Dear Friends,

2020 was a year like no other. Latin America and the Caribbean were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbating inequities and triggering an economic recession. We at the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) stood by the most vulnerable in the region in their time of greatest need, providing an immediate response. We adapted our programs and identified innovative ways to continue to deliver services and support communities across the hemisphere and promote resilient livelihoods. We invite you to read our 2020 Annual Report and learn about the lives we impacted and the stories of hope and promise for a better future. Soon after the start of the pandemic, we realized that hunger was an immediate consequence of lockdowns and massive unemployment. Through strategic partnerships with the public and private sectors, we mobilized support to deliver food baskets to the most vulnerable populations in Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico, such as migrants, displaced persons, domestic workers, and populations in insecure and remote areas. These food baskets contained the basic staples to feed a family of four for a month and provided a lifeline when these families needed it most. To mitigate the health and economic impacts of the pandemic, PADF raised funds for the purchase of groceries and medicines to support children with severe disabilities in the community of Juchitán, Mexico. These vulnerable children relied on services from a local community center built with PADF’s assistance and closed temporarily during the pandemic. We also moved quickly to produce and disseminate educational materials focused on prevention, hygiene, fighting disinformation, and encouraging citizens to stay home. These health awareness materials were translated into English, Spanish, and Creole and adapted to each culture and context. In Haiti, for instance, we partnered with popular performing artist BIC to release a new song, sharing public health guidelines and demonstrating how to wash hands properly. PADF helped over 1.3 million people in 2020, people like Alba Luz Germán, a young and determined survivor of domestic violence from El Salvador. She is the owner of Alba’s Bakery, a start-up that received support through our labor rights program and is now growing and on the path to the formal economy.

”IT HASN’T BEEN EASY. I SUFFERED SO MUCH VIOLENCE,” SAID ALBA. “BUT NOW, I’M FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT AND I CAN SHARE THIS ACHIEVEMENT WITH MY EMPLOYEES. THERE IS NO LIMIT TO WHAT I CAN DO.”

We agree with Alba and believe that there is no limit to what our region can accomplish. Throughout the year, we pivoted our programs to continue to provide targeted support despite the ongoing pandemic. In Guatemala, where PADF aims to prevent and respond to trafficking in persons by educating and empowering local women in the Western Highlands, we moved all training online and worked with participants virtually – a bold and innovative move for a project focused on areas where internet penetration is low. We implemented not one, but three successful online trainings for a total of almost 400 people. In Haiti, we offered environmental education to students, teachers, and their surrounding communities. We trained students on the consequences of deforestation, the importance and benefits of trees, and techniques for tree planting and maintenance. Equipped with this new knowledge, these youth will help build a better, greener future. In Belize, we are advising the criminal justice sector on reforms to the legislative framework aimed at supporting and protecting victims and witnesses. This important work seeks to increase assistance to persons eligible for witness protection and who may be unwilling to testify and cooperate during criminal proceedings. Our team remains committed to promoting economic recovery in the months and years ahead and creating a hemisphere of opportunity, for all. We have continued to diversify our donor base, with more support from multilaterals, diverse governments, and private sector companies. We are grateful to our donors and invite others to join us in our mission to support the most vulnerable in the region during this critical time. With gratitude, Kathy Barclay Board President Katie Taylor Executive Director

1.1 million

People receiving WASH and infection prevention supplies, messages, psychosocial support or primary healthcare

104,433

Households/people benefitting from direct cash/in-kind financial aid and/or food assistance

23,310

Vulnerable populations who are food secure

126

Marginalized communities receiving and using health services or public information channels

15

Health and nutrition community-led and managed development initiatives

9

Activities addressing transparency, anti-corruption, citizen engagement, and service delivery for vulnerable groups

65

Cases receiving decentralized legal support in partnership with civil society organizations

247

Communities with institutions in place that increase confidence related to rule of law or other police and citizen security actions

34

Community security plans for COVID-19 implemented between law enforcement, civil society organizations, and communities

At three a.m., Roseline Dieudonné’s house is active. A widow for the past 10 years, she rises early to prepare food for her three children before school. Around six o’clock, she concludes her housework and dons her uniform to work on the 277-meter-long construction site on St. Paul Street in Limonade, one of the largest sites of PADF’s municipal development and urban resiliency project in Haiti. An optimist, Roseline keeps her spirits up with thoughts of her children for whom she would make any sacrifice. Prior to her employment at the construction site, she worked odd jobs, from selling kitchen utensils to selling second-hand clothing. However, she was without work for some time before the arrival of the PADF project in Limonade. The wage that Roseline receives is used to pay for part of her children’s schooling. “I would love to continue my work at the construction site, but it is time to allow others the opportunity. We are all in need here,” she said. Currently in the second year of its three-year duration, the project aims to reinforce the resiliency of northern communes and to improve the capabilities, infrastructures, and basic services of municipalities. Previously, in the rainy seasons, water entered houses, mosquitos and other insects swarmed, and mud would reach the ankles of residents of St. Paul Street. As threats of flooding and the effects of climate change increase, PADF is helping to alleviate these problems and improve the area, while creating jobs and building skills for residents.

Language lessons have been, by far, one of the most successful and demanded activities of programs that seek to support the integration of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in non-Spanish speaking contexts. Under our project to support Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the Caribbean, PADF developed a dual strategy to bridge the language gap between Venezuelan refugees and migrants as well as local first responders. In Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, PADF and its local partners virtually facilitated English as a Second Language (ESL) trainer-of-trainer courses for teachers in communities with a high concentration of Venezuelan children. PADF and its partners also provided ESL lessons to Venezuelan refugees and migrants throughout both countries. Finally, PADF and partners offered basic Spanish courses for local first responders from government agencies and local civil society organizations so that they could provide better services to Venezuelan migrants. In total, PADF reached nearly 500 persons with virtual language courses in 2020.

Every year, increasingly intense storms endanger the lives of thousands of Belizeans and threaten their efforts to achieve greater economic and social progress. To reduce disaster risk, PADF supported small-scale infrastructure improvements to foster more effective drainage and reduce the effects of flooding on households in low-lying areas. PADF introduced local authorities and residents to mobile-based data collection tools that enabled the rapid collection of georeferenced data on flood susceptibility and to inform decision making regarding where to prioritize infrastructure improvements. Over 15,000 residents benefited from drainage improvements completed during the project. As part of this project, PADF led the development of mobile-based survey tools to support the mapping of community lifelines in flood-prone areas. This effort improved understanding of the risks facing community facilities that deliver vital services, such as access to clean drinking water, electricity, transportation, health care, and public safety. PADF sees that lifelines are essential to disaster resilience given their ability to provide life- sustaining support for residents before, during, and after disasters. Finally, PADF held educational campaigns on emergency preparedness and the dangers of littering and the use of single-use plastics, as these can often contribute to poor drainage and flooding during intense storms.

“By engaging government officials, university students and children leaders in direct implementation, PADF has aligned strategic alliances among local actors and built a robust foundation for flood risk reduction measures in San Ignacio and Santa Elena Towns,” said Project Director Dr. Minerva Pinelo.

In October, we announced the appointment of First Lady of Panama Yazmín Colón de Cortizo as PADF’s Goodwill Ambassador for STEM Education. In this new role, First Lady Colón de Cortizo will promote STEM education as a strategy to build the skills of students across Latin America, especially girls, for the 21st century.

“EDUCATION PROVIDES A SOCIAL LEVEL PLAYING FIELD, WHICH IS WHY THE GOVERNMENT OF PANAMA IS COMMITTED TO PROMOTING QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL. IT IS A GREAT HONOR TO REPRESENT SUCH AN IMPORTANT MISSION. THE PANDEMIC HAS SHOWN THAT WITH INNOVATION AND COOPERATION WE CAN TURN ANY CRISIS INTO AN OPPORTUNITY, AS WE HAVE BEEN DOING. WE MUST UNITE SO THAT STUDENTS FROM OUR REGION HAVE THE EDUCATION THEY DESERVE,” SAID FIRST LADY COLÓN DE CORTIZO.

The official designation event was attended by the First Ladies of Argentina, Brazil, Honduras, and Paraguay, all of whom delivered remarks in support of STEM education.

Decades of armed conflict in Colombia have led to a lack of trust between police and rural communities, exacerbated by the limitations of addressing security challenges in isolated territories. To improve relations between law enforcement and rural communities, PADF supports the Directorate of Rural Security (DICAR) in creating solutions to improve citizen security in rural areas of Colombia. One of the main objectives of the project is to support the technological modernization of rural policing through the strengthening of DICAR’s technology system, the Integrated Rural Operational Control Center (CICOR). Initially, we purchased equipment for CICOR that would allow DICAR to conduct criminal analyses on operations to counteract the crimes that deter security in rural areas.

HOWEVER, PADF NOT ONLY OUTFITTED DICAR WITH HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE, BUT ALSO DEVELOPED AN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (ICT) SYSTEM, KNOWN AS SIDCAR, THAT STRENGTHENS THE ABILITY TO PLAN, ANALYZE, AND DISSEMINATE SECURITY INFORMATION, AND RESPOND TO THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN RURAL COMMUNITIES.

Through the ICT application, law enforcement can better receive information from citizens and swiftly respond to and prevent future security challenges. DICAR now has a modern platform, making use of current technologies, to integrate geographical and institutional databases to meet rural citizen security needs and provide effective service.

This vital program seeks to increase assistance to persons eligible for witness protection and who may be unwilling to testify and cooperate during criminal proceedings.

The program is aimed at:

CRIMINAL JUSTICE STAKEHOLDERS

such as the police, prosecution, and law enforcement authorities

CITIZENS

who may be victims or witnesses of crimes

Unfortunately, many victims and witnesses are unable to participate in the criminal proceedings, significantly impacting case backlog and making it more difficult for cases to be concluded. The relatively small size of Belize and cost of implementing witness protection present additional challenges to the program. PADF has facilitated two high-level virtual roundtable meetings on witness protection and victim care for the criminal justice sector of the Belize Police Prosecution Professionalization Program. The impressive turnout at the meetings indicates a commitment of direct engagement and buy-in by leading stakeholders to ensure the necessary reforms to the legislative framework in the support, assistance, and protection to victims and witnesses, and the effective implementation of existing legislation.

PADF aims to prevent and respond to trafficking in persons (TIP) in Guatemala by educating and empowering local women in the Western Highlands to prevent TIP in their communities and providing government agencies and local organizations the knowledge and skills they need to attend to victims of trafficking. Key to these efforts are specialized training cycles tailored to the needs of participants, but in March the COVID-19 pandemic upended PADF’s plans as the government implemented restrictions on gatherings and domestic travel, making in-person training impossible. In response to the new reality, PADF decided early on to move all TIP training online and to work with participants virtually – a bold move for a project focused on areas where Internet penetration is low. Local staff worked tirelessly to adapt training content to online learning, support and upgrade government e-training platforms, and reach out to local communities. In the following months, PADF implemented not one but three successful online trainings for a total of almost 400 people – one on prevention for rural women from the Western Highlands, another for public servants working with child victims, and a third for local organizations and government agencies. Critical to this success was providing participants credit to access the Internet and participate via smartphones, setting up support and discussion groups through text apps such as WhatsApp, and conducting one-on-one follow-up with participants to troubleshoot issues and keep them engaged.