the job done, you need to approach the humanist aspect of it as well.

Each generation of students, the Foundation learns more on how to improve the program. It sounds easy, but it takes a lot of work. However, seeing these women grow and knowing how this impacts their lives and their children’s lives, Heriberto is confident that a better future is already here for them all.