In Panama, the elderly are returning to school thanks to a government program. Marcia Guerra, 73, whose hands reveal a life of hard work, is back in school. Her motivation is to complete the sixth grade. "My drive right now is to get to the sixth grade," she enthusiastically says during a third-grade class, which she attends with two other students under the guidance of volunteer Graciela Serrano. Alongside her is Nilsa Mendoza, 62, who also dropped out of school due to poverty. "I like the subjects they teach, math... I want to get my sixth grade, like my classmate said, to see if they can help us or how one can get ahead," she says. The "My New Goal" program, launched by the Ministry of Social Development in September 2025, aims to help adults who did not complete primary school. According to the director of the National Literacy Program, Marijulia Barría, many of them first go through a literacy course. Classes are held in volunteers' homes because elderly people are often ashamed to go to school with notebooks. "This is a phenomenon we have noticed because in literacy programs and 'My New Goal' there are more women than men, which is due to socio-economic, cultural reasons, and sexism," explains Barría. Many families, lacking resources, prioritized the education of boys, while girls were kept at home to do housework.
