Empowered Community

Congratulations El Espinito, El Paraiso!

969

Brigade Volunteers

3,533

Medical Patient Consultations

282

Dental Patient Consultations

380

People with Access to Clean Water

1,321

Loans Disbursed

6

Eco-Stoves Constructed

92

Latrines Constructed

36

Trained Community Leaders

El Espinito, El Paraiso

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

Overview

El Espinito is located in the municipality of San Matías in the department of El Paraíso. Children of the community have access to attend school through 8th grade, and alternative schooling is available in the community center through high school levels. Most community members work seasonally in agriculture, cultivating corn and beans. This type of employment provides about 100 Lempiras (about US $4.25) a day during the rainy season. Regardless of occupation, most families earn approximately 4,000 Lempiras per month (approximately US $170). Almost all household income is used to purchase food for consumption.

Municipality: San Matías

Department: El Paraíso

Homes : 105
Population : 450
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : No
Community Health Workers : Yes
% of Homes with Latrines : 50%
Education : Up to 9th Grade
Distance from Lodging Facility : 1 hr

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS:

El Espinito does not have its own health center. Instead, community members are required to travel to the nearby municipality, San Matías, in order to get health care. There, the health center is a CESAMO, a larger scale health center where at least one doctor and occasionally dentists are on staff. San Matías is about 4 kilometers away and most community members travel on foot. The most common illnesses are respiratory infections, diabetes, hepatitis, dengue, skin allergies, and colon problems.

252

Volunteers

4,255

Patient Consultations

426

Vision Screenings Provided

121

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS:

El Espinito has 10 Community Health Workers trained in June of 2016 but by 2022 only 5 of them are actively performing as CHWs. The CHWs were trained in El Espinito as part of a larger group that came from 4 smaller communities, including Guayacan, San Matías, Rio Namales, and San Jeronimo.

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:

Medical Brigades use the local school as their brigade site. The school has 3 rooms, where the various medical stations are conducted. Doctors spend an average of 10 minutes with each patient and we are able to provide 4-5 educational charlas a day.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 401
  • NEARBY COMMUNITIES: EL GUAYACAN, LA ESTANCIA, SAN MATÍAS, LA CONCEPCIÓN, SAN JERONIMO, EL SALTO

 

MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS IN EL ESPINITO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Medical Brigade May 2015 66 Vanderbilt University Medical Brigade & Pennsylvania State University Medical Brigade March 2016 30
University College London Medical Brigade & University of the Pacific Medical Brigade August 2016 21 University of Victoria Medical Brigade February 2017 23
Brown University Medical Medical Brigade January 2018 19 New York Medical College Medical Brigade April 2018 13
University of Mississippi Medical Brigade & Painesville Physician Assistants December 2018 18 New York Medical College Medical Brigade April 2019 9
Brown University Medical Brigade & Johns Hopkins University Medical Brigade January 2020 11 University of Arizona Medical Brigade May 2023 22

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 dentist within a reasonable distance.

301

Patients Consultations

208

Number of Extractions

234

Fillings Performed

210

Dental Education Workshops

BRIGADE INFORMATION:

Medical and Dental brigades use the local school as their brigade site. The school has 3 rooms, where the various stations of the clinic are conducted. Doctors spend an average of 10 minutes with each patient and we are able to provide 4-5 educational charlas a day. Each brigade sees an average of 34 dental patients per brigade.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 401
  • NEARBY COMMUNITIES: EL GUAYACAN, LA ESTANCIA, SAN MATÍAS, LA CONCEPCIÓN, SAN JERONIMO, EL SALTO

DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN EL ESPINITO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Medical Brigade May 2015 66 Vanderbilt University Medical Brigade & Pennsylvania State University Medical Brigade March 2016 30
University College London Medical Brigade & University of the Pacific Medical Brigade August 2016 21 University of Victoria Medical Brigade February 2017 23
Brown University Medical Medical Brigade January 2018 19 New York Medical College Medical Brigade April 2018 13
University of Mississippi Medical Brigade & Painesville Physician Assistants December 2018 18 New York Medical College Medical Brigade April 2019 9
Brown University Medical Brigade & Johns Hopkins University Medical Brigade January 2020 11 University of Arizona Medical Brigade May 2023 22

Engineering

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EL ESPINITO’S ENGINEERING CHALLENGE:

When Global Brigades arrived in El Espinito, community members had drilled two wells (each approximately 200 feet deep). However, this water was not being treated. Community members would load jugs of water on the backs of donkeys and walk to and from the well in order to gather enough water for their family each day. The farthest community members live thirty minutes away from the water source. The time and energy that was necessary in order to retrieve water caused families to sacrifice important hygiene and sanitation practices that would require more water.

9

Volunteers

380

Beneficiaries

4.3

Kilometers of Pipeline Designed

68

Average Community Volunteers

EL ESPINITO’S ENGINEERING SOLUTION:

A strong partnership between Global Brigades, community leaders, World Vision, and local government allowed for the completion of a new water system in El Espinito in 2016. Community Leaders organized community participation and payments, World Vision donated the water pump, the municipality installed electricity and paid for the distribution line, and Global Brigades constructed the new 15,000-gallon storage tank with chlorinator, trained the water council, and trained the maintenance person. Community Members and Global Brigades celebrated El Espinito’s completed water system in February of 2016. Water now reaches each individual home as well as the school, church, and rosquillas business.

ENGINEERING  VOLUNTEERS IN EL ESPINITO:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of Pittsburgh Engineering Brigade May 2015 9

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EL ESPINITO’S WATER CHALLENGE

When Global Brigades arrived in El Espinito, community members had drilled two wells (each approximately 200 feet deep). However, this water was not being treated. Community members would load jugs of water on the backs of donkeys and walk to and from the well in order to gather enough water for their family each day. The farthest community members live thirty minutes away from the water source. The time and energy that was necessary in order to retrieve water caused families to sacrifice important hygiene and sanitation practices that would require more water.

19

Volunteers

380

Project Beneficiaries

4.3

Kilometers of Pipeline Installed

15,000

Storage Tank Volume (gallons)

EL ESPINITO’S WATER SOLUTION:

A strong partnership between Global Brigades, community leaders, World Vision, and local government allowed for the completion of a new water system in El Espinito in 2016. Community Leaders organized community participation and payments, World Vision donated the water pump, the municipality installed electricity and paid for the distribution line, and Global Brigades constructed the new 15,000-gallon storage tank with chlorinator, trained the water council, and trained the maintenance person. Community Members and Global Brigades celebrated El Espinito’s completed water system in February of 2016. Water now reaches each individual home as well as the school, church, and rosquillas business.

WATER VOLUNTEERS IN EL ESPINITO:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
DePaul University Water Brigade December 2015 19

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EL ESPINITO’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE:

The majority of community members in El Espinito grow corn, beans, and sorghum. 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.

43

Volunteers

1321

Loans Disbursed

63

Savings Accounts Opened

NA

Capital Invested

EL ESPINITO’S MICRO-FINANCE SOLUTION:

In 2015, Global Brigades worked alongside El Espinito to establish a community bank. The bank has 7 female and 11 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.

EL ESPINITO’S BUSINESS SOLUTION:

When Global Brigades first started working in El Espinito, there was a well-established microenterprise run entirely by women. The business makes and sells traditional Honduran cookies and treats, such as Rosquillas and Tustacas. Global Brigades hopes to continue working with El Espinito and encourage economic growth in the community by strengthening this business and possibly establishing a second.

BUSINESS VOLUNTEERS IN EL ESPINITO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Univeristy of Virginia Business Brigade & Virginia Commonwealth University Business Brigade January 2018 11 Duke University Business Brigade & University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Business Brigade March 2018 32

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EL ESPINITO’S PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE:

Many community members in Espinito lacked the necessary resources to improve their homes and prevent diseases caused by unsafe living conditions. The majority of homes were made of adobe, straw, and mud, and few homes had hygiene stations, cement floors, or eco-stoves prior to the arrival of Global Brigades. These living conditions resulted in disease. The lack of hygiene stations led to high rates of diarrhea and water-borne disease, the absence of cement floors caused parasitic infection and Chagas Disease, and the lack of eco-stoves resulted in respiratory problems in many community members.

Although community members recognized the problems inherent to their living environments, they did not have the economic resources nor the technical knowledge needed to address them. It also was necessary to increase the level of awareness concerning sanitation and the importance of health in the community.

185

Volunteers

3

Eco-Stoves Constructed

63

Latrines Constructed

63

Water Storage Units Constructed

EL ESPINITO’S PUBLIC HEALTH SOLUTION:

Public Health Brigaders from several different universities and the Public Health Brigades in-country team worked in El Espinito from May 2016 to August 2017. During this time, volunteers and staff members worked with alongside the community to identify community leaders and train them to form the Basic Sanitation Committee, increase cultural sensitivity and awareness by working side-by-side with qualified masons and project beneficiaries, conduct educational workshops emphasizing the importance of sanitation and hygiene in the local primary school, install water filters, and build eco-stoves, latrines, and water storage unit. The latrine and water filter projects were funded entirely by the community, while Global Brigades partnered with the community to subsidize the remainder of the projects with El Espinito’s newly established community bank. The community bank provided access for families to take out loans for future home infrastructure projects, allowing community members to invest in the health of their own family without Global Brigades’ involvement. To ensure the sustainability of the projects constructed, the Public Health Program provides continuous follow-up in the community.

PUBLIC HEALTH VOLUNTEERS IN EL ESPINITO:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
DePaul University Public Health Brigade November 2016 17 Johns Hopkins University Public Health Brigade January 2017 23
University of Missouri Public Health Brigade January 2017 19 DePaul University Public Health Brigade March 2017 11
University of California San Diego Public Health Brigade March 2017 53 NY-VT Nurses Unite Public Health Brigade March 2017 41
University of California Irvine Public Health Brigade March 2017 17 Wayne State University Public Health Brigade August 2017 28

Legal Empowerment

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EL ESPINITO’S LEGAL EMPOWERMENT CHALLENGE

Legal services are difficult to access in rural Honduras for two primary
reasons: location and cost. Most often, there are no legal services set up
within rural communities and are instead concentrated in urban areas.
Therefore, rural Hondurans must travel multiple hours to access these
services. Not only does traveling to these urban areas cost money, but the
legal services themselves are frequently too expensive.

In addition, there is an attitude of mistrust amongst the rural clients.
Therefore, it is a challenge to gain trust of the community members when it
comes to dealing with their personal legal empowerment issues and to prove not
all lawyers will take advantage of them.

 

 

43

Volunteers

60

Legal Consultations

N/A

Family Cases Resolved

N/A

Participants of Educational Workshops

Civic Engagement and Empowerment

By focusing on specific aspects of legal access and inclusion, Global Brigades’ Legal Empowerment Program aims to empower communities like El Espinito to overcome the obstacles mentioned above. Starting in 2013, Brigaders have been able to tackle family law cases, execute pro-bono legal clinics, and perform educational workshops.

Family Law: The most common legal issues within the community include issues of alimony and childcare, land issues, domestic violence, and some violent crimes. Without a lawyer in the community, many legal issues go unresolved or unattended for many years, and seemingly simple legal troubles can go unanswered.

Legal Clinics: Global Brigade’s Legal Empowerment Program has been able to offer their pro-bono legal services to community members in El Espinito with the help of Honduran lawyers as they are shadowed by volunteers. Both community members and volunteers work together to challenge the stigma of lawyers in the region by offering real, professional services for free.

Educational Workshops: Volunteers have performed workshops in the local school of El Espinito. Capitalizing on the use of education as a tool for community empowerment, volunteers lead discussions and workshops with students and families about issues that have direct consequences and effects in their everyday lives, including: the right to education, child abuse, drug use, and child labor laws.

LEGAL EMPOWERMENT VOLUNTEERS IN EL ESPINITO:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Arizona State University Legal Empowerment Brigade May  2018 14 Texas A&M University Legal Empowerment Brigade January 2019 29

Local Reference Points

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

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