Empowered Community

Congratulations Piriati Embera!

363

Volunteers

4,169

Medical Patient Consultations

747

Dental Patient Consultations

N/A

People with Access to Clean Water*

366

Loans Disbursed

N/A

Latrines Constructed*

5

Legal Cases Resolved

2

Trained Community Leaders

Piriati Embera

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

Overview

Piriati Embera is located in the biodiverse province of East Panama, and celebrated its transition with Global Brigades in December of 2016. 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 Piriati Embera are primarily dedicated to agriculture and the sale of artisanal crafts. There are a number of local businesses within the community such as storefronts selling household goods and foods as well as a group of artisans that produce traditional Embera jewellery for sale. Through Global Brigades an environmental committee was established to cultivate a model farm and a Community Health Worker was trained to provide healthcare support and training for community members.

Corregimiento: Torti
District: Chepo
Province: East Panama

*Piriati Emberá already had sanitation and water coverage when Global Brigades partnered with the community.

Homes : 260
Population : 1,136
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : No, closest in Torti
Community Health Workers : Yes
% of Homes with Latrines : 68
Education in the Community : Up to 6th grade
Distance from Lodging Facility : 30 km

CELEBRATING PIRIATI EMBERA’S FIVE – YEAR MILESTONE

On January 8th, 2017, Global Brigades and Piriati Embera celebrated all the hard work that has gone into the last five years and what community members have to look forward to as these programs perpetuate. The event was the conclusion of a series of three open meetings to reflect on all of the different projects have taken shape within the community and to provide information to the community as a whole about getting involved and supporting continued operations such as the Community Health Workers or joining the Community Bank. The event was attended by community committee leaders such as the Community Bank executive board, regional Embera government officials, and Global Brigades staff that have participated in the five-year process. Additionally, Columbia University Medical Brigades and Miami University of Ohio Business Brigades shared words with the community about what it meant to be welcomed into their community and participate in local projects.

This day marked the end of regular brigades of volunteers to the community, but work has not stopped. Since this celebration, Piriati Embera’s Community Bank finished construction of a new office building for its committee and members to meet and hold operations.

First Community Meeting, October 13th, 2016

Presentations included stories from Community Bank leaders from when the bank was first created.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transition Plan Presentations, November 2016

Program Leads such as Jessica Nuñez of the Medical Program, hold situational presentations to depict ways to get involved with programs such as seeing Piriati Embera’s Community Health Worker.

 

 

 

Final Celebration, January 8th 2017

Young students from the community prepare for a traditional Embera dance as part of the celebration.

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. 

Even with this coverage, the Centros frequently lack a full pharmacy and the staff capacity to see every patient each day. After walking long distances or paying for a bus, rural visitors to the Centros can expect long wait times given the limited staff and resources to meet the demand from all neighboring communities. The physician density in Panama remains around 630 people for every one 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.

The community of Piriati Embera currently has a Puesto de Salud, and the nearest Centro de Salud is 25 minutes away by bus in the town of Tortí. The most common illnesses reported by community members in Piriati Emberá are: cold, diarrhea, parasites, fungus and skin infections.

363

Volunteers

4,169

Patient Consultations

60

Vision Screenings

103

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS:

A group of CHWs from East Panama, trained in 2017

Piriati Emberá has 1 Community Health Worker that was trained by Global Brigades. Community Health Workers, or Agentes Comunitarios en Salud (ACeS), work on a volunteer basis as advocates for healthcare within their communities. Their primary responsibilities include: educating community members to prevent common illnesses, providing emergency first aid, supporting pregnant mothers and newborns, and following up with chronic patients. 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.

Piriati Emberá school

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Medical and Dental Brigade clinics are hosted in Piriati Emberá’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the classrooms. Each day of the brigade, an average of 6 educational workshops or charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 370

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN PIRIATI EMBERÁ:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of Chicago – Loyola Medical Brigade August 2012 22 Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Medical Brigade April 2013 21
Northwestern University Medical Brigade September 2013 17 University of Victoria Medical Brigade February 2014 32
Drexel University Medical Brigade June 2014 36 University of San Diego and Smith College Medical Brigade January 2015 25
Regis University Medical Brigade August 2015 25 Carnegie Mellon University Medical Brigade August 2016 26
Columbia University Medical Brigade January 2017 24  Northwestern University/ Waterloo University Medical Brigade  August 2017  23
Tulane University Medical Brigade March 2019 26 Michigan State University Medical Brigade March 2020 21
University of Pittsburgh Medical Brigade May 2022 19 Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals Medical Brigade June 2023 10

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS

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.

845

Dental Patient Consultations

369

Fluoride Treatments

62

Fillings Performed

409

Extractions

A dental charla at a clinic in Ipeti Emberá, Panama

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Medical and Dental Brigade clinics are hosted in Piriati Emberá’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the classrooms. Each day of the brigade, an average of 6 educational workshops or charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 370

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN PIRIATI EMBERA:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
 Southern Illinois University Medical Brigade April 2013  21  Northwestern University Medical Brigade  September 2013  17
University of Victoria Medical Brigade February 2014 32 Drexel University Medical Brigade June 2014 36
University of San Diego and Smith College Medical Brigade January 2015 25 Regis University Medical Brigade August 2015 25
Carnegie Mellon University Medical Brigade August 2016 26 Columbia University Medical Brigade January 2017 24
Tulane University Medical Brigade March 2019 26 Michigan State University Medical Brigade March 2020 21
University of Pittsburgh Medical Brigade May 2022 19 Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals Medical Brigade June 2023 10

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades transitioned to a monitoring role with Piriati Emberá before the Water Program was established as part of the Holistic Model in Panama. If there is a need, Global Brigades will support the community to implement any necessary repairs to existing infrastructure, including water treatment.

Water System : Yes
System Type : Gravity aqueduct
Homes connected to water : 260
Water Council : Yes

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

PIRIATI EMBERA’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Community members in Piriati Embera do not have access to financial resources within the community. In order to gain access, members must travel to Tortí, a 30-minute bus ride, however not all community members can become members of the savings and loan cooperative. Cooperatives require monthly membership fees, and coupled with the cost of travel and the lack of land titles as an indigenous community, less than 5% of community members are part of the cooperative, and 100% of the community has never accessed a loan from Tortí. Larger financial institutions, which are inaccessible due to distance and cost, do not approve loans to community members without a fixed income, making it very difficult for local microenterprises to grow and thrive.

360

Volunteers

56

Saving Accounts Opened

366

Loans Disbursed

$30,770

Capital Invested

PIRIATI EMBERA’S MICROFINANCE SOLUTION

The finished artwork for the Community Bank office with its artist, Elio Cunampio, a member of Piriati Embera

The Global Brigades Business and Microfinance Team trained a new Community Bank in 2013. They also brought Microfinance and Business brigades in order to strengthen both the knowledge and trust in the Community Bank. This encouraged the opening of more savings accounts, growth of seed capital, and upon the completion of six months of executive board training, the Community Bank began giving out loans to bank members to spur economic growth and home improvement projects.

 

In 2017 Piriati Embera’s Community Bank finished construction of its own office to continue operations and have a safe place to store records.

PIRIATI EMBERA’S BUSINESS SOLUTION

In addition to the community bank, Global Brigades supports established and start-up micro-enterprises. Agro-businesses are prominent forms of commerce within this community and adequate book-keeping and maintaining relationships with customers, as well as proper agriculture cultivation can lead to increased revenues for business owners and employees.

As members of the Community Bank these 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.

 

BUSINESS VOLUNTEERS IN PIRIATI EMBERA:

University of Florida Business BrigadeDecember 201912

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Miami University of Ohio Business Brigade December 2011 23 Loyola University Duke University Business Brigade December 2012 15
Boston University Business Brigade December 2012 20 Penn State Business Brigade March 2012 20
University of Southern California & Emory University Business Brigade March 2012 44 Marquette University Business Brigade March 2012 19
UCLA / UC San Diego Business Brigade March 2012 23 Miami University Business Brigade May 2012 20
Calvin College Business Brigade May 2012 13 University of Southern California Business Brigade January 2013 23
Texas A&M University Business Brigade May 2013 22 UC Davis / UC Riverside Business Brigade June 2013 6
Carnegie Melon Business Brigade March 2014 14 Vanderbilt University Business Brigade February 2014 15
Rutgers University Business Brigade March 2015 12 Boston University Business Brigade May 2015 22
Yale University Business Brigade March 2016 19 Boston University Business Brigade May 2016 13
University of Florida Business Brigade December 2019 12 Carnegie Mellon University Business Brigade December 2021 12
Eli Lilly Business Brigade December 2022 5

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades transitioned to a monitoring role with Piriati Emberá before the Public Health Program was established as part of the Holistic Model in Panama. If there is a need, Global Brigades will support the community with the financing, delivery, and installation of household health infrastructure products.

Homes with flushing toilets : 84
Homes with latrines : 68%
Homes with baths/showers : N/A
Common house materials : Cement block and bricks

Legal Empowerment

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

PIRIATI EMBERA’S LEGAL EMPOWERMENT CHALLENGE

Legal services are difficult to access in rural East Panama for two primary reasons: location and cost. Most often, there are no legal services set up within rural communities and are instead concentrated in urban areas. Therefore, rural Panamanians must travel multiple hours to access these services. Not only does traveling to these urban areas cost money, but the legal services themselves are frequently too expensive.

In addition, there is an attitude of mistrust among the rural clients. Historically, there have occurred many cases in which lawyers have come to rural communities, the community members have paid for the legal services, but the lawyers have returned to the city without resolving the cases. Therefore, it is a challenge to gain trust of the community members when it comes to dealing with their personal human rights issues, and to prove not all lawyers will take advantage of them.

57

Volunteers

16

Legal Consulations

10

Participants at Educational Workshops

5

Cases Closed

Civic Engagement and Empowerment

By focusing on specific aspects of legal access and inclusion, Global Brigades’ Legal Empowerment Program aims to empower communities like Piriati Embera to overcome the obstacles mentioned above. In 2014, Brigaders were able to tackle family law cases, execute pro-bono legal clinics, and perform educational workshops.

Family Law: The most common legal issues within the community include issues of alimony and childcare, land issues, domestic violence, and some violent crimes. Without a lawyer in the community, many legal issues go unresolved or unattended for many years, and seemingly simply legal troubles can go unanswered. Volunteers, in conjunction with Panamanian lawyers, have been able to resolve 5 family law case to date.

Legal Clinics: Global Brigade’s Legal Empowerment Program has been able to offer their pro-bono legal services to community members in Piriati Embera with the help of Panamanian lawyers as they are shadowed by volunteers. Both community members and volunteers work together to challenge the stigma of lawyers in the region by offering real, professional services for free.

Educational Workshops: Volunteers have performed numerous workshops in the middle and high school of Piriati. Capitalizing on the use of education as a tool for community empowerment, volunteers lead discussions and workshops with students and families about issues that have direct consequences and effects in their everyday lives, including: the right to education, child abuse, drug use, and child labor laws.

LEGAL EMPOWERMENT VOLUNTEERS IN PIRIATI EMBERA:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Dublin City University Brigade March 2014 8 DePaul University, Univerisity of California Irvine, & University of California Los Angeles Brigade June 2014 19
University of California Los Angeles & University of California Davis Brigade June 2016 10 Texas A&M University Brigade Jan 2020 20

Local Reference Points

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

  • Feature