At the opening ceremony of the second educational meeting to promote the project and the training of activists, the minister thanked Cuba for its solidarity and cooperation, and the results of this effort that has tought 81,920 people to read and write in 16 years.

Castillo congratulated the volunteers who serve this vulnerable part of the population and said that there are some 120,000 people who have been left behind, according to statistics from the current administration, but many of them have learned to read and write thanks to the Cuban method, she added.

The official urged to increase the number of students, as part of a social policy to address gaps such as poverty and inequality.

National Literacy Director Carlos Contreras, in turn, said that in 2023, 1,810 illiterate people, mostly women, learned to read and write, and the goal for 2024 is to reach 2,000 people.

From 2019 until last December, in this Government, 5,804 people have become literate and currently some 300 students attend the different environments, he noted.

There will be no rest in the eagerness to reach every Panamanian citizen and give them the opportunity to study and improve their quality of life, which does not end when they receive their diploma, he remarked.

The knowledge a human being receives is for life and it is never too late to learn, he said, referring to Felipa Ruiz, a 105-year-old woman who lives in the district of Capira, Panama Oeste province, who learned to add, subtract, read and write.

The commercial attaché of the Cuban Embassy in Panama, Leidiana Martínez, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to continue to provide this cooperation with the literacy method created by Professor Leonela Relys.

She underlined the intellectual authorship of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and stated that the program’s premise is to provide love and respect the idiosyncrasy of each people.

jg/arm/mem/ga