Eyisam

  • Overview
  • Medical
  • Water
  • Business
  • Public Health

Overview

Eyisam is located near the coast in the Central Region of  Ghana. A typical home in Eyisam is made of mud, concrete blocks, or wood. People in Eyisam are primarily dedicated to farming. There is a health clinic in the community. People in Eyisam obtain water from standpipes, boreholes, and the nearby river. A small percentage of homes in the community have their own toilet facility, which leaves most families to use the few public toilets or practice open defecation. There is a kindergarten, primary school, and junior high school in Eyisam. There is an existing rural bank in Eyisam that offers savings and loans services. The community expressed that their top needs are toilet facilities, improvements to the health clinic, and jobs & educational scholarships for young people.

District: Ekumfi

Region: Central

Homes : 2000
Population : 6098
Water System : Not Started
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Clinic : Yes
Midwife at clinic : Yes
Homes with toilet facility : N/A
Education : Up to junior high
Distance from nearest GB Lodging Facility : 30-60 minutes

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS:

Eyisam CHPS Compound

There are two types of public health clinics available to rural Ghanaians: Health Centers and Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds. Health Centers serve large geographic areas within a district and are staffed by physicians. CHPS compounds serve small clusters of communities and are staffed by live-in nurses. The nurses provide basic services and, if capacity allows, they conduct home visits to families in the communities. 

Even with this coverage, it is important to note that medications, equipment, and essential infrastructure are often not available in these clinics and the physician density in Ghana remains around 0.2 physicians per 1,000 people. According to the World Health Organization, there should be a minimum of 2.3 physicians per 1,000 people to qualify a country as having adequate access to medical attention.

Another key factor for healthcare access in Ghana is insurance. Ghana’s National Health Insurance plan offers universal coverage, but few rural community members are actively enrolled. During Medical Brigades, community members are educated about the benefits of health insurance and are encouraged to enroll (or re-enroll) in the National Health Insurance Plan.

2130

Patient Consultations

588

Vision Screenings Provided

18

Health Education Workshops

CLINIC IMPROVEMENT

When Eyisam first began its partnership with Global Brigades, the conditions of the CHPS Compound were preventing the nurses from providing adequate services to their patients. The nurses expressed that their top needs were: washrooms for patients and a fridge for vaccines. Global Brigades worked with local contractors in 2019 to improve the infrastructure and equipment of the CHPS Compound.

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Brigaders lead a health workshop outside the Eyisam CHPS compound

Medical Brigade clinics are hosted in Eyisam’s CHPS Compound. Volunteers assist local doctors and community nurses to serve patients at each station of the clinic. Each day of the brigade, an average of 3 educational charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 470

MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS IN EYISAM:

Chapter Date Chapter Date
Pennsylvania State University May 2017 University of Illinois at Chicago December 2017
Pennsylvania State University May 2019 University of Central Florida & Wayne State University August 2019
Indiana Wesleyan University April 2021 Indiana Wesleyan University April 2021
University of Texas Dallas December 2021 University of Arkansas January 2022
University of San Diego January 2022 Mount Allison University & University of Victoria February 2022
George Washington University & University of Texas San Antonio & Iowa City May 2022 Memorial University of Newfoundland July 2022
Marquette University November 2022 Kingsway High School December 2022
Dana Hills High School March 2023 Indiana University & Iowa City May 2023
University of Texas Austin January 2024 Dana Hills February 2024
University of Illinois at Chicago May 2024 University of Texas at San Antonio May 2024
Brandeis University February 2025 Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Medical April 2025
University of Southern California Medical July 2025 Queen’s University Medical April 2026

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Eyisam but has not yet begun with the Water Brigades program.  Now in the planning phase, implementation of a water solution will start as soon as feasible.

Water system : Yes
System type : Bore holes
Homes connected to water : N/A
Water Council : No

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EYISAM’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Rural communities in Ghana face a number of structural obstacles when it comes to economic growth. Access to credit is limited by physical barriers in transportation and exclusion from formal financial institutions. If community members aren’t able to access these institutions, their only option is to solicit credit from loan sharks, who charge exorbitant interest rates. Additionally, maintaining savings is not a common practice in rural communities in Ghana. The main source of income in Ekumpoano is farming, fishmongering, and petty trading. The average monthly income per household is $5-8.

24

Volunteers

EYISAM’S MICRO-FINANCE SOLUTION

A meeting of Dofo MHope Group in Ekumpoano

The GB Business Program works with Microfin Rural Bank to stimulate the local economy by organizing community volunteers around a community bank which is entirely owned and operated by its members. Focusing on providing access to credit and savings for their fellow community members, its volunteers are tasked with socializing the community bank and managing the funds. Microfin and the GB Business Program provide training and support to help strengthen these community banks and stimulate the flow of capital within the community.

GB Ghana Business Program Manager, Shiella, consults the Dofo Group members

These financial services are especially beneficial for subsistence farmers and entrepreneurs, who can invest more heavily in their production with a loan, pay back the loan after sales, and generate an income with any excess.

Community Bank : Yes
Community Bank Members : N/A
Economic Activities : farming
Existing microenterprises : small-scale trading business

EYISAM’S BUSINESS SOLUTION

A seamstress with her small business in Ekumpoano

In addition to working with the community banks, the Business Program provides support and technical skills in establishing anchor businesses that generate additional capital. The goal is to better integrate isolated communities into the local economy and allow for growth. During this process, interested community members receive training to increase their familiarity with business terminology, develop their business administration skills, and promote innovation and diversification in the types of business ventures they pursue.

The Business Program will start hosting Business Brigades in Eyisam to study the local market in hopes of identifying and developing potential business opportunities for the community as soon as feasible.

BUSINESS BRIGADES IN THE EYISAM:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Triniti College October 2021 24

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Eyisam but has not yet begun with the Public Health Brigades program. Now in the planning phase, implementation of a public health solution will start as soon as feasible.

Homes with toilet facilities : N/A
Common house materials : concrete blocks, bricks

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