Programs / Public Health / Communities / El Cantón «

 

About El Cantón

El Cantón is a community with a population of approximately 500 people

living in 91 homes.  It is located in a valley belonging to the municipality of

Teupasenti, in the department of El Paraiso.  El Cantón is an agricultural

community relying on the production of corn and beans for sustenance. 

The average family only earns about 1,750 Lempiras ($90.00) per month,

which averages to less than $1.00 per day per person.  Despite their

arduous work schedules on the fields, community members have been

extremely invested in Global Brigades' projects.  All homes have access

to clean water, public health projects, access to credit via the community

bank, and will soon be able to seek medical attention in the new Health

Center being completed by the Architecture Program.

 

El Cantón's Public Health Challenge

Many community members in El Cantón lacked the resources needed to

improve their homes and prevent diseases caused by unsafe living

environments.  The majority of homes were made of adobe, mud, and straw. 

Very few homes had hygiene stations, cement floors, and eco-stoves prior to

the arrival of Global Brigades.  Such living conditions triggered disease.  The

lack of hygiene stations led to high rates of diarrhea and waterborne disease,
the absence of cement floors caused parasitic infection and Chagas Disease,
and the lack of eco-stoves resulted in respiratory problems in many
community members.  Not only would the creation of health infrastructure
better the health of household members through improved sanitation and
hygiene, but it would also improve their quality of life as the new water
storage units would reduce time spent walking to water sources and the
eco-stove reduces firewood consumption by about 70%.

 

Although community members recognized the problems inherent to their living environments, they did not have the economic resources nor the technical knowledge needed to address them.  Moreover, the level of awareness concerning sanitation and the importance of health is very low as the children did not receive any education about the topic.

 

The Public Health Solution for El Cantón

Public Health Brigaders from several different universities and the Public Health Brigades in-country team worked in El Cantón from December 2011 - August 2012.  During this time, volunteers and staff members worked with community members to:

     • Identify community leaders and train them to form the Basic Sanitation Committee

     • Increase cultural sensitivity and awareness by working side by side with qualified masons and
       project beneficiaries

     • Build 95 eco-stoves, 96 latrines, 95 showers, 95 water storage units, and 233 cement floors

     • Conduct educational workshops emphasizing the importance of sanitation and hygiene in the
       local primary school

 

To ensure the sustainabiltiy of the in-home infrastructure projects, the Public Health Program provides continuous follow-up in the community.  It also forms and trains the Basic Sanitation Committee, a community body formed by local leaders which monitors the correct usage and maintenance of the new infrastructure.  Clear responsibilities and powers are assigned to each member, making the beneficiaries themselves even stronger stakeholders in the Public Health projects.

 

Public Health Brigades Chapters that Worked in El Cantón
Public Health Brigades Chapter	Month	Volunteers
Ohio State University	December 2011	10
DePaul University	December 2011	19
University of Southern California	January 2012	18
San Francisco State	January 2012	8
Penn State	January 2012	10
Boston University	January 2012	22
Washington University	January 2012	14
University of Virginia	January 2012	9
St. Louis University	January 2012	15
UC Berkeley	January 2012	14
Columbia University	January 2012	13
Johns Hopkins University	January 2012	17
University of Victoria	February 2012	15
Mt. Allison University	February 2012	17
University of North Carolina	March 2012	16
University of Arizona	March 2012	9
Indiana University	March 2012	23
Seattle University	March 2012	17
TCMC	March 2012	9
UC Irvine	March 2012	26
UC San Diego	March 2012	24
UCSF Medical School	March 2012	7
Athletico	April 2012	8
University of Southern California	May 2012	8
Boston University	May 2012	14
Emory University	May 2012	11
Arizona State University	May 2012	15
Rutgers University	May 2012	19
University of Tampa	May 2012	19
Stony Brook College	May 2012	27
Arizona State University	May 2012	15
Illinois Wesleyan College	May 2012	8
Johns Hopkins University	May 2012	6
University of Michigan	June 2012	25
UC Berkeley	June 2012	10
DePaul University	June 2012	15
University of Washington	June 2012	19
UC Los Angeles	June 2012	10
UC Santa Barbara	June 2012	19
UC Davis	June 2012	27
UC Riverside	June 2012	3
Philadelphia Students	June 2012	10
University of Nottingham	July 2012	11
University of Birmingham	July 2012	13
Dublin University	July 2012	5
University of Cincinnati	August 2012	12
UT Austin	August 2012	20
Loyola University	August 2012	19

 

Current Status

Completed: August 2012

After numerous successful brigades, the Public Health Brigades Program exited the community of El Cantón.  Exiting the community signifies that the program no longer brings brigades to this community and will gradually lessen follow-ups to one visit every 6 months - 1 year.  The Public Health Brigades program trusts that the community members will maintain their projects with the assistance of the trained masons and understand the importance of building safe living environments whenever they construct new homes.

 

Visit Other Programs in El Cantón

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 Cantón:

MedicalDentalEngineering MicrofinanceWater BusinessArchitectureCHW