Copal Arriba, Choluteca

  • Overview
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Engineering
  • Water
  • Business
  • Public Health

Overview

Copal Arriba is located within the municipality of Choluteca in the department of Choluteca in southern Honduras. The typical house is made of adobe. Children in the community have access to education up to sixth grade. Most of the community members work either in agriculture or as day labourers. The top needs expressed by Copal Arriba’s inhabitants during their initial communications with Global Brigades include access to health care and improvements to the community’s existing water infrastructure.

Municipality: Choluteca
Department: Choluteca

Homes : 210
Population : 1,080
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : Yes
Community Health Workers : Yes
Homes with Latrines : 60%
Education : Up to 6th Grade
Distance from Lodging Facility : 34 km

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS

The Honduran government provides two different types of health centers throughout rural Honduras: Centros de Salud Médico Odontológico (CESAMOs) and Centros de Salud Rural (CESARs). CESAMOs are the larger of the two, often found in municipalities, and typically have at least one physician on staff at all times with nurses and potentially a dentist. CESARs are found sporadically in rural communities and generally have a single nurse available. Even with this coverage, it is important to note that medications, supplies, and materials are often unavailable in these health centers. The physician density in Honduras remains at around 1,220 people for every doctor. According to the World Health Organization, there should be a maximum of 435 people per physician to qualify a country with adequate access to medical attention.

There is a CESAMO located in Copal Arriba. There, community members can access a nurse who is permanently stationed in the community. The most common illnesses reported by community members are respiratory infections, the common cold, diarrhoea, dengue, diabetes, and arterial hypertension.

153

Volunteers

2,815

Patient Consulations

127

Vision Screenings Provided

84

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS:

Copal Arriba has 11 Community Health Workers trained in December of 2019. The CHWs were trained in Copal Arriba and help nearby communities in Copal Abajo & El Limon de linaca. During their training, community members have learned how to provide care for some chronic illnesses, as well as about other health topics such as first aid, caring for pregnancies, and first response in emergency situations. With these skills, the CHWs help relieve some of the patient load for the staff in the health center by teaching preventative health.

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members in Copal Arriba attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in the community’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s six classrooms. Doctors are able to spend an average of ten minutes with each patient. Each day of the brigade, an average of 9 educational charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 634
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: FRAY LÁZARO, LOS HATILLOS, COYOL DE LINACA, SAN SANTOS DE LINACA, CERRO DEL TRAPICHE, LA PICOTA, PLANTELES DE SAN MARTÍN, LAS CAÑAS, SAN MARTÍN

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN COPAL ARRIBA

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Illinois Wesleyan University Medical Brigade June 2015 38 Brown University Medical Brigade January 2016 30
Mississippi State University Medical Brigade & University of Arizona Medical Brigade March 2017 35 University of Houston Medical Brigade August 2018 24
College of William and Mary Medical Brigade March 2019 26

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS

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 a dentist within a reasonable distance.

358

Patient Consultations

375

Number of Extractions

236

Fillings Performed

53

Dental Education Workshop

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members in Copal Arriba attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in the community’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s six classrooms. Doctors are able to spend an average of ten minutes with each patient. Each day of the brigade, an average of 9 educational charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 634
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: FRAY LÁZARO, LOS HATILLOS, COYOL DE LINACA, SAN SANTOS DE LINACA, CERRO DEL TRAPICHE, LA PICOTA, PLANTELES DE SAN MARTÍN, LAS CAÑAS, SAN MARTÍN

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN COPAL ARRIBA

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Illinois Wesleyan University Medical Brigade June 2015 38 Brown University Medical Brigade January 2016 30
Mississippi State University Medical Brigade & University of Arizona Medical Brigade March 2017 35 University of Houston Medical Brigade August 2018 24
College of William and Mary Medical Brigade March 2019 26

Engineering

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

COPAL ARRIBA’S ENGINEERING CHALLENGE

A portion of the homes in Copal Arriba were lacking access to the community’s water system. However, the homes with access only had access to water every 4 days because of the lack of access from the water source. The households without access to water from the water system have been receiving water from small hand dug wells and creeks in the community with poor sanitation. These wells are 50 feet deep. There are also many other poor hygienic and sanitary conditions in Copal Arriba such as a lack of water storage units and eco-stoves.

13

Volunteers

N/A

Beneficiaries

4.1

Kilometer of pipeline designed

16

Average community volunteers

COPAL ARRIBA’S ENGINEERING SOLUTION

In 2016, Global Brigades partnered with the Water Council of Copal Arriba to take initial steps toward completing a water project and meet the need for the 62 community members without water in Copal Arriba. In January of 2016, University of Missouri and Saint Louis University designed a complete system to support the water needs of Copal Arriba. The system is a pump system, which includes a 10,000-gallon storage tank and 4,044 meters of piping. The water system will also have water meters for all 62 houses and the community is fundraising for the tank.

ENGINEERING VOLUNTEERS IN COPAL ARRIBA

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of Missouri Engineering Brigade & Saint Louis University Engineering Brigade January 2016 13

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

WATER CHALLENGE IN COPAL ARRIBA

While two sectors of Copal Arriba already have in-home access to water, one sector, which consists of about 62 households, does not. Of the two sectors with water, there are two 5,000-gallon water tanks; one is supplied with water from a well and the other is supplied with water from a gravity system. In the third sector of Copal Arriba, there are two manual public wells and one manual private well.

The private well holds about 3,000 gallons and replenishes every 12 hours at about 4.1 gallons per minute. However, the two public wells do not provide water during the dry season.  As a result, many community members in the third sector of Copal Arriba are unable to consistently access clean and sufficient water. Since community members access water from wells, not everyone adequately treats this water, exacerbating health issues in the community.

Water System : Yes
Type of System : Gravity
Homes with Access to Water : N/A
Water Council : Yes

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

COPAL ARRIBA’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE:

The majority of community members in Copal Arriba work in agriculture. This primarily consists of subsistence farming, although excess crops are sometimes sold. Most agricultural workers make about 100 lempiras (approximately US $4.25) a day during the rainy season. Regardless of occupation, most families earn around 4,000 lempiras per month (approximately US $170). Almost all household income is used to purchase food for consumption.

N/A

Volunteers

34

Loans Disbursed

14

Savings Accounts Opened

$1,500

Capital Invested

COPAL ARRIBA’S MICRO-FINANCE SOLUTION:

In May 2018, Global Brigades worked alongside Copal Arriba to establish a community bank. The bank has 9 female and 2 male shareholders, and the members meet in the bank’s own structure every month. They are able to offer loans and savings accounts to community members so that families can plan and stabilize their finances. This is especially beneficial for farmers, who can take out loans to invest in their agricultural production and pay them back after the harvest. Loans allow many subsistence farmers to not only consume the crops they harvest but also earn an income from selling their excess.

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Copal Arriba but has not yet begun with the Public Health Program. Now in the planning phase, the financing, delivery, and installation of household health infrastructure products will start as soon as feasible.

Homes with Latrines : 60%
Homes with Eco-Stoves : None
Homes with Water FIlters : N/A
Common House Materials : Adobe

Local Reference Points

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

  • Feature