From Street Gang to Service Industry in Panama

In January 2014, we began working with the Ciudad de Dios gang in San Felipe. Following graduation in April, we reported that the group voluntarily removed their graffiti, adopted the name “Forteleza." Some had begun working and some had started businesses.

At the six month mark we asked an indpendent firm, Vitalitas, to help us survey the participants, police and community to understand what changes had taken place. Here is some of what they found:

• 85% of the graduates are still working A majority of police and community members surveyed reported a positive change in the participants' behavior
• Only about 20% of the residents surveyed believe there is an active gang on their street, versus over 60% prior to the start of the program.
• The participant's risk factors (arrests, negative conduct, victimization and involvement with drugs) have dropped sharply, while their protection factors (social capital and participation in society) have increased.

We were thrilled by those statistics. And thankful for everyone who supported this intervention. But maybe most powerful were the words that the participants spoke to the interviewers about the changes they felt:

• “My mentality has changed, my way of making a living has changed. Now I have a vision for the future. I don’t think about killing nor in being killed.”
• “I don’t live trapped, running from the law, thinking about food.”
• “Before people looked at me with fear. Now they respect me.”
• “Now I can heal wounds I caused to my community.”
• "I can walk with tourists and be part of society."

Employer reviews of the graduates working in Casco hotels are positive and Forteleza Tours is going strong. The boys are making a living and creating a vibrant cultural attraction in an area that tourists feared just a few months ago. (The full report is attached as a .pdf, which includes the a project finance summary).

So while there is a lot of work left, we are comfortable saying at this point that the intervention was a sucess. Casco Viejo has one fewer gang and eleven new leaders thanks to your help!

We learned a lot from this intervention and are looking forward to doing it again with one of the two remaining Casco Viejo gangs starting in October. If you know anyone who would be interested in knowing about Esperanza, please encourage them to become a member of the Esperanza Social Venture Club. We depend on members' monthly membership dues to keep this good work going!

• Full report (PDF)