Global Brigades Supplemental Programming – Small Contributions; HUGE Impact!
-
The “supplementary programs” strengthen sustainability and deepen community impact
between brigades. Each Program Lead is responsible for working with community members, local technicians, and committees of campus chair people (student leaders) to develop these programs. At the end of the year, Global Brigades distributes any remaining funds to implement them. As a social enterprise, remaining funds are directly tied to number of volunteers, but this year we are offering donors the opportunity to contribute directly into these programs to ensure that they continue regardless of volunteer volume.
100% of your donation will go directly to implement these programs without a single dollar spent on administrative costs, which are already covered through brigade operations. This is an opportunity to provide direct contributions into the community we serve, creating huge impact for families that live on just a few dollars a day.
Below is a description of the supplementary program for Law Brigades. To see the other programs, click on the program name here: Architecture, Business, Dental, Environment, Medical, Microfinance, Public Health.Water.
Law Brigades – Land Titling
The Law Program has identified the Property Rights and Land Titling as the top legal need of the Central Region of Panama. Law Brigades set up legal clinics at central points of the region to give out free legal advice with Panamanian Lawyers on Business, Property, Labor Rights and Family Disputes. From all the people we consulted, more than 80% percent of the people asked for assistance in the field of property rights and land titling.
Torti Abajo
The first community where the Law Program started the process of helping out on their Land Titling process is Torti Abajo. We worked with 35 heads of families, representing the same amount of properties to be titled. Some of these properties are in different stages of the land titling process, but now that we have identified them, we are sure of what each case needs in order to get their titles. By titling all of these properties, Global Brigades will be impacting over 200 people in this community.
For years, these families have tried many times to approach authorities to initiate the process of getting their titles without having any success at all. These families have been living at their properties for decades, without having legal ownership, with the fear of been removed from their homes. The supplemental funding will help speed up the process of getting their titles by subsidizing a part of the land titling process, meaning that they will only have to take pay for half of the costs of land titling. The funding includes a partial subsidy for the process, paperwork, fees, and any other expenses of the entire process.
Cost Breakdown of 1 Land Titling Procedure
Land Measurer: $200
Notary Costs: $100
Registry Fees: $50
Total: $350 per land title
This is the amount per household, some may receive more or less funding. Each case will be analyzed separately.
Project Goal
To make this project a reality, our goal is to have $25,000 at the end of the year to invest in 70 land titles, benefiting 350 persons, with an average of 4.7 persons per home.
Benefits
Program Short Term Benefits
With the supplemental funding, Law Brigades will be able to accelerate the time it takes for the land titling process of Torti Abajo by finishing it within 12 months. This is 6 months faster than without the supplemental funding. By finishing 6 months faster, we can be able to begin this very same process with a new community in the middle of 2012, allowing us provide more impact in 2012!
Program Long Term Benefits
By having this fund in a regular basis each year, the Law Brigades land titling will be sustainable and will be expanded to other communities of the Central Region. This will also allow Law Brigades to also be able to direct efforts to other fields as legal education and training local leaders in each community.
