You open the newspaper anywhere in the world (Panama is not the exception!) and all you see is trouble. Get to the "international" section and you are splashed with the blood of all the current conflicts overseas, which are, sad enough, many. The environment is suffering no matter what people say or don´t say and everything sounds so apocaliptic it makes you unsensitive. It surpasses your level of caring. What can I do? I´m just one person. Problems are just so overwhealming. We have too many of our own problems to be worrying about water, pollution, poverty and war.
But then I get to work, to my "mini" environment, to those small things I can control and contribute. From home composting to donating courses for low income families to get their children to the Scouts or the mothers back to school. Small details that change their lives forever, a great return for little money and a lot of good will.
One of the things I enjoy the most from living, working and investing in Casco Viejo is that it gives me the opportunity to help others around me. I didn´t have that compelling thrive when I lived outside Casco. The phrase "To Live, to love, to learn and to leave a legacy" was confined to teaching ballet the best I could to my young students.
But in Casco Viejo you can be the difference. And the multiplying effect is almost immediate.
Families growing happier, step by step taking control of their lives. Children learning new skills with a smile on their face. Buildings getting restored, history recovered. A city coming back to life.
At the end of the day, we don´t need to save the world. We only need to save as much as our street. Not even our neighborhood! that will fall naturally. Sometimes I think the problem is when people say: either I go for the big stuff or I don´t do it at all. Well... Big stuff is important, but starting on the lower level sometimes is more meaningful and creates the basis for the big stuff to happen when things are ready.
And what do I gain? directly: happy neighbors! In my own small way, I believe a better neighborhood makes for a better country and a better future.
