El Poste

  • Overview
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Business

Overview

El Poste is located in the biodiverse region of East Panama and Global Brigades began working with community members in 2019. 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 El Poste are primarily dedicated to agriculture and the sale of artisanal crafts.

Corregimiento: Canazas
District: Veraguas

Homes : 200
Population : 500
Water System : No
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Post : Yes
Community Health Workers : Yes
Homes with Latrines : 81%
Education in the Community : Up to 6th grade

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS:

The community of El Poste 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 to Canazas, the nearest town with a full health center where doctors and occasionally dentists are on staff.  The trip by bus can take 20 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.

30

Brigade Volunteers

273

Medical Patient Consultations

36

Health Education Workshops

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. Among these CHWs, the community of El Poste contributes with one and he is on track to complete all training and start visiting community members with health needs.

Some of the CHW’s primary responsibilities include:

  • Promoting healthy practices and maintaining contact with GB staff about their progress
  • Performing First Aid in the case of an emergency
  • Managing the Patient Referral cases of the community
  • Promoting involvement with other GB programs such as Human Rights, Public Health and Microfinance workshops
  • Recording and monitoring members of their respective communities who:
    • Are pregnant
    • Have a chronic disease
    • Are children under five
      years old.

MEDICAL BRIGADES IN THE COMMUNITY:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of San Diego Medical Brigade June 2019 30

 

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.

184

Dental Patient Consultations

139

Fluoride Treatments

51

Extractions

MEDICAL BRIGADES IN THE COMMUNITY:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of San Diego Medical Brigade June 2019 30

 

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EL POSTE’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Community members in El Poste 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.

54

Volunteers

73

Loans Disbursed

500

Capital Invested

EL POSTE’S MICROFINANCE SOLUTION

The Global Brigades Business and Microfinance Team trained a new Community Bank in El Poste in September 2020. The community bank received its first Kiva loan of $500 in December 2020. This encouraged the opening of more savings giving out loans to bank members. accounts, growth of seed capital, and soon the community bank will begin giving out loans to bank members to spur economic growth and home improvement projects.

EL POSTE’S BUSINESS SOLUTION

Building off of a strong relationship developed in partnership with Global Brigades as a Holistic Community, El Poste looks to receive financial training and business consulting to expand and improve its local microenterprises.

As members of the Community Bank, El Poste’s 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 and can also receive assistance in developing sustainable agriculture practices since many local businesses are based on agribusiness.

BUSINESS VOLUNTEERS IN EL POSTE:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
California State University Monterey Bay Business February 2022 36 Northern Arizona University Business March 2022 18

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