El Bale

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

Overview

El Bale is located at the border of the province of Veraguas and the Ngäbe-Buglé indigenous reserve, west of Panama City. The community is comprised of Latino and Ngäbe-Buglé families. A typical house there is made of cement blocks and zinc. El Bale has a primary school and a secondary school that offer from kindergarten to 12th grade. Most of the community members work in agriculture, farming beans, corn, root vegetables, and raising livestock. There is a health outpost in the community that hosts mobile clinics. All of the homes in El Bale are connected to a gravity-fed aqueduct, but the water must be rationed in the dry season. El Bale opened a community bank with Global Brigades in 2019 as part of a project sponsored by the World Bank. The top needs expressed by the community were improvements to the water system, improvements to the health post, and better housing.

District: Ñürüm
Province: Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé

Homes : 45
Population : 200
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : No- only outpost
Community Health Workers : No
Homes with Latrines : 100%
Education : Up to 12th grade
Distance from lodging facility : 1 hr

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS

Even though Panama is a country with a lot of economic growth, this growth does not apply equally to all Panamanians, especially those in rural areas. This results in stark inequality when it comes to healthcare access. The Panamanian Ministry of Health (MINSA) provides two different types of health facilities throughout rural Panama: Centros de Salud and Puestos de Salud. Centros 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. Puestos are found sporadically in rural communities and generally have a single nurse available. 

Even with this coverage, the Centros frequently lack a full pharmacy and the staff capacity to see every patient each day. After walking long distances or paying for a bus, rural visitors to the Centros can expect long wait times given the limited staff and resources to meet the demand from all neighboring communities. The physician density in Panama remains around 630 people for every one doctor. According to the World Health Organization, there should be a maximum of 435 people per physician to qualify a country as having adequate access to medical attention.

El Bale has a Puesto de Salud, and the nearest Centro is about an hour away by bus in the provincial capital of Santiago. The most prevalent illnesses in El Bale are vomitting, diarrhea, and common colds.

83

Volunteers

1,121

Patient Consultations

139

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

A group of CHWs from East Panama, trained in 2019

GB Panama’s Medical Dental team started the Agentes Comunitarios en Salud or ACeS program in 2016. “Agentes” from 10 communities in East Panama and Darien were Panama’s first community health workers. Currently, 1 CHW in El Bale is on track to complete the training and start visiting community members with basic health needs.

Some of the CHW’s primary responsibilities include: educating community members to prevent common illnesses, providing emergency first aid, supporting pregnant mothers and newborns, and following up with chronic patients.

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Medical and Dental Brigade clinics are hosted in El Bale’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the classrooms. Each day of the brigade, an average of 6 educational workshops or charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 795

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN EL BALE:

Chapter Date Number of Volunteers Chapter Date Number of Volunteers
Kansas City Medical School Medical Brigade May 2019 47 Marquette University Medical Brigade January 2020 36

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete
A dental charla in Ipeti Emberá, Panama

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.

514

Dental Patient Consultations

133

Extractions

355

Fluoride Applications

26

Fillings Performed

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Medical and Dental Brigade clinics are hosted in El Bale’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the classrooms. Each day of the brigade, an average of 6 educational workshops or charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 795

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN EL BALE:

Chapter Date Number of Volunteers Chapter Date Number of Volunteers
Kansas City Medical School Medical Brigade May 2019 47 Marquette University Medical Brigade January 2020 36

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in El Bale but has not yet begun with the Water Program. Now in the planning phase, the financing, delivery, and installation of a water system infrastructure, or repairs to existing infrastructure will start as soon as feasible.

Water System : Yes
Type of System : Gravity-fed aqueduct
Homes with Access to Water : 100%
Water Council : Yes

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EL BALE’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

When Global Brigades began a partnership with El Bale, community members lacked access to financial resources. 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.

14

Volunteers

183

Loans Disbursed

48

Savings Accounts Opened

$2,260

Capital Invested

El Bale bank training

EL BALE’S MICROFINANCE SOLUTION:

In 2019, El Bale was selected by the World Bank as one of 4 indigenous Panamanian communities to open a community bank with support from Global Brigades. Global Brigades’ microfinance technicians trained an executive board in how to run their community bank. Now community members can open savings accounts, capitalize the bank’s loan fund, and take out small loans. The ability to take out loans will spur economic growth in the community and increase members’ access to higher education, improved healthcare, and home improvement.

EL BALE’S BUSINESS SOLUTION

Mrs. Pascuala with her business in El Bale

In addition to the Community Bank, Global Brigades supports micro-enterprises in the community by providing financial training and business consultations. Agro-businesses and artisan crafts are prominent forms of commerce within this community and adequate book-keeping and maintaining relationships with customers, as well as proper agriculture cultivation can lead to increased revenues for business owners and employees.

As members of the Community Bank these micro-enterprises, led almost entirely by women or families, contribute to savings accounts and budget for loans to expand their businesses in the future. Through the help of Business Brigades, clients get advice on their most concerning business challenges.

BUSINESS VOLUNTEERS IN EL BALE:

Chapter Date Number of Volunteers
Marquette University Business Brigade January 2020 14

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in El Bale 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 a Latrine : 80%
Homes with a Flushing Toilet : 100%
Homes with Bath/Shower : 100%
Common House Materials : Cement blocks

Local Reference Points

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

  • Feature