Programs / Human Rights / Communities / Yaviza «

 

About Yaviza

Yaviza is a community of about 650 homes and 2000 inhabitants. It is

located in the district of Pinagana at the end of the Panamerican Highway in

the province of Darien. At the end of the highway, Yaviza is an interesting

cross-section in Panama, with many different cultures and traditions located

in the largest community nearby. Yaviza is largely an agricultural community

and livestock, working on farms, producing crops such as corn, zapote,

plantains, yucca, and ñame. There are small businesses and a section

devoted to tourism. Within Yaviza are a primary and secondary school, with

approximately 900 students between them. Yaviza has its own health center,

providing medical as well as dental care to its residents. Yaviza also works

with Medical and Dental Brigades.

 

Yaviza'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 Yaviza 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: The most common legal issues within the community include issues of alimony and childcare, land issues, domestic violence, and some violent crimes. Without a lawyer in the community, many legal issues go unresolved or unattended for many years, and seemingly simply legal troubles can go unanswered. Volunteers, in conjunction with Panamanian lawyers, have been able to resolve 1 family law case to date.

Legal Clinics: Global Brigade’s Human Rights Program has been able to offer their pro-bono legal services to community members in Yaviza with the help of Panamanian lawyers as they are shadowed by volunteers. 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 Yaviza. 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 Yaviza

 

Human Rights Brigades Chapters that Worked in Yaviza
Human Rights Brigades Chapter	Month	Volunteers
UC Davis	June 2012	15
Cambridge University and London School of Economics	July 2013	14
Hofstra University, NYU, UCSB, UCD, Cabridge University & London School of Economics	June 2014	23
DePaul University & UCLA, & UC Davis	June 2015	14

 

 

  

 BusinessDental  Environmental Medical  Microfinance Public Health