Panamanian Organizations Help Young Mothers Return to School

Through a friend, she learned about the Voces Vitales foundation, thanks to which she was able to complete her high school education and find a job. The reality these young women are facing now is that they have often already dropped out of school before becoming pregnant. "These women, who had no hope of studying and getting ahead, have been given that opportunity," she comments to Panamá América. With the support of her grandmother, her aunt, and her partner, she was able to move forward, but she had to drop out of school to care for her firstborn. She adds that thanks to the foundation, she came to value her role as a mother and as a person, and she faced the fears she had in life. "I have been able to do many things, like enroll in university, which I will start next year," she recounted. In the end, the student gets frustrated and drops out of school. Yesica Pinzón coordinates the foundation's program called Las Claras, aimed at teenage mothers so they can complete their studies, offering them a high school diploma in commerce. Her daughter is now 4 years old and attends the stimulation program that Voces Vitales implements. In the 10 years she has been collaborating with Voces Vitales, Zuleyka affirms that it's not that these girls don't want to or can't move forward. "I have a house that I was able to finish building; I helped my brother graduate from high school; I help my grandmother. Among its programs, Voces Vitales has an integral education program aimed precisely at these teenage mothers to prevent them from becoming just another statistic among the thousands of school dropouts recorded in the country. To this are added the social problems of the communities and the lack of sex education," she said. After working for two years, Zuleika, at 22, has given a direction to her life, her little girl's, and even her family's. They serve girls between 15 and 19 years old and have managed to graduate 157 teenage mothers over the years. They operate in the community of Felipillo, in Pacora, and also see minors from San Miguelito, Chepo, and 24 de Diciembre. "The education system does not guarantee the knowledge that precedes the next grade. These young women are inserted into a program aimed at enabling them to get a job once they obtain their high school diploma, as happened with Zuleyka. While in her final years of high school, Zuleyka faced a very difficult stage in her young life: she became pregnant and lost her mother. This situation has led her to ask if, as a country, we are making an investment so that our population is resilient and productive. "You meet brilliant, super intelligent people, who simply, the system has been negligent with them, and that human resource is lost," she stated. The task is not easy, admits Yesica.