Global Brigades Supplemental Programming – Small Contributions; HUGE Impact!
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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 Public Health Brigades. To see the other programs, click on the program name here: Architecture, Business, Dental, Environment, Law, Medical, Microfinance, Water.
Public Health Brigades – Workshop and Skill Transfer for Community-Based Masons
As a program, we are proposing to shift our model from the use of masons based in Nuevo Paraiso to a restructuring that allows for community-based masons to be trained in such areas as: proper construction of our four project elements, the health-based rationale behind such implementation, and appropriate maintenance and repair techniques. Such a shift will encourage higher-quality work, based on the assumption of greater accountability to one’s home community. From a logistics standpoint, Public Health Brigades will avoid problems that may arise as our work communities spread farther from the Nuevo Paraiso locale (i.e. arranging transport for such masons) and potentially grow in size.
In terms of the program timeline for community construction, having a constant presence in our work communities, by way of local masons employed during the low seasons, will allow for more consistent and efficient movement through communities, ultimately resulting in faster completion of in-home project work. Currently, our program sees drastic fluctuations in work completion in accordance with high and low brigade seasons. With the opportunity to employ masons based in our project community, we can better assure that work is being completed in a more constant fashion while continuing to use students as supplemental (albeit essential) energy and funding to our work.
To achieve such an end, we propose hosting a workshop upon the entrance to our newest work community that will teach the three properties described above. These masons will report directly to our Public Health Brigade technical staff and be fully responsible for the work that they’ve completed, with or without the assistance of student brigade groups. Additionally, we will provide the masons with the tools necessary for proper project construction, any repairs or replacements being their own responsibility.
Project Goal
To make this project a reality, our goal is to have $25,000 at the end of the year to invest in a workshop for nine community-based masons for an anticipated 6 month period of no brigades.
*(All cost estimates are based on an exchange rate of 18.895 HNL per 1.00 USD). Estimations based on current GB wages for masons, the assumption of 3 days work/week to finish one home, and 6 non-brigade season months.
