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Where We Work / Honduras / Communities / Los Hatillos «

Los Hatillos, Honduras

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General Information

Population* 864
Number of homes 150
Avg # of people per home 5.8
Primary Occupations Agriculture, shrimp farms, construction
Water System

Yes

Community Bank No
Electricity Yes
Corresponding Health Center & Distance Guanacastillos - 30 minutes walking
Common Illnesses Common cold, respiratory infections, diarrhea
School Access and Distance

1st - 9th grade in community, ~30 minutes walking

GPS

N 14° 24' 325"

W 87° 18' 939"

Municipality Choluteca
Department Choluteca
Distance from compounds 30 minutes

* Population does not reflect how many patients will be seen on medical
brigades as many people from surrounding communities come seeking
Medical Brigades medical attention.

 

Top Needs Expressed

The top needs expressed by the community members are clean water and economic development.

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Geography

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Los Hatillos is a large community located in the department of Choluteca in the southern part of Honduras. This area of the country is extremely hot with temperatures often reaching to well over 100 degrees farenheit. As previously noted, the community is quite large, consisting of three distinct neighborhoods: Los Hatillos #1, Los Hatillos #2 and Familias Unidas. Currently, Global Brigades has partnered with Los Hatillos #1 and Los Hatillos #2, which are regarded as two separate Global Brigades communities.

Education

Like most other rural communities, Los Hatillos has a primary school offering kindergarten-sixth grade. Each grade is not taught separately however as the school only has three classrooms. Students who wish to continue their education attend secondary school in the nearby community of Guanacastillos.

Water

Prior to Global Brigades' entry into Los Hatillos, the community never had a centralized water system providing access to all members of the community. There was previously no centralized treatment of water and few families treated water in their homes, which led to an increased risk of waterborne disease.

 

In June 2015, after 7 months of work in the community, Global Brigades volunteers completed the construction of the water system which now serves over 650 people. Clean water is regularly treated and distributed to homes every day. The community  benefits from the leadership of a strong Water Council and Basic Sanitation Committee.

Health

As a larger rural community, Los Hatillos has a health center. It is not consistently staffed nor does it have an adequate supply of medicine.

 

Further compounding problems, few homes in the community have adequate in-home infrastructure to prevent disease. Less than 50% of homes have cement or brick floors, which results in parasitic infections and Chagas Disease. Similarly, only 25% of homes have washable latrines, leading to high rates of diarrhea. Respiratory infections are also a large problem as no one has an eco-stove and many homes are full of smoke from cooking fires.

Socio-economics

The majority of community members in Los Hatillos grow corn and beans to eat and sell. Others work on nearby shrimp farms to earn money. This work is generally seasonal  and does not constitute steady employment. For their labor, community members earn roughly 3,500 Lempiras or $150 per month.

 

Los Hatillos has a newly-formed community bank that will provide financial services such as loans and savings accounts to community members. Its first task will be generating enough money to purchase a water source capable of supplying the entire community with water.