Liquidambos

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

Overview

Liquidambos is a community located within the municipality of Morocelí in the department of El Paraíso. The community is perched atop a mountain at an extremely high elevation. Here, it is often windy and cool, which are perfect growing conditions for coffee. Most people in Liquidambos work in agriculture, especially in the cultivation of coffee, corn, and beans. There is an average of five people living in each household. Children are able to attend school in the community up to sixth grade, at which point they must travel to Buena Vista to continue their education (approximately 2.5 km away). Liquidambos’ inhabitants are interested in public health projects, structural improvements for homes and other buildings, and investment in additional infrastructure within the community.

Municipality: Morocelí

Department: El Paraíso

Homes : 43
Population : 187
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : No
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : No
Community Health Workers : Yes
% of Homes with Latrines : 67%
Education : Up to 6th Grade
Distance from Lodging Facility : 2 hrs

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.

While there is no health center in the community of Liquidambos, there are CESARs, or the smaller of the two health centers, in the communities of Buena Vista and Hoya Grande. These communities are located approximately 2.5 km and 3 km away, respectively. CESARs are the smaller of two types of public health centers located in rural areas of Honduras. While community members can access a nurse in the CESARs, they often do not have the necessary medications or supplies. The nearest specialists are located in a private clinic in Morocelí, which is extremely costly for most of Liquidambos’ inhabitants. The most common illnesses in Liquidambos are the common cold, skin infections, respiratory problems (asthma, coughs, etc.), and malnourishment in children. A lot of these issues stem from a lack of household health infrastructure in the community.

*These statistics reflect data from Medical/Dental Brigades in the community of Buena Vista, where community members from Liquidambos attend the mobile clinics.

260

Volunteers*

5,593

Patient Consultations*

N/A

Vision Screenings Provided*

136

Health Education Workshops*

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

Liquidambos has access to 13 Community Health Workers (CHWs). These CHWs were trained in the community of Buena Vista and provide their services to a total of five communities. One CHW lives in Liquidambos.

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 that 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

Since space in the CESAR is extremely limited, community members in Liquidambos attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in Buena Vista’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s five classrooms. Doctors are able to spend an average of ten minutes with each patient. Each day of the brigade, an average of 10 educational charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 782
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: BUENA VISTA, EL RETIRO, LAS UVAS

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.

*These statistics reflect data from Medical/Dental Brigades in the community of Buena Vista, where community members from Liquidambos attend the mobile clinics.

480

Patient Consultations*

444

Number of Extractions*

314

Fillings Performed*

85

Dental Education Workshops*

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Since space in the CESAR is extremely limited, community members in Liquidambos attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in Buena Vista’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s five classrooms. Doctors are able to spend an average of ten minutes with each patient. Each day of the brigade, an average of 10 educational charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 782
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: BUENA VISTA, EL RETIRO, LAS UVAS

Engineering

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

LIQUIDAMBOS’ ENGINEERING CHALLENGE

Before its partnership with Global Brigades, Liquidambos never had a centralized water system that provided access to the entire community. Some community members built wells to supply water for parts of the community. However, the majority of the families walked to the nearest sources to bathe, wash clothes, and collect and carry water for household use.

During the dry season, some of these sources dried up and people had to travel farther away from their homes to access water. There were also two wells with hand pumps installed in Liquidambos, but one of the wells had a broken hand pump and the other was said to provide water of bad quality. Regardless of how they accessed water, there was no central treatment and few families treated their drinking water within their homes, increasing the risk of waterborne illnesses.

N/A

Volunteers

406

Beneficiaries

N/A

Kilometers of Pipeline Designed

24

Average Community Volunteers

LIQUIDAMBOS’ ENGINEERING SOLUTION

Water Brigades from 15 different universities partnered with Liquidambos from May 2013 to August 2013. During that time, these volunteers worked alongside community members to:

  • Install a dam and intake infrastructure with a filter
  • Build a 10,000-gallon storage tank with a chlorinator
  • Redesign and construct an entire distribution network
  • Connect all houses and churches to the system
  • Provide educational seminars to children in the community on water and health-related topics

Liquidambos’ inhabitants requested to partner with Global Brigades after recognizing the success of water projects in improving the quality of life for the neighbouring communities of Buena Vista and El Retiro. Since the moment the Water Program started its partnership with the community of Liquidambos, the community has demonstrated a great deal of dedication in their efforts to collaborate with Global Brigades through their contribution to the water system’s construction and maintenance. To ensure the sustainability of the project, a new, seven-member Water Council in addition to a Basic Sanitation Committee was established and trained by the Water Program.

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

LIQUIDAMBOS’ WATER CHALLENGE

Before its partnership with Global Brigades, Liquidambos never had a centralized water system that provided access to the entire community. Some community members built wells to supply water for parts of the community. However, the majority of the families walked to the nearest sources to bathe, wash clothes, and collect and carry water for household use. During the dry season, some of these sources dried up and people had to travel farther away from their homes to access water. There were also two wells with hand pumps installed in Liquidambos, but one of the wells had a broken hand pump and the other was said to provide water of bad quality. Regardless of how they accessed water, there was no central treatment and few families treated their drinking water within their homes, increasing the risk of waterborne illnesses.

315

Volunteers

406

Project Beneficiaries

4

Kilometers of Pipeline Designed

10,000

Storage Tank Volume (gallons)

LIQUIDAMBOS’ WATER SOLUTION

Water Brigades from 15 different universities partnered with Liquidambos from May 2013 to August 2013. During that time, these volunteers worked alongside community members to:

  • Install a dam and intake infrastructure with a filter
  • Build a 10,000-gallon storage tank with chlorinator
  • Redesign and construct an entire distribution network
  • Connect all houses and churches to the system
  • Provide educational seminars to children in the community on water and health related topics

Liquidambos’ inhabitants requested to partner with Global Brigades after recognizing the success of water projects in improving the quality of life for the neighboring communities of Buena Vista and El Retiro. Since the moment the Water Program started its partnership with the community of Liquidambos, the community has demonstrated a great deal of dedication in their efforts to collaborate with Global Brigades through their contribution to the water system’s construction and maintenance. To ensure the sustainability of the project, a new, seven-member Water Council in addition to a Basic Sanitation Committee were established and trained by the Water Program.

WATER VOLUNTEERS IN LIQUIDAMBOS

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of Michigan Water Brigade May 2013  14 Austin College Water Brigade May 2013 27
University of Illinois Urbana Campaign Water Brigade & Boston University Water Brigade & University of Pittsburgh Water Brigade & Loyola Water Brigade May 2013 41 Johns Hopkins University Water Brigade & CUNY Hunter Water Brigade May 2013 27
University of Dayton Medical Brigade May 2013 36 University of Chicago Water Brigade & University of California Riverside Water Brigade & University of California Santa Barbara Water Brigade  June 2013  23
Arizona State University Water Brigade May 2013 15 University of California Santa Cruz Water Brigade  June 2013  21
University of North Carolina Wilmington Water Brigade May 2013  6 Oregon State University Water Brigade  June 2013  23
University of Texas Arlington Water Brigade & Centenary University Water Brigade May 2013  9 California State Polytechnic University Pomona Medical Brigade  June 2013  20
University of Minnesota Duluth Water Brigade & University of Missouri Water Brigade & Soka University of America Water Brigade May 2013  12 University of Arkansas Medical Brigade  June 2013  41

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Liquidambos but has not yet begun with the Business Program. Now in the planning phase, a community bank will be established as soon as feasible, followed by market studies and investment in an anchor business to provide additional capital.

Community Bank : No
Community Bank Members : N/A
Economic Activities : Agriculture
Existing Microenterprises : N/A

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

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

Homes with Latrines : 40%
Homes with Eco-stoves : None
Homes with Water Filters : Unknown
Common House Materials : Adobe

Local Reference Points

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

  • Feature