Llano Largo*

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

Overview

Llano Largo is located in the mountainous region of central Nicaragua in the department of Estelí. A typical house is made of cement block or wood. The community has access to a local health center within the community as well as both a multigrade primary school and secondary school. 29 students attend the primary school with two teachers and two classrooms. The primary school goes up to grade 6. Following, students have the opportunity to attend secondary school, up to grade 12. Most people in the community work as agricultural or day laborers.

Global Brigades is currently working with the Medical Program in Llano Largo and has been since the first Medical Brigade in May 2015. In their communication with Global Brigades, the top three needs expressed were lack of latrines or properly functioning latrines, repairs or construction needed for homes, and more economic opportunity. Llano Largo is on the waitlist for continuing Holistic Model implementation as part of Global Brigades’ strategic plan in Nicaragua.

Municipality: La Trinidad
Department: Estelí

*Brigades to this community are temporarily suspended at this time

Homes : 107
Population : 349
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : Yes
Community Health Workers : Yes
% of Homes with Latrines : 59%
Education : Up to 12th Grade
Distance from Lodging Facility : 44 km

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS

Healthcare access in Nicaragua is structured by the Ministry of Health, based in the capital, Managua. From there, each of the fifteen departments has its own department hospital, which is overseen by the SILAIS administrations (Sistema Local de Atención Integral en Salud). At a municipality level, there is a health center (Centro de Salud) for every municipality within the department. While they are not hospitals, health centers in the municipality are typically staffed with one doctor, and two nurses, that can attend to patients with chronic, communicable, or noncommunicable diseases, as well as pregnancies. They however, do not have the ability to perform surgeries.

Lastly, most but not all communities have a Puesto de Salud, a smaller health centre. These health centres are usually staffed with only one nurse and a rotating physician. Physicians are staffed in these health centres by Nicaragua’s Social Service. This is an initiative that requires Nicaraguan medical students to do two years of service in rural communities prior to graduating. The physician density in Nicaragua is approximately 1,099 people for every doctor.  According to the World Health Organization, there should be a maximum of 435 people per physician to qualify a country as having adequate access to medical attention. This density is significantly lower for the 40.6% of the population that lives in rural areas. It is for this reason that Nicaragua’s Social Service initiative brings medical students to these communities. However, access remains limited since these training physicians may be assigned to up to fifteen communities at a time.  

Llano Largo has access to a health centre within its community. Even with this access, it is important to note that medications, supplies, and materials are often not available in these health centres and are dependent on government funding. There is no access to private pharmacies. Additionally, as noted above, access to trained medical professionals is limited.

During their initial communications with Global Brigades, the top illnesses in children that Llano Largo expressed were diarrhoea diseases, and respiratory infections. For adults, common illnesses are chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, as well as epilepsy. Without access to trained healthcare professionals and medications, chronic diseases can go unmanaged, leading to further health problems. Acute illnesses can also be severe and affect the quality of life.

102

Volunteers

474

Patient Consultations

N/A

Vision Screenings Provided

23

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

Llano Largo has 2 Community Health Workers that are trained by the Ministry of Health monthly. Community Health Workers, or Brigadistas de Salud, work on a volunteer basis as advocates for healthcare within their communities. They are tasked with treating and preventing common illnesses, and some of their responsibilities include first aid, supporting and caring for pregnancies and newborns, and responding to emergency situations. They are also responsible for following up with chronic patients to ensure proper administration of medications and treatments to avoid further complications.

Global Brigades is planning to establish a partnership with Llano Largo Community Health Workers and the Ministry of Health, and is looking forward to providing these Community Health Workers with blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, glucometers, and first aid kits, to facilitate more impactful work. The presence of these volunteers and their advocacy for health within their community contributes to the sustainability of healthcare supported by Global Brigades’ Medical Program and is one of the most impactful disease prevention strategies in rural communities.

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members from Llano Largo attend Medical Brigades in the community health centre of Llano Largo. This location has rooms for triage, consultation, dentistry and pharmacy stations.

Llano Largo offers strong support on Medical Brigades from the community volunteers. One way the 8-15 community volunteers assist is by running intake. Intake is the very first station of the clinic and is where the community volunteers write down the patient’s name, date of birth, community, and identification number. Additionally, community volunteers manage clinic organizations. They set up tables and chairs in the clinic prior to the brigade’s arrival as well as direct patients to the next medical station, once the clinic has opened for the day. Lastly, community volunteers lead adult health education sessions on sanitation and hygiene, chronic diseases, contraception, Women’s health, and water purification. Llano Largo’s community volunteers are essential to the efficiency and effectiveness of Medical Brigades.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED PER DAY: 266
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: LOS CARBONALES, LAS ORQUETAS, LAS QUEBRADAS, EL MOJON

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN LLANO LARGO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
SUNY Stony Brook Medical Brigade May 2015 43 CUNY Brooklyn College Medical Brigade Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Medical Brigade June 2016 35
University of Miami Medical Brigade December 2017 34

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS

While medical access is low, dental access is even more sparing. Dental services are not available within the community health centers, or even the municipality health centers. Instead, if a patient was needing dental care, they would be required to travel to one of the country’s fifteen department hospitals. This could be up to a 2-3 hour bus ride, with many needing to first walk or horseback ride to the bus stop.

77

Patient Consultations

44

Number of Extractions

91

Fillings Performed

6

Dental Education Workshops

45

Fluoride Treatments

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Working closely with the Medical Program, the Dental Program provides fillings, extractions, and fluoride treatments as a standard part of medical brigades. Community members from Llano Largo attend Dental Brigades in the community health center of Llano Largo. 

Llano Largo offers strong support on Dental Brigades from the community volunteers. One way the 8-15 community volunteers assist is by running intake. Intake is the very first station of the clinic and is where the community volunteers write down the patient’s name, date of birth, community, and identification number. Additionally, community volunteers manage clinic organization. They set up tables and chairs in the clinic prior to the brigade’s arrival as well as direct patients to the next medical station, once the clinic has opened for the day. Lastly, community volunteers lead adult health education sessions on oral health and hygiene. Llano Largo’s community volunteers are essential the efficiency and effectiveness of Dental Brigades.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED PER DAY: 266
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: LOS CARBONALES, LAS ORQUETAS, LAS QUEBRADAS, EL MOJON

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN LLANO LARGO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
SUNY Stony Brook Medical Brigade May 2015 43 CUNY Brooklyn College Medical Brigade Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Medical Brigade June 2016 35
University of Miami Medical Brigade December 2017 34

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Currently, Llano Largo has a mixed water system that functions by gravity, as well as electric pump. The system was constructed in the 2010’s and has in-home connections to 100% of the homes. Additionally, Llano Largo has an elected water council tasked with the repairs of the system, as well as collecting each family’s monthly contribution to go towards maintenance. Llano Largo has not been identified as a community in need of partnership with Global Brigades Water Program.

Water System : Yes
Type of Water System : Mixed - gravity & electric pump
% of Homes with Access to Water : 100%
Water Council : Yes

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

LLANO LARGO’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE 

Rural communities in Nicaragua 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. This exclusion can be the result of a lack of financial literacy, credit history, and land titles or substantial assets consumer goods to offer as collateral. Additionally, maintaining savings is not a common practice in rural communities in Nicaragua, and when families do save, they often do not have a safe place to do so.

In Llano Largo, the average family income is low per household. The main form of employment in Llano Largo is agriculture, and the primary crop produced is vary based on the season. Economic growth faces additional obstacles due to the community’s dependence on agriculture and day laboring, as its inhabitants’ incomes are earned on a seasonal basis, determined by crop yields, and susceptible to external factors like drought, disease, and international market trends.

*No volunteers have been able to support in this program’s work but continued progress has been able to be accomplished through the generous support of the Merkel Foundation.

0*

Volunteers

5

Loans Disbursed

39

Savings Accounts Opened

N/A

Capital Invested

LLANO LARGO’S MICRO-FINANCE SOLUTION 

The Business Program works to stimulate the local economy by organizing community residents around a community bank, which is entirely owned and operated by its members. Focusing on providing access to low-interest loans credit and savings for the members, its Bank Council members are tasked with growing the community bank and managing the funds. The Business Program provides training and support to help strengthen these community banks and stimulate the flow of capital within the community. These financial services can be used by members for everything from farmers taking out loans to buy their seeds before planting, to a family taking out a loan to cover medical expenses. 

Llano Largo’s community bank, named Community Bank Llano Largo, was established in September 2018 with the support of Global Brigades. The community bank has 17 female and 14 male shareholders who meet monthly along with a bank council that leads the shareholders and oversees the meetings. In order to pool funds together, increase the capital available to the community bank, and expand the impact of its financial services, each member contributes a monthly share or fee for which they receive a proportional amount of the bank’s dividends at the end of its fiscal year.

Additionally, Global Brigades provides matching capitalizations once these capitalizations meet established benchmarks. Global Brigades also has monthly follow-ups and training with the community bank to strengthen the bank over time and ensure its sustainability. Global Brigades and Llano Largo’s community bank are working towards being able to disburse loans, increase savings and train individuals on financial management.

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

LLANO LARGO’S PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE

Many community members in Llano Largo lacked the necessary resources to improve their homes and prevent diseases caused by unsafe living conditions. The majority of homes were made of adobe, and few homes had hygiene stations 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.

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.

*No volunteers have been able to support in this program’s work but continued progress has been able to be accomplished through the generous support of the Merkel Foundation.

0*

Volunteers

23

Sanitation Units Installed

75

People benefited with Public health Infrastructure

N/A

Hours of Public Health Education

Local Reference Points

View the map to see the closest volunteer lodging facilities, hospitals, and other relevant points of reference.

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