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We are convinced that responsibility towards society starts at home. In this sense, we can point out that through 10 years AES has generated more than 14,153,695 MW/hrs of clean energy for Panama, avoiding the emission of 8,492,217 tons of CO2 to the atmosphere. Our main commitment is that our operations allow the country to grow in an environmentally viable fashion.
However, the development of our operations within mostly rural and difficult access areas has allowed to generated economic befits, making an impact on the transformation of the living conditions of nearby communities, some due to commercial transactions with the company and its workers, and others due to the development of important infrastructure projects.
AES has provided resources in a constant manner to support the construction and equipping of public facilities such as aqueducts, schools, electric connections and has also participated in community support projects from medical missions, school dining halls, and support for sports leagues, among others.
In 2007, the community of Akua Yala, comprised of more than 500 people, near the Bayano plant, received for the first time ever, water and energy services thanks to the rural electrification project, develop entirely by AES, requiring an investment of more than $70,000.
Also, the infant population of Akua Yala, in the Kuna reservation of Madugandi, is provided with pre-school attention at the Family and Community Education Center (CEFACEI). This infrastructure, which provides proper learning conditions, was built with AES support.
We are proud that in 2005, more than 400 people residing in the community of La Esperanza, district of Gualaca, closet o the AES Hydroelectric Complex in Chiriqui, had access to energy thanks to a rural electrification project. Also in Chiriqui, in 2004, the Gualaca water treatment plant was inaugurated, thanks to AES collaboration and development.
Projects that transform
With organizations of the civil society, AES has committed to support important social causes benefiting Panamanian population such as 2006’s 20-30 Telethon.
For two years in a row, more than 700 children were kept away from bad influences and developed athletic skills with the hopes of becoming major league baseball players, participating at the programs from the Omar Moreno Foundation in Panama City and other provinces.
As far as supporting environmental education activities, then more than 150 thousand visitors the Summit Municipal Park receives every year, will enjoy the new Mundo Jaguar pavilion, where they will be able to learn about this unique species, the largest feline in America. Also, starting in 2009, the more than 50 thousand yearly visitors, mostly students, will learn about marine species from the two oceans surrounding Panama, through the new contact tank, which is also supported by AES through the Smithsonian Foundation at the Marine Exhibitions Center in Punta Culebra.
These are a few of the most representative social impact projects AES Panama has developed in the past 10 years.
- The Smithsonian Institute: The donations to the Smithsonian Institute are destined to finance the construction of a modern aquarium.
- Embera Legends and Stories: The legends and stories from the Embera tribe were donated the Ernesto J. Castillero National Library as a cultural contribution to the nation.
- Construction projects: Construction of a recreational field and a basketball court for the school in Kuna Nega, near Cerro Patacón, in Panama City, a road from Gualaca to Caldera, in Chiriquí and from Cañita to La Nícora, in Bayano, and a potable water treatment plant in Gualaca.
- Electrification: Of the towns of La Esperanza and Akua Yala.
- The Omar Moreno Foundation: Contributions to the Omar Moreno Foundation keeps the youth away from vices through baseball clinics and leadership programs.
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