IL Postcard

Jose Has a New Life…But There Are Still Many More Who Need Help

Date: 10/15/2007

October 16, 2007

During a recent visit to Fatima Parish we spent some time talking to the children who live there. We asked how their lives had changed because of the Parish and its staff, headed by Father Javier Manas. Here is just one story…

Jose Antonio Sanchez Pinzon, 18, is handsome, educated, courteous and well spoken. He is also a former gang member from Panama's toughest neighborhood—El Chorrillo.

We ask if he will tell us how the Parish changed his life. With extraordinary composure for one so young, he says: "Sure. I've talked about it many times. It's a little hard to talk about my life…but it can help other people."

Jose's father died of AIDS at a young age, leaving Jose and two sisters to live with their uncle and grandmother. Neither of the adults in the household took a strong hand in raising or disciplining the kids. Soon, Jose fell in with the wrong crowd.

No one asked Jose where he went or kept tabs on when he came home. He soon was the youngest member of a vicious gang. He began smoking pot and was witness to more than a few crimes. "Thank God they never made me try any other drugs. They never made me commit a crime or hold a gun." At about 12 years of age, Jose was too young to be of much use to the gang. But still the gang members kept him around, planning to "train" him soon. He was on his way to becoming a hardened criminal…it was only a matter of time.

By chance, a family friend worked at the Parish. This friend took an interest in Jose and eventually convinced his elderly grandmother to send him to the orphanage. "Get him out of this environment," the friend said. Jose didn't understand why he was being sent away.

Of his new home at the parish, he admits: "I hated it. I was bad and I acted out...I felt abandoned." But Jose says he received constant advice and encouragement. The staff helped him understand how good and full his life could be…if he would only study, behave, finish school. "I don't know when it happened…maybe a year after I came here...but I changed. This is my home now."

Jose is in his final year at Don Bosco, a well-regarded but inexpensive private high school that offers both academic and trade-oriented diplomas. Students can choose to be trained in trades such as auto mechanics or, like Jose, they can follow the academic track, which places an emphasis on information technology (IT).

Jose has his future all planned out. Next year he will go to college and get his degree in architecture. "How will you pay for it?" we ask. "Father Manas is going to help me," he replies. "He and the Parish, they've helped me so much." After college, he'd like to get a post-graduate degree, perhaps in finance or interior design. He will get a job, learn the ropes and, eventually, open his own business.

Graduating high school and going to college can be scary for any kid. In Jose's case, it must be doubly so. Soon he must leave the Parish and strike out on his own, as an adult. We ask one last question: "Are you scared?" He doesn't hesitate: "Yes, I'm a little scared. But…I'm prepared. I feel free and calm. I feel good." He jokes: "I just have to find a date to the prom…I'm ready for the rest."

Best regards,

Jessica Ramesch
Editor, Panama Insider