El Resbaloso

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

Overview

El Resbaloso is located within the municipality of Goascorán in the department of Valle in southern Honduras. Here, the climate is hot and arid, with temperatures frequently soaring to 100 degrees Farenheit or higher. The typical house is made of adobe. Children in the community have access to kindergarten, primary school, and centro básico, or up to ninth grade. Two different wells have been constructed in the community. However, one of these wells does not have electrical components nor pipeline installed. While the other well has these features, it is dry. Most of the community members work in agriculture. The top three needs expressed by El Resbaloso’s inhabitants during their initial communications with Global Brigades are a water project and improved household health infrastructure, such as latrines, eco-stoves, water filters, and water storage units.

Municipality: Goascorán

Department: Valle

Homes : 134
Population : 386
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : No
Community Health Workers : Yes
% of Homes with Latrines : 41%
Education : Up to 9th Grade
Distance from Lodging Facility : 43 km

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS

The Honduran government provides two types of health centres 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 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.

El Resbaloso does not have either type of health center. Instead, its inhabitants must walk to a CESAMO in Goascorán to seek medical attention. This center is located approximately five kilometers away from Resbaloso. If the treatments or procedures they require are not available there, community members must walk to the hospital in San Lorenzo. The most common illnesses are the common cold, dengue, zika, diarrhoea, diabetes, and arterial hypertension.

197

Volunteers*

523

Patient Consultations*

59

Vision Screenings Provided

N/A

Health Education Workshops*

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

El Resbaloso has access to a total of 20 Community Health Workers (CHWs). These CHWs were trained in the community of Junquillo and provide their services to a total of twelve communities.

Community Health Workers work on a volunteer basis and are tasked with treating and preventing common illnesses. Some of these tasks include first aid, support in caring for pregnancies and newborns and responding to emergencies. They are also responsible for following up with chronic patients to ensure proper administration of medications and treatments and avoid further complications. CHWs are equipped with a number of medical supplies and equipment provided by Global Brigades and its partners during their training. The presence of these volunteers and their advocacy for health within their community contributes to the sustainability of health care supported by Global Brigades’ Medical Program and is one of the most impactful disease prevention strategies in rural communities across the globe.

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members in El Resbaloso attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in El Junquillo’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s three 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: 456
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: HATO NUEVO, EL RESBALOSO, LA RINCONADA, SANTA LUCIA, PLAN DE JOCOTE, EL PICACHO

MEDICAL/DENTAL BRIGADES IN EL RESBALOSO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Dragones Viajeros Health TeleSquad July 2020 15 University of San Diego Medical TeleBrigade January 2021 25
Texas A&M University Medical TeleBrigade January 2021 70 East Central High School TeleSquad January 2021 20
Southwest High School Health TeleSquad February 2021 12 University of Connecticut & University of Houston Medical TeleBrigade April 2021 24
Westlake High School March 2021 11 Emory University July 2021 20

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..

66

Patient Consultations*

44

Number of Extractions*

9

Fillings Performed*

N/A

Dental Education Workshops*

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members in El Resbaloso attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in El Junquillo’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s three 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: 456
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: HATO NUEVO, EL RESBALOSO, LA RINCONADA, SANTA LUCIA, PLAN DE JOCOTE, EL PICACHO

MEDICAL/DENTAL BRIGADES IN EL RESBALOSO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
East Central High School TeleSquad January 2021 20 Southwest High School Health TeleSquad February 2021 12
University of Connecticut & University of Houston Medical TeleBrigade April 2021 24

Engineering

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in El Resbaloso but has not yet begun with the Engineering Program. Now in the planning phase, a reliable source of clean water will be identified as soon as feasible, followed by the design of a water solution sufficient to meet the community’s needs for the next 20 years with projected population growth.

Water System : No
Type of System : N/A
Homes with Access to Water : None
Water Council : Yes

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in El Resbaloso but has not yet begun with the Engineering Program. Now in the planning phase, the Water Program will begin implementing a new water system or any necessary repairs to existing infrastructure following the Engineering Program’s evaluation and recommendations.

Water System : No
Type of System : N/A
Homes with Access to Water : None
Water Council : Yes

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EL RESBALOSO’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE:

The majority of community members in El Resbaloso work in agriculture and as day laborers. 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

111

Loans Disbursed

N/A

Savings Accounts Opened

$494

Capital Invested

EL RESBALOSO’S MICRO-FINANCE SOLUTION:

In 2017, Global Brigades worked alongside El Resbaloso to establish Caja Rural Nuevos Horizontes El Resbaloso. The bank has 11 female and 7 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

EL RESBALOSO’S PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE:

Many community members in El Resbaloso 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.

43

Volunteers

9

Sanitation Units Installed

51

People Benefitted with Public Health Infrastructure

2

Hours of Public Health Education

PUBLIC HEALTH VOLUNTEERS IN EL RESBALOSO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of Toronto Public Health Brigade May 2019 14 Case Western Reserve University Medical Brigade May 2019 29

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