Frequently Asked Questions about Public Health Brigades:
Q: I’m currently a student in a public health program, or I am participating in a master’s program for public health. How can I get involved in the Global Brigades?
A: If you are a master’s student in public health, or studying public health, Global Brigades offers practical, real-world experience in the field of global health and public health in remote villages in Central America for you to participate in. Our public health brigades program offers hands-on experience in the field of public health, to improve sanitation and basic health infrastructure in rural communities that do not have access otherwise. There are programs — our one-week medical program offers public health students the opportunity to visit a community in need, to establish public health infrastructure such as building latrines, concrete floors, clean water storage units, and also provide preventative health and public health workshops that help the community members perpetuate the infrastructure and keep and maintain infrastructure to keep their families healthy.
Q: I have really watched you make a meaningful contribution in a community in need and I don’t want to be a volunteer tourist. What specific projects will I be able to help with?
A: Public Health Brigades offers students, who would like to travel abroad to experience public health, a very unique opportunity that the primary focus is to empower the communities that we work in. Global Brigades has relationships in more than 100 villages in Honduras and throughout Central America that we perform our public health and other holistic programs, such as medical, dental, and water. As a public health volunteer, you will not just be an observer, but live in and understand for an entire week what it’s like to be in a third world — in a developing world, a developing community, where they make less than a dollar a day, where there aren’t likely concrete floors, where they don’t have latrines, where the health specifics are dismal, and to be able to work with that family for an entire week to help build a public health infrastructure in their home. And, one family at a time, we’ll be able to make a tangible impact in the lives of these communities. It is very hands-on, very — get ready to get sweaty and work hand in hand with the community members. And also, be prepared to provide a lasting public health workshop in community [inaudible] to perpetuate the program after the volunteer experience.
Q: My concentration in public health is epidemiology. Are there any opportunities where I can make a contribution and speak to an entire community about how to prevent epidemic illnesses from starting within the community?
A: If you’re studying epidemiology, Global Brigades has a great focus on the epidemic problems that are happening in communities and addresses them on a systemic level. Issues such as chagas, health issues such as respiratory diseases that are transmitted, all have root in the public health infrastructure in the home. That’s what a public health brigade addresses. Our one-week program offers students and experts to be able to visit these homes and work alongside these communities with a budget, to build the right public health and sanitation infrastructure in the homes to be able to prevent these communicable diseases. And also provide workshops to curb, to prevent the spread of them.
Q: How do we empower the community after you leave?
A: The Global Brigades directors work directly with our local community members and local experts in public health to mobilize the community before, during, and after the public health brigade. Every community asks us for the assistance. So we don’t go into a community that isn’t already working with us hand in hand. Throughout the process, we provide public health and educational training to perpetuate the projects after we leave. During the brigade, the students and volunteers will work hand in hand with the community members to teach them the techniques and how to build the infrastructure that we are supplying, and also, identify people within the community to lead future construction projects within the community to be able to perpetuate it afterwards. Global Brigades also helps to establish banks within the community that act through our business brigade and micro-finance brigade program, that allows the community members to withdraw money and to get loans, small-scale loans from their own communities, to be able to perpetuate and build their own community health projects in their homes.
Q: How do the Public Health projects benefit the families?
A: Better health in the home, better sanitation, increases the value of their home by adding projects, and access to education so they are able to know what is happening with the environment
Q: How does the community access education?
A: The majority of the communities have poor access to education. Most communities only have schools up to sixth grade. After sixth grade those who want to continue their education must travel a long distance to reach a school requiring lots of time and money. Often times community members don’t have the time or money to continue the education.
Q: How does the local government help the communities?
A: The majority of communities do not receive help from their local government. Other issues take precedent over main needs of the community. Often times, the government builds schools and water projects but there is little follow-up and they are unable to be maintained properly.
Q: What are the biggest challenges that the community faces?
A: Little access to education, little knowledge about how to cultivate crops best, little knowledge about basic health practices, few job opportunities, and geographical location limits access to health care, education, jobs.
Q: What is the CSB and what do they do?
A: The Basic Sanitation Committee (CSB) is a group of 8-12 volunteers in the community that are trained by GB on how to maintain the health of the community. They are selected by GB because they are enthusiastic, passionate and invested in the betterment of their community. They are responsible for sharing the information they are trained about and presenting it to the rest of the community. CSB members make visits to each family to follow-up on the project.
Q: What are the benefits that the children in the community gain by the education sessions given be PHB students?
A: The PHB team works with the teachers in the communities to establish what topics should be covered by our student groups. The teachers determine what topics are the most important to cover. The children are introduced to topics that may not be covered in their school curriculum. Children are aware of the topics and they are able to enact a change in behavior. Children are the future of the community
Q: What impact does the project have on the environment?
A: Less wood – decreases deforestation and less contamination from waste.
Q: How do we ensure that the projects are sustainable?
A: CSB educates to maintain project, which will last 20-25 years.
Q: What is the connection between PHB and other GB programs?
A: Medical connection- helps prevent common illnesses seen, Microfinance- works with Caja Rural to help families finance the projects, and Water – provides storage for water that is brought by waters systems built by water brigades.
Q: What specific benefits do the projects provide?
A: Water Pilas: provides a place for water to be stored – stores water from long distances, and prevents re-use of dirty water – once the water is used it leaves the pila and does not contaminate the clean water source. Eco-stoves: chimneys reduce respiratory illness and requires less wood – decreases deforestation, global warming. Concrete Floors: Provides a clean environment in the home and reduces skin infections, Chagas disease, fungus. Latrines: Provides one place for waste, no contamination of crops, less contamination in water resources, prevents diarrheal disease, and epending on the size of the family, can be used for up to 15 years.
Q: Is it safe?
A: There is risk associated with any international travel and community work. Risk experts within the international volunteer industry approximate that an organization may experience one catastrophic incidence such as death or permanent injury for every 100,000 volunteer months spent in-country. Most common are from car accidents and or extra-curricular activities participated in outside of programming. Each Global Brigades grantee entity in Honduras, Panama and Ghana have a strong track for risk practices and do regular staff meetings to ensure emergency policies are known by every coordinator.