Programs / Human Rights / Communities / Arimae «

 

About Arimae

Arimae is a community of 108 homes, with a population of around 550 people.

The community has one primary school, and students must travel to nearby 

Zapallal to attend secondary school. Currently, Arimae is without access to 

medical and health services, as the lone clinic in town has been abandoned. 

Primary economic activities in town include agriculture through individual farms

growing crops such as plantains, rice, and yucca, and artisanal crafts.

 

 

Arimae's Barriers to Justice

Legal services are difficult to access in rural eastern Panama for two primary

reasons: location and cost.  Most often, there are no legal services set up

within rural communities and are instead concentrated in urban areas. 

Therefore, rural Panamanians must travel multiple hours to access these

services. Not only does traveling to these urban areas cost money, but the

legal services themselves are frequently too expensive.  

 

In addition, there is an attitude of mistrust amongst the rural clients. 

Historically, there have occurred many cases in which lawyers have come to

rural communities, the community members have paid for the legal services,

but the lawyers have returned to the city without resolving the cases. 

Therefore, it is a challenge to gain  trust of the community members when it

comes to dealing with their personal human rights issues, and to prove not

all lawyers will take advantage of them.

 

Civic Engagement and Empowerment

By focusing on specific aspects of legal access and inclusion, Global Brigades’ Human Rights Program aims to empower communities like Arimae to overcome the obstacles mentioned above. Starting in January 2015, Brigaders have been able to tackle family law cases, execute pro-bono legal clinics, and perform educational workshops.

Family Law: Starting January 2015, brigades have been able to address one of the most commonly cited legal needs in Arimae: Family Law representation

Legal Clinics: Global Brigade’s Human Rights Program has been able to offer their pro-bono legal services to community members in Arimae with the help of volunteers and Panamanian lawyers. Taking place in Arimae's community center, both community members and volunteers work together to challenge the stigma of lawyers in the region by offering real, professional services for free.

Educational Workshops: Volunteers have performed numerous workshops in the middle and high school of Arimae. Capitalizing on the use of education as a tool for community empowerment, volunteers lead discussions and workshops with students and families about issues that have direct consequences and effects in their everyday lives, including: the right to education, child abuse, drug use, and child labor laws.

 

 

Human Rights Brigades Chapters that Worked in Arimae
Human Rights Brigades Chapter	Month	Volunteers
Tulane Law	January 2015	24

 

  

Visit Other Programs in Arimae

Global Brigades strives to implement a model of Holistic Development in communities through a system of collectively implementing health, economic, and education initiatives to strategically meet a community's development goals. Learn more about the other programs being implemented in Platanilla:

 

BusinessDental  Environmental Medical  Microfinance Public Health