Las Mesitas is located in the biodiverse region of East Panama and Global Brigades began working with community members in 2020. 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 Las Mesitas are primarily dedicated to agriculture and the sale of artisanal crafts. Through Global Brigades, ongoing trainings for community members are being held.
Corregimiento: Comarca Ngabe-Bugle
District: Nurum
The community of Las Mesitas does not have a health post and the nearest one is located 40 km away in the community of Los Ruices. Most of the time, the community members that attend the health post are denied medical assistance and are sent to the nearest hospital, meaning they need to travel and spend more money to reach health care access where they might expect long wait times, given the limited staff and resources to meet the demand from all neighboring communities.
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.
Community members in Las Mesitas 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.
The Global Brigades Business and Microfinance Team trained a new Community Bank in Las Mesitas in December 2020. This will encourage the opening of savings accounts, growth of seed capital, and upon the completion of six months of executive board training, the Community Bank will begin giving out loans to bank members to spur economic growth and home improvement projects.