El Picacho

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

Overview

El Picacho is located in the municipality of Langue in the department of Valle. Children of the community have access to attend school through sixth grade. Most community members work in agriculture cultivating corn. Most agricultural workers make about 180 Lempiras (about US $7.50) a day during the rainy season. Regardless of occupation, most families earn approximately L5,200 per month (approximately US $220). Almost all household income is used to purchase food for consumption, drinking water, medication, and school supplies.

Municipality: Langue

Department: Valle

Homes : 58
Population : 243
Water System : No
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : Yes
Community Health Workers : Yes
Homes with Latrines : 60%
Education : Up to 6th Grade
Distance from Lodging Facility : 56 km

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS

The Honduran government provides two different types of health centers throughout rural Honduras: Centros de Salud Médico Odontológico (CESAMOs) and Centros de Salud Rural (CESARs). CESAMOs 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. CESARs are found sporadically in rural communities and generally have a single nurse available. Even with this coverage, it is important to note that medications, supplies, and materials are often not available in these health centers and the physician density in Honduras remains around 1,220 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.

El Picacho has a health center in their own community, CESAMO El Picacho. The most common illnesses reported by community members are zika, the common cold, diarrhea, arterial hypertension, diabetes, and arthritis. Illnesses also stem from the lack of a centrally treated water source and public health infrastructure.

124

Volunteers

1,747

Patient Consultations

64

Vision Screenings Provided

55

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

El Picacho has access to a total of 26 Community Health Workers (CHWs). These CHWs were trained in the community of El Junquillo, Goascorán and provide their services to a total of twelve communities. Two of them live in El Picacho.

Community Health Workers, or Guardianes de Salud, work on a volunteer basis as advocates for health care within their communities. While this is an existing program in Honduras and Guardianes de Salud are identified by other organizations and some health centers, Global Brigades is able to bridge gaps in access to training and provide more comprehensive technical skills. Our CHWs are some of the very few Guardianes de Salud to receive certification from the Honduran government. Our CHWs 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. Additionally, CHWs provide support for brigades that are hosted in their area. At the completion of their training, CHWs are equipped with basic medical supplies and equipment provided by Global Brigades and its partners. The presence of these volunteers and their advocacy for health within their community contributes to the sustainability of health care supported by Global Brigades’ Medical Program and is one of the most impactful disease prevention strategies in rural communities across the globe.

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members in El Picacho attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in the community’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s seven classrooms. Doctors are able to spend an average of ten minutes with each patient. On average, 10 educational charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients each brigade.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 528
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: EL JUNQUILLO, PLAN DE JOCOTE, HATO NUEVO, PATERO, SABANA REDONDA

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN EL PICACHO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of Southern California Medical Brigade March 2012 27 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Medical Brigade March 2016 28
University of Oklahoma Medical Brigade May 2017 45 Cornell University Medical Brigade & Johns Hopkins University Medical Brigade May 2019 24

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS

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 a dentist within a reasonable distance.

366

Patient Consultations

356

Number of Extractions

410

Fillings Performed

41

Dental Education Workshops

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members in El Picacho attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in the community’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s seven classrooms. Doctors are able to spend an average of ten minutes with each patient. On average, 10 educational charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients each brigade.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 528
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: EL JUNQUILLO, PLAN DE JOCOTE, HATO NUEVO, PATERO, SABANA REDOND

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN EL PICACHO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of Southern California Medical Brigade March 2012 27 University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Medical Brigade March 2016 28
University of Oklahoma Medical Brigade May 2017 45 Cornell University Medical Brigade & Johns Hopkins University Medical Brigade May 2019 24

Engineering

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

El PICACHO’S ENGINEERING CHALLENGE

The community of El Picacho has previously dug 6 wells to have access to better water, but the water is untreated. Community members, usually women, load water jugs on their heads and walk to and from the well in order to gather enough water for the day. The furthest community member lives fifteen minutes away from the nearest well. The six wells supply daily water for all community members. However, these wells lack sufficient water in dry season. Only one of the wells contains potable water. Each well is about 12 meters deep. El Picacho does not have a water council, but rather a community government.

16

Volunteers

360

Beneficiaries

11.2

Kilometers of Pipeline Designed

12

Average Community Volunteers

EL PICACHO’S ENGINEERING SOLUTION

Global Brigades volunteers completed the engineering design for the El Picacho water system in March 2017. Due to the lack of surface level water sources, Global Brigades hopes to work with the community to implement a well and pump system with groundwater. GB is currently seeking partners and funding for the project.

ENGINEERING VOLUNTEERS IN EL PICACHO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Vanderbilt University March 2017 16

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EL PICACHO’S WATER CHALLENGE

The community of El Picacho has previously dug 6 wells to have access to better water, but the water is untreated. Community members, usually women, load water jugs on their heads and walk to and from the well in order to gather enough water for the day. The furthest community member lives fifteen minutes away from the nearest well. The six wells supply daily water for all community members. However, these wells lack sufficient water in dry season. Only one of the wells contains potable water. Each well is about 12 meters deep. El Picacho does not have a water council, but rather a community government.

51

Volunteers

331

Project Beneficiaries

10

Kilometers of Pipeline Installed

2000

Storage Tank Volume (gallons)

EL PICACHO’S WATER SOLUTION

Global Brigades volunteers completed the engineering design for the El Picacho water system in March 2017. After searching for partners to provide funding, Global Brigades established a partnership with the Municipality of Langue Valle in order to begin the construction which began in November 2020 and finished in April 2021. The water system constructed is a well (groundwater and pump), whose tank is of 2000 gallons, and in order to provide water to the whole community, 10 kilometers of piping were installed.

This water system will benefit 70 households and 331 people from El Picacho.

WATER VOLUNTEERS IN EL PICACHO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Smith College Medical Brigade January 2020 19 University of Missouri Medical Brigade January 2020 32

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EL PICACHO’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE:

The majority of community members in El Picacho work in agriculture. This primarily consists of subsistence farming, although excess crops are sometimes sold. Most agricultural workers make about 100 lempiras (approximately US $4.25) a day during the rainy season. Regardless of occupation, most families earn around 4,000 lempiras per month (approximately US $170). Almost all household income is used to purchase food for consumption.

N/A

Volunteers

17

Loans Disbursed

9

Savings Accounts Opened

N/A

Capital Invested

EL PICACHO’S MICRO-FINANCE SOLUTION:

In 2018, Global Brigades worked alongside El Espinito to establish a community bank. The bank has 11 female and 6 male shareholders, and the members meet in the bank’s own structure every month. They are able to offer loans and savings accounts to community members so that families can plan and stabilize their finances. This is especially beneficial for farmers, who can take out loans to invest in their agricultural production and pay them back after the harvest. Loans allow many subsistence farmers to not only consume the crops they harvest but also earn an income from selling their excess.

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EL PICACHO’S PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE:

Many community members in El Picacho lacked the necessary resources to improve their homes and prevent diseases caused by unsafe living conditions. The majority of homes were made of adobe, straw, and mud, and few homes had hygiene stations, cement floors, or eco-stoves 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, and the lack of eco-stoves resulted in respiratory problems in many community members.

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.

36

Volunteers

N/A

Sanitation Units Installed

N/A

People Benefitted with Public Health Infrastructure

N/A

Hours of Public Health Education

PUBLIC HEALTH VOLUNTEERS IN EL PICACHO

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University Medical Brigade May 2017 36

Local Reference Points

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

  • Feature