The PANICA programme is financed by the Norwegian Red Cross and was initiated in Bogotá in 1973. In Santa Marta the programme was started up 1.5 years ago. We work in two different lines with the vulnerable children. The first line is working with the poor neighbourhoods to prevent the children there to spend a lot of their time in the streets and finally ending up living there, and the second line is working with the children who are already living in the streets, visiting them in the streets and arranging activities for them. In other cities in Colombia the Red Cross also arranges courses for the mothers of the vulnerable children so that they can provide an income to their families, but this has not yet been started in Santa Marta.

In Santa Marta there are mainly 10 volunteers in PANICA, but the other youth volunteers participate in PANICA activites when there is need for them to participate or they want to participate, so there are really more volunteers involved in the programme than the “stable” volunteers. The volunteers play with the children, participate in learning activities and also organize more practical issues. In addition to the volunteers there are also two girls that are doing an internship in psychology in the Red Cross and their work consists of planning and arranging PANICA activities.

We work every Saturday in the neighbourhood Los Alpes with activities for the children and information about important issues such as communication, values, child abuse, self esteem and sexual abuse of children. The children we work with in Los Alpes are between 5 to 13 years old, and about 35 children participate in the programme. These children come from poor families and some of them are internally displaced because of the conflict in Colombia. The main goal is to prevent situations which expulse the children out on the streets.

In addition to working to prevent children to spend all their time in the streets, PANICA in Santa Marta, as I have mentioned above, also works in the streets with the children living there. Every Thursday night we go out in the streets to talk with the children, give them attention in first aid (cleaning wounds etc.) and also occasional recreational activities.

Santa Marta Red Cross is also cooperating with the Fundación Corazones Felices, a foundation which also wishes to get the children away from the streets. We work with the street children every Wednesday and about 10-15 children from 10 to 18 years participate every time. We have a place where there is room for all the children. They can wash themselves and wash their clothes and get something to eat. PANICA is in charge of the learning activities where we use more or less the same issues as in Los Alpes and the goal is to make them want to go back to their families if it is possible.  

My youth delegate partner and I have settled down in Santa Marta and are feeling very welcomed. We are impressed by the volunteers that spend so much of their time doing Red Cross activities and always with a lot of enthusiasm and we are looking forward to continuing our work!

Street children heading back after an afternoon of PANICA activites.