Medical Brigade volunteers have the opportunity to shadow licensed doctors in medical consultations and assist in a pharmacy under the direction of licensed pharmacists through a 10 day Medical Brigade in Honduras, Panama, or Ghana. Student volunteers can either join an existing Medical Brigades chapter on their campus or create their own chapter and recruit other volunteers. Each of our partner community receives a brigade every 3 to 4 months where hundreds of patients are treated and volunteers deliver public health workshops. Between brigades our in-country team maintains relationships with the communities to provide follow-up and to conduct Community Health Worker (CHW) trainings to empower local leaders to sustain a consistent level of healthcare.

Microfinance Brigade volunteers work with community bank loan officers to consult potential borrowers on improving financial sustainability through a 10 day Microfinance Brigade in Honduras. Student volunteers can either join an existing Microfinance Brigades chapter on their campus or create their own chapter and recruit other volunteers. Volunteers provide rural communities with the educational, financial, and organizational resources necessary to sustainably drive their own economic development. By partnering with other international organizations in microfinance, Microfinance Brigades provides the financial backing and technical support to create and strengthen independent community banks.

Business Brigades volunteers work with community bank loan officers to consult potential borrowers on improving financial sustainability through a 10 day Business Brigade in Panama or Ghana. Student volunteers can either join an existing Business Brigades chapter on their campus or create their own chapter and recruit other volunteers. Volunteers provide rural communities with the educational, financial, and organizational resources necessary to sustainably drive their own economic development. The business brigade volunteers serve as a catalyst to loan borrowers, providing consulting methodologies, financial workshops and donating a “capital investment” to the community bank to back the loan.

Global Brigades’ referral system promotes sustainability of Global Brigades programs by ensuring that our patients receive necessary care at all times. This program assists with necessary medical care that falls outside the scope of brigades and the referral program facilitates the entire process of administering this care. First, a Global Brigades physician identifies patients on brigades who need follow-up care. Second, depending on the nature and severity of the needed care, Global Brigades will either immediately take patients to the hospital or assist in the process of scheduling the necessary health services. Then the referral program raises funding for the care and ensures the patient is able to access it.

Dental Brigade volunteers have the opportunity to shadow licensed dentists in urgent and preventive dental services in communities with limited access to healthcare through a 10 day Dental Brigade in Honduras, Panama, or Ghana. Student volunteers can either join an existing Dental Brigades chapter on their campus or create their own chapter and recruit other volunteers to go on a brigade. In conjunction with our program, Medical Brigades, over 80 groups of passionate volunteers systematically travel to Central America to establish mobile dental clinics in over 80 of our community partners. Each of our community partners receives a brigade every 3 to 4 months where hundreds of patients are treated with fillings, cleanings and extractions, and are given dental hygiene workshops.

Public Health Brigade volunteers empower under resourced communities in the developing world to decrease life threatening diseases by improving home infrastructure and providing public health education through a 10 day Public Health Brigade in Honduras. Student volunteers can either join an existing Public Health Brigades chapter on their campus or create their own chapter and recruit other volunteers. Working side-by-side with community members, volunteers improve the overall infrastructure within the home through the construction of four projects: eco-stoves, latrines, water storage units and concrete floors. The four projects were chosen based on observations of medical brigade patient records.

Law Brigades volunteers work with Panamanian lawyers to provide pro-bono legal consulting through a 10 day Law Brigade in Panama. Student volunteers can either join an existing Law Brigades chapter on their campus or create their own chapter and recruit other volunteers. Law Brigades provides services to remote communities using a free legal clinic model, where volunteers shadow and assist lawyers as they provide legal consulting to community members. Additionally, volunteers work to incorporate unregistered communities to empower them with rights and government benefits that they would not have received otherwise. Law Brigades primarily works with remote communities that are under resourced and largely unaware of their legal rights.

Water Brigade volunteers assist in designing and implementing water systems to prevent communicable illnesses in communities through 10 day Water Brigades in Ghana. Student volunteers can either join an existing Water Brigades chapter on their campus or create their own chapter and recruit other volunteers. Our in-country team members work with water experts and community leaders to design large scale water systems for the entire community. Once the water system is blueprinted, volunteers work side-by-side with community members to implement and provide the education for maintenance through the creation of community water counsels.