San Bartolo

  • Overview
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Business

Overview

San Bartolo is located in the biodiverse region of East Panama and Global Brigades began working with community members in March 2021. Community members have access to credit through an established and thriving community bank which will support continued investment in local businesses and home improvement projects for families within the community. People in San Bartolo are primarily dedicated to agriculture and the sale of artisanal crafts. Through Global Brigades, ongoing training for community members is being held.

Corregimiento: Veraguas
District: La Mesa

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS:

The community of San Bartolo currently has a health post (puesto de salud) attended by a nurse. When there is only a nurse available and a community member needs to see a doctor or dentist, they must travel to La Mesa, the nearest town with a full health center where doctors and occasionally dentists are on staff.  The trip by bus can take 10 minutes, but visitors to the health center can expect long wait times given the limited staff and resources to meet the demand from all neighboring communities.

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS

In working closely with the medical program, the dental program provides fillings, extractions, and fluoride treatments as a standard part of medical brigades. Most community members do not have regular access to dental care due to the lack of dentist within a reasonable distance.

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

SAN BARTOLO’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Community members in San Bartolo lack access to financial resources within the community. The majority of community members do not have bank accounts and there are only limited informal forms of credit available.  For example, a person could obtain ‘credit’ at a local store by buying something now and paying later, simply adding it to their ‘tab,’ but there would be no formalized credit transaction.  Larger financial institutions do not approve loans to community members without a fixed income, making it difficult for local micro-enterprises to grow and thrive. Most community members cite the distance to the nearest bank as the main discouragement to having a personal savings account. Even if individuals wish to travel the distance, not all community members can become members of these financial institutions–cooperatives require monthly membership fees, savings accounts often require a fixed income, and the cost of travel provides an additional barrier.

EL POSTE’S MICROFINANCE SOLUTION

The Global Brigades Business and Microfinance Team trained a new Community Bank in San Bartolo in January 2021. The community bank members and executive board are receiving ongoing training to ensure the bank’s sustainability and encourage the opening of more savings to give out loans to bank members and spur economic growth and home improvement projects.

Local Reference Points

View the map to see the closest volunteer lodging facilities, hospitals, and other relevant points of reference.

  • Feature

The Largest Movement for Global Health and Holistic Development

“Global Brigades” refers to one or more Global Brigades entities, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity; “Global Brigades, Inc.,” “Global Brigades Health and Development,” “Global Brigades UK,” “GBO Ghana,” “Asociacion Global Brigadas de Honduras,” and “Fundacion Brigadas Globales de Panama”. Global Brigades Health and Development (“Global Brigades Canada”) is a federally registered Canadian charity independent from Global Brigades Inc.

Guidestar 2021