About El Hatillo
The community of El Hatillo is located in the Jinotega Department in Northern Nicaragua. El Hatillo was founded around 120 years ago and currently is home to 81 families (around 400 people). The majority of families work in the agriculture sector, cultivating mainly corn, beans, and coffee. El Hatillo is known for its strong community leadership and willingness to partner with outside
organizations, like Global Brigades.
El Hatillo's Public Health Situation
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The majority of houses in El Hatillo obtain water from a piped water system supplied by the government. Water is supplied to houses 2 hours per day, during which families must bathe, wash clothing, and collect water in plastic buckets for later consumption and use. Before Global Brigades arrived in the community, the problem of outside defecation was prevelant, as only 10 homes had a latrine. There was also numerous reported cases of Triatominae, fleas, bedbugs, and other insects inside family homes. As it is common especially for children to walk around without shoes or clothing, bites from these bugs caused health issues such as chagas, skin diseases, and parasites.
El Hatillo does not have access to a nearby health center. Any community members that need regular or emergency medical attention need to travel around an hour to take the bus to the closest health center in a community called La Tejera. |
Public Health Solution for El Hatillo
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Medical Brigades started working in the community March 2013. Since 2013, families in El Hatillo have received free healthcare from brigades that run mobile medical clinics every 4 months. The Global Brigades in-country team has worked over the past 2 years to identify and empower local leaders to form the Basic Sanitation Committee and to volunteer as local workers on Medical Brigades.
Starting in September 2014, brigaders started implementing Public Health projects in El Hatillo. Through the construction of hygiene stations (showers, pilas, and latrines) and concrete floors in family homes, Global Brigades and the community seek to decrease the prevalence of preventative health issues in the community.
Public Health brigaders also prepare and present a broad curriculum of Public Health topics, such as basic hygiene, water storage, and pesticide use, among others. With the 2 brigades being conducted in December 2014, the Public Health projects in El Hatillo will be complete, including 69 hygiene stations and 3,311 square meters of floor. By December, 67 families will have Public Health projects in their homes. |
| Public Health Brigades Chapters that Worked in El Hatillo |
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| Public Health Brigades Chapter | Month | Volunteers |
| Carroll University | Jan 2014 | 37 |
| Marquette University | Jan 2014 | 69 |
| Loyola University of Chicago | Jan 2014 | 33 |
| Saint Louis University | Jan 2014 | 47 |
| University of Dayton | Jan 2014 | 43 |
| Vanderbilt University | March 2014 | 21 |
| Penn State University | March 2014 | 51 |
| University of Texas at Austin | March 2014 | 28 |
| Grinnell College | March 2014 | 22 |
| Florida Gulf Coast | May 2014 | 22 |
| University of California/University of Missouri | May 2014 | 44 |
| Louisiana State University | May 2014 | 24 |
| University of Colorado & Texas A&M | May 2014 | 59 |
| University of Colorado | May 2014 | 20 |
| Rutgers University | May 2014 | 22 |
| Temple University | May 2014 | 12 |
| University of Minnesota | May 2014 | 31 |
| MontClaire University | May 2014 | 16 |
| Stony Brook University | May 2014 | 35 |
| University of Pennsylvania | May 2014 | 19 |
| Brooklyn College | June 2014 | 28 |
| California State University Los Angeles | June 2014 | 44 |
| Oregon State University | June 2014 | 37 |
| University of San Diego | August 2014 | 39 |
| University of Washington | September | 40 |
Current Status
Last Visit: December, 2014
Project Photos
Learn About Other Programs in El Hatillo
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. Medical/Dental Brigades visit El Hatillo at least biannualy, and Water Brigades will commence a project in January 2016.
| General Overview | |
| Population | 336 |
| Number of Homes | 67 |
| Volunteers | 1,006 |
| Beneficiaries | 67 families |
| Hygiene Stations |
69 |
| Committees |
Health |
| Brigade Site |
Family Homes |
| Most Common Illnesses |
N/A |
| Additional Information |
| General Community Profile |
| Pre-Brigade Curriculum |
| On-Brigade Curriculum |
