Alto Estrella is located in the biodiverse region of West Panama and Global Brigades began working with community members in 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 Alto Estrella are primarily dedicated to agriculture and the houses are made of wood and bricks. When Global Brigades visited Alto Estrella, the community members expressed that the top need in the community was to improve health access.
Corregimiento: Müna
District: Comarca Ngabe-Bugle
The community of Alto Estrella currently doesn’t have a health facility, therefore, when the community members need to see a doctor or a dentist, they must travel to Chichica which is 25 KM away from Alto Estrella. Aside from travelling to the nearest community, health centres usually aren’t fully equipped or are short of staff. The common illnesses in the community are diabetes and common colds.
GB Panama’s Medical Dental team started the Agentes Comunitarios en Salud or ACeS program in 2016. “Agentes” from 10 communities in Eastern Panama and Darien were Panama’s first community health workers. Currently, the CHW program is in its planning stage and CHW will be trained as soon as feasible.
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.
Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Alto Estrella but has not yet begun with the Water Brigades program. Now in the planning phase, the research, construction, and installation of a water system will start as soon as feasible.
Community members in Alto Estrella 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. 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.
Loans Disbursed
The Global Brigades Business and Microfinance Team trained a new Community Bank in Alto Estrella in 2021. Currently, they will start bringing Microfinance and Business brigades in order to strengthen both the knowledge and trust in the Community Bank. This will encourage the opening of more savings accounts, and the growth of seed capital. The Community Bank is giving out loans to bank members to spur economic growth and home improvement projects.
Many community members in Alto Estrella lack the resources needed to improve their homes and prevent diseases caused by unsafe living conditions. The majority of homes are made of wood and bricks and very few homes have hygiene stations, cement floors, and eco-stoves prior to the arrival of Global Brigades. Such living conditions could trigger diseases and the lack of latrines might lead to high rates of diarrhoea and water-borne diseases affecting the community member’s health.
Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Alto Estrella but has not yet begun with the Public Health Brigades program. Now in the planning phase, the delivery and installation of household health products will start as soon as feasible.