Programs / Human Rights / Communities / Platanilla «

 

About Platanilla

Platanilla is home to approximately 314 people with roughly 84 households,

and is located in the Darien province of eastern Panama. There are no legal

services available within the community; therefore members must spend

valuable time and money to gain access.  The majority of community

members make a living in agriculture or raising livestock, and some support

themselves through small stores and cantinas. Platanilla is known for its

strong community leadership and willingness to partner with outside

organizations, like Global Brigades. Currently, Medical/Dental, Business,

Public Health, and Business brigades operate in Platanilla, making it one of

Global Brigades’ holistic communities. 

 

Platanilla'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

Platanilla to overcome the obstacles mentioned above. Starting in March

2013, Brigaders have been able to tackle family law cases, execute pro-bono legal clinics, and perform educational workshops.

Family Law: One of the most expressed needs in the community is the lack of resources that are required in order to settle seemingly simple legal troubles. Volunteers, in conjunction with Panamanian lawyers, have been able to resolve 7 family law cases to date.

Legal Clinics: Global Brigade’s Human Rights Program has been able to offer their pro-bono legal services to community members in Platanilla with the help of volunteers and Panamanian lawyers. On average, for every brigade that comes to Platanilla, 6 community members will receive legal consult free of charge. Taking place in Platanilla’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 Platanilla. 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.

View Legal Cases for Platanilla

 

Human Rights Brigades Chapters that Worked in Platanilla
Human Rights Brigades Chapter	Month	Volunteers
Penn State	March 2013	18
University of California, Santa Barbara	June 2013	8
Tulane University Law School	December 2013	19
University of Bath	June 2014	16
UMBC	March 2015	12
CUNY/Cambridge	August 2015	11

 

 

 

 

 

Visit Other Programs in Platanilla

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