Cerro Pelado

  • Overview
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Business
  • Public Health

Overview

Cerro Pelado is located in Panama and Global Brigades began working with community members in April 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 Cerro Pealdo are primarily dedicated to agriculture and the sale of artisanal crafts. Through Global Brigades, ongoing trainings are being held for community members.

Corregimiento: Comarca Ngabe-Bugle
District: Nurum

Homes : 150
Population : 350
Water System : No
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Post : Yes
Community Health Workers : Active Implementation
Homes with Latrines : 100%
Education in the Community : Up to 11th grade
Distance from Lodging Facility (km) : 50

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS:

The community of Cerro Pelado 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 Los Ruices, the nearest town with a full health center where doctors and occasionally dentists are on staff.  The trip by bus can take 25 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.

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS:

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, in Cerro Pelado, the Community Health Workers program is in active implementation and it’s currently in the process of training 1 community health worker that will help to provide basic medical aid in the community.

Community Health Workers in training: 1

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

CERRO PELADO’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Community members in Cerro Pelado 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.

65

Brigade Volunteers

10

Loans Administered

$4,000

Capital Investment

50+

Saving Accounts Opened

CERRO PELADO’S MICROFINANCE SOLUTION

The Global Brigades Business and Microfinance Team trained a new Community Bank in Cerro Pelado in January 2021. This will encourage the opening of savings accounts, growth of seed capital, and upon the completion of six months of executive board training, the Community Bank will begin giving out loans to bank members to spur economic growth and home improvement projects.

BUSINESS BRIGADES IN CERRO PELADO:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Northern Arizona University March 2022 18 Canyon Crest University April 2022 47

 

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

CERRO PELADO’S PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE

Many community members in Cerro Pelado lack the resources needed to improve their homes and prevent diseases caused by unsafe living conditions. The majority of homes are made of cement and wood, and very few homes have hygiene stations, cement floors, and eco-stoves.

CERRO PELADO’S PUBLIC HEALTH SOLUTION

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Cerro Pelado 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.

% of houses with latrines : 100%
% of houses with eco stoves : 0%
% of houses with water filters : 0%
Common house materials : Cement, wood, bricks

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