Quebrada Cama

  • Overview
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Business
  • Public Health
  • Human Rights

Overview


Quebrada Cama is located in Comarca Ngabe-Bugle, and celebrated its transition with Global Brigades in October of 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 Quebrada Cama are primarily dedicated to agriculture and the sale of artisanal crafts. The community is on the wait-list for eventual Holistic Model implementation as part of Global Brigades’ strategic plan in Panama.

Corregimiento: Comarca Ngabe-Bugle
District: Ngabe-Bugle

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Chichica and has started with the Community Health Workers’ training.  Until 1, one Community Health worker has been trained to support Quebrada Cama’s population who require healthcare support.

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 Chichica is now one of the communities that have access to a Community Health worker, who is fairly close to complete all trainings and start visiting community members with health needs.

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.

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Chichica but has not yet begun with the Dental Brigades program.  Now in the planning phase, mobile clinics will start as soon as feasible.

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

QUEBRADA CAMA’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Community members in Quebrada Cama 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.

QUEBRADA CAMA’S MICROFINANCE SOLUTION

The Global Brigades Business and Microfinance Team trained a new Community Bank in Quebrada Cama in October 2020. To strengthen both the knowledge and trust in the Community Bank, the in-country team will evaluate the possibility of working with Brigades and TeleBrigades. This will encourage the opening of more 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.

Economic activities : agriculture, artisans
Local Businesses : N/A
Community Bank : Yes

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Chichica but has not yet begun with the Public Health Brigades program.  Now in the planning phase, the delivery and installation of household health products will start as soon as feasible.

% of homes with latrines : 100%
% of homes with eco stoves : 50%
% of homes with water filters : 0
Common house materials : Wood and zinc

Human Rights

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Chichica but has not yet begun the Human Rights Brigades program.  Now in the planning phase, the legal clinics and the opening of family cases will start as soon as feasible.

Most common legal needs : land titles
Type of government : Indigenous Congress
Main reason reported for not seeking out a lawyer : Lacking of financial ability

Local Reference Points

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

  • Feature