Programs / Medical / Communities / El Zarzal «

 Communities Served by El Zarzal Brigades: Guaricayan, Miravalle, San Luis, Cofradia, and Yamaguare

El Zarzal Healthcare Access

El Zarzal is a community located centrally between several other communities that Global Brigades work with in the department of Francisco Morazan. El Zarzal has a CESAR health center in the community that is staff by one nurse, Oralia Cruz.  Oralia is very well-known and provides good care to her patients.  This health center serves about 6 surrounding communities, totaling to a population over 2,000 people. Dental care is not available at the health center. If patients need to see a doctor or dentist they must travel to a CESAMO in either La Villa de San Francisco or Cantarranas, one of two nearby municipalities.  To reach these health centers community members must take a bus up to 30 minutes or walk up to 3 hours.

Community Demographics

El Zarzal is home to about 285 people and has about 80 homes,
with an average of 4 inhabitants per home.  El Zarzal is located
centrally compared to the surrounding communities and
community members have access to several buses that pass
through and can take them to nearby municipalities.  However,
it is still a relatively remote community very far from any major
cities.  During brigades, patients come from over 10 different
communities to receive medical and dental care.

.

Brigade Site Information

The brigade is held both at the school and the health center.  The school is too small to hold every

station on the brigade, so the health center (located directly behind the school) is used for Dental

and Gynecology.  This leaves a total of 6 rooms available so that each station can comfortably fit

on the brigade.  Check back soon for photos of the brigade site!

Current Community Initiatives

El Zarzal is the central location for the Community Health Workers trained by Global Brigades in 2012.  These volunteers serve 6 different communities including el Zarzal.  Global Brigades program leads return perdiodically for follow up training and visits.  For more information about the CHW program in El Zarzal, you can visit the El Zarzal CHW Page.

Community Health Statistics

Below is a chart showing the illnesses treated on our most recent brigade to El Zarzal

Below is a chart showing the dental procedures performed on our most recent brigade to El Zarzal.

Current Status

Last Visit: 4/7/2014

This past May, a group of volunteers from Tulane University, the College of Charleston, and Stetson University visited El Zarzal on their brigade.  With the help of both Honduran and US health care professionals, they saw a total of 556 patients over two days, including 30 dental patients.  Patients came from 11 different surrounding communities to receive medical care on the brigade.

Visit Other Programs in El Zarzal

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 El Zarzal:

MedicalDentalEngineering MicrofinanceWaterPublic HealthBusinessArchitectureCHW