Los Guasimos de Apali

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

Overview

Los Guasimos de Apali is located within the municipality of Danli in the department of El Paraiso in central Honduras. The typical house is made of adobe or cement blocks. Children in the community have access to primary school. There is currently a gravity water system. Most of the community members work in agriculture. The top needs expressed by Los Guasimos de Apali’s inhabitants during their initial communications with Global Brigades include improvement in drinking water quality, creation of a community bank, and Public Health infrastructure.

Municipality: Danli
Department: El Paraiso

Homes : 64
Population : 260
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : No
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : No
Community Health Workers : Yes
Homes with Latrines : 92%
Education : Up to 6th Grade
Distance from Lodging Facility : 91 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.

Los Guasimos de Apali does not have its own health center. Community members to the CESAMO in a nearby community of Jutiapa, approximately 10 kilometers away. Sometimes, medications are not available in this CESAMO. The most common illnesses reported by the community members are common cold, cough, fever, hypertension, diabetes, and muscle pain.

394

Volunteers

10,620

Patient Consulations

701

Vision Screenings Provided

313

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

Los Guasimos de Apali has access to Community Health Workers (CHWs). These CHWs were trained in the community of La Campos and provide their services to a total of four communities.

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  attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in Los Guasimos de Apali’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s 2 classrooms and outdoor areas. Doctors are able to spend an average of ten minutes with each patient.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 837
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: La Campos, La Lima de Apali, Los Corrales

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN LOS GUASIMOS DE APALI

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Washington University in St. Louis Medical Brigade January 2014 36 University of California Davis Medical Brigade June 2014 42
Washington University in St. Louis Medical Brigade March 2015 32 Carleton University Medical Brigade & University of Texas Austin Medical Brigade August 2015 36
Central Michigan University Medical Brigade March 2016 38 Memorial University of Newfoundland Medical Brigade July 2016 20
Brandeis University Medical Brigade February 2017 22 Drexel University Medical Brigade & University of California Davis Medical Brigade June 2017 37
North Park University Medical Brigade March 2018 26 San Jose State University Medical Brigade & Southeast Missouri State University Medical Brigade August 2018 28
California State University Sacramento Medical Brigade January 2019 33 Acadia University Medical Brigade April 2019 23
University of North Caroina Chapel Hill Dental Brigade March 2020 21

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.

1,305

Patient Consultations

1,930

Number of Extractions

941

Fillings Performed

579

Dental Education Workshop

BRIGADE INFORMATION

 

Community members in  attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in Los Guasimos de Apali’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s 2 classrooms and outdoor areas. Doctors are able to spend an average of ten minutes with each patient.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 837
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: La Campos, La Lima de Apali, Los Corrales

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN LOS GUASIMOS DE APALI

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Washington University in St. Louis Medical Brigade January 2014 36 University of California Davis Medical Brigade June 2014 42
Washington University in St. Louis Medical Brigade March 2015 32 Carleton University Medical Brigade & University of Texas Austin Medical Brigade August 2015 36
Central Michigan University Medical Brigade March 2016 38 Memorial University of Newfoundland Medical Brigade July 2016 20
Brandeis University Medical Brigade February 2017 22 Drexel University Medical Brigade & University of California Davis Medical Brigade June 2017 37
North Park University Medical Brigade March 2018 26 San Jose State University Medical Brigade & Southeast Missouri State University Medical Brigade August 2018 28
California State University Sacramento Medical Brigade January 2019 33 Acadia University Medical Brigade April 2019 23
University of North Caroina Chapel Hill Dental Brigade March 2020 21

Engineering

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Los Guasimos de Apali but has not yet begun with the Engineering Program. Now in the planning phase, the evaluation of the community’s existing water system and design of any necessary improvements will start as soon as feasible.

Water System : Yes
Type of System : Gravity
Homes with Access to Water : 74%
Water Council : Yes

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Los Guasimos de Apali but has not yet begun with the Water Program. Now in the planning phase, the implementation of any improvements to the community’s existing water system will follow the Engineering Program’s assessment and start as soon as feasible.

Water System : Yes
Type of System : Gravity
Homes with Access to Water : 74%
Water Council : Yes

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Los Guasimos de Apali 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 : 0
Economic Activities : Agriculture
Existing Microenterprises : Corner Stores

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

LOS GUASIMOS DE APALI’S PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE

Many community members in Los Guasimos De Apali 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.

177

Volunteers

21

Sanitation Units Installed

84

People Benefitted with Public Health Infrastructure

N/A

Hours of Public Health Education

LOS GUASIMOS DE APALI’S PUBLIC HEALTH SOLUTION

Public Health Brigaders from several different universities and the Public Health Brigades in-country team worked in Los Guasimos de Apali from February 2018 to March 2018. During this time, volunteers and staff members worked with alongside the community to identify community leaders and train them to form the Basic Sanitation Committee, increase cultural sensitivity and awareness by working side-by-side with qualified masons and project beneficiaries, conduct educational workshops emphasizing the importance of sanitation and hygiene in the local primary school, install water filters, and build eco-stoves, latrines, and water storage unit. The latrine and water filter projects were funded entirely by the community, while Global Brigades partnered with the community to subsidize the remainder of the projects with Los Guasimos de Apali’s newly established community bank. The community bank provided access for families to take out loans for future home infrastructure projects, allowing community members to invest in the health of their own family without Global Brigades’ involvement. To ensure the sustainability of the projects constructed, the Public Health Program provides continuous follow-up in the community.

PUBLIC HEALTH VOLUNTEERS IN LOS GUASIMOS DE APALI

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Mount Allison University Medical Brigade February 2018 17 Milwaukee School of Engineering Medical Brigade February 2018 32
Castleton University Medical Brigade March 2018 29 Washington University in St. Louis Medical Brigade March 2018 24
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Medical Brigade & Rutgers University – New Brunswick Medical Brigade March 2018 49 North Park University Medical Brigade March 2018 26

 

Local Reference Points

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

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