What Happened
Cobre Panamá, in coordination with local authorities and community groups, has been running a series of cleaning and maintenance workdays in La Pintada and Donoso that are creating direct employment for residents.
Details of the Workdays
In La Pintada, seven community members were hired to carry out cleaning and maintenance in the bypass area linking Santa Ana, Los Reyes and Farallón. An additional three people were hired in San Juan de Turbe to perform maintenance work at the community school, bringing the total beneficiaries of this first phase to ten. Those workdays began approximately 15 days ago.
The program will expand in the Omar Torrijos area with planned activities in San Juan de Turbe, Nuevo San José, Nazareno and Coclesito. The company plans a staggered hiring of 18 additional people in those communities, aiming to reach an impact of 28 community members hired by the end of March.
Donoso Program and Reach
In Donoso district, a green area maintenance program developed with the Donoso Civic Committee has benefited 162 community members over the past five months. The beneficiaries include cleaning staff, boat operators and support personnel, and 60 of those hired have been women. Work under this program has taken place in communities such as Río Belén, Palmilla, Coclé del Norte, Platanal, Aguacate, Limón, Quebrada Grande, Chalón, Miguel de la Borda, Río Indio, Govea and Río Diego.
Voices from the Communities
Local residents expressed appreciation for the opportunities. “We are very grateful to Cobre Panamá for the opportunity they are giving us. In La Pintada, there isn’t much work sometimes, and being considered for these tasks is something we really appreciate,” said Xavier Castroverde, a resident of La Pintada and one of those hired for the cleanup days.
From the company, Maru Gálvez, Public Relations Manager at Cobre Panamá, emphasized the goal of broadening access to income: “We know that many families in these communities need job opportunities. That’s why, in addition to the hiring that is already taking place, we are promoting these job fairs so that more people can have an income and support their families.”
What This Means
The initiatives demonstrate Cobre Panamá’s local employment focus and its collaboration with municipal and civic bodies to maintain community spaces while providing short-term jobs. By targeting a mix of locations and roles — including positions accessible to women and residents of smaller communities — the program aims to spread benefits across multiple nearby population centers. Continued expansion through the end of March is expected to increase the number of residents directly employed by these activities.