Higueronal

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

Overview

Higueronal is a small community located in the district of Chepo, East Panama Province, Panama. Global Brigades began working with community members in 2012. Higueronal does not have access to a water system and is working closely with Global Brigades to design a system that provides clean water to all community members. Most of the community members work in agriculture and they do not have a health center in the community.

Global Brigades is currently working with Medical and Dental brigades in Higueronal and the community is on the waitlist for eventual Holistic Model implementation as part of Global Brigades’ strategic plan in Panama

Province: East Panama

District: Chepo

Homes : 100
Population : 500
Water System : No
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : Not Started
Community Health Workers : Not Started
% of Homes with Latrines : 99%
Education in the Community : N/A
Distance from Lodging Facility (km) : N/A

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. 

94

Medical Volunteers

350

Patient Consultations

35

Health Education Workshops

Health Post : No
Community Health Workers : Not Started

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 East Panama and Darien were Panama’s first community health workers. Higueronal doesn’t have Community Health Workers in training yet but Global Brigades is actively working on implementing this program.

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.

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members in Higueronal attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in the community’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s classrooms. Each day of the brigade, an average of 7 educational charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: +150

MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS IN HIGUERONAL:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Carleton University Medical & McMaster University Medical April 2012 36 University of Texas Southwestern (Medical School) Medical & University of Virginia Medical March 2013 35
University of Virginia Medical & University of Guelph May 2019 23 Southern Illinois School of Medicine Medical & Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine June 2023 21
University of New Hampshire Nursing Kambia May 2024 13 Eli Lilly Connecting Hearts Abroad – Medical November 2024 16
Kent and Medway Medical School July 2025 27

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS

A dental Charla in a community in Panama

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 dentists within a reasonable distance.

226

Patient Consultations

85

Number of Extractions

95

Fluoride Treatments

34

Fillings Performed

9

Dental Education Workshops

MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS IN HIGUERONAL:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Carleton University Medical & McMaster University Medical April 2012 36 University of Texas Southwestern (Medical School) Medical & University of Virginia Medical March 2013 35
University of Virginia Medical & University of Guelph May 2019 23 Southern Illinois School of Medicine Medical & Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine June 2023 21
University of New Hampshire Nursing Kambia May 2024 13 Eli Lilly Connecting Hearts Abroad – Medical November 2024 16
Kent and Medway Medical School July 2025 27

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Higueronal but has not yet begun with the Water Program. If there is a need, the Water Program will begin implementing a new water system or any necessary repairs to existing infrastructure as soon as feasible.

Water System : No
% Homes with Access to Water : N/A
Water Council : N/A

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HIGUERONAL’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Given the rural location of Higueronal, community members typically lack access to financial resources locally. The majority of community members do not have bank accounts and there is 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 microenterprises to grow and thrive. Most community members cite the distance to the nearest bank as the main discouragement to having a personal savings account. In order to gain access, members must travel to another community, a 30-minute bus ride, and some community members even have an account in the National Bank in the city, which is over 45 minutes away. Even if individuals wish to travel the distance, not all community members can become members of these financial institutions. As examples, cooperatives require monthly membership fees, savings accounts often require a fixed income, and the cost of travel and the lack of land titles as an indigenous community provide additional barriers.

 

163

Volunteers

103

Loans Disbursed

9

Business consulted

HIGUERONAL’S MICROFINANCE SOLUTION

Members of another community bank

The Business Program works to stimulate the local economy by organizing community volunteers around a community bank, or caja rural, which is entirely owned and operated by its members. The Business Program provides training and support to help strengthen these community banks. In order to pool their limited funds together, increase the capital available to the community bank, and expand the impact of its financial services, each member contributes a capitalization fee for which they receive a proportional amount of the bank’s dividends at the end of its fiscal year. Upon the completion of six months of executive board training, the community bank begins giving out loans to bank members to spur economic growth and home improvement projects.

 

HIGUERONAL’S BUSINESS SOLUTION

A typical small business owner in communities we work with

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

As members of the Community Bank, Higueronal’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 in cultivating produce and raising animals.

BUSINESS VOLUNTEERS IN HIGUERONAL:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Belmont University Business Kambia January 2022 2 California State University Monterey Bay Business Kambia July 2022 34
Belmont University Business Kambia August 2022 1 California State University Fullerton Business KAMBIA January 2025 9
University of Waterloo Business August 2025 29 Northeastern University Business Kambia September 2025 43
Seton Hall University Business KAMBIA October 2025 33 Loyola University Chicago Kambia Business January 2026 12

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Higueronal but has not yet begun with the Public Health Program. The implementation of public health services and the improvement of infrastructure will start as soon as feasible.

% Homes with Latrines : N/A
% Homes with Eco-Stoves : N/A
% Homes with Water FIlters : N/A
% Homes with concrete floors : N/A
% Homes with bath/showers : N/A
Common House Materials : N/A

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