January 01, 2020

This past January 33 of our UT GMB members go to have the unforgettable experience of traveling to Ghana, West Africa for a week long medical brigade. They saw over 380 patients in two different communities. In clinic, they took patients' vitals, shadowed doctors, distributed medications, and educated the communities about health insurance. They concluded their stay in Ghana with a visit to Cape Coast Castle and an immersive cultural experience. It's the hope of GMB that we left these communities with a greater interest in their own health so that they will continue with sustainable health practices even after we leave. GMB will return to Ghana in January 2020 to continue on our mission of sustainable health!

January 01, 2020

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Business Brigade

This brigade spent the first night in the capital city, Managua.  Brigaders immediately connected to the lovable brigade coordinator, Eduardo.  The next morning, brigaders traveled to the beautiful compound, Hotel Cualitlan in Esteli.  The food was AMAZING from this compound, receiving four stars on travel websites.  Three days were then spent seeing around 900 patients in the clinic in Las Mojarras.  This UT GMB brigade was the first brigade to set up a clinic in this community, so the first day was challenging because the buildings allotted were not large enough to accommodate all of the different stations.  We were moved to the local secondary school for the second and third days, so patient flow was greatly improved.  The last day was spent digging to connect one family’s house to the main water line that had been dug down from the top of a nearby hill.  Brigaders quickly learned to appreciate the skill that is involved in using a pickaxe correctly to break up solid ground.

My first brigade was in the summer of 2016. We opened our clinic in the community of La Garnacha, Nicaragua. In only three clinical days, we saw a total of 570 patients. Although not as large as most brigades, the appreciation and caring in which the community took us in was astounding. We met individuals from all walks of life, but the most touching, for me at least, were the kids. During charla, we met a little girl with severe scoliosis and a slew of other health conditions. She told us about how much she loved school, but because she couldn’t walk properly, she could only attend school on Saturdays. She said that she wished she could attend everyday, but the 12 kilometer walk was too much of a burden on her already fragile state to do it everyday. It was heartbreaking to think that her education had to suffer because of her health, we wished we could do more to help. We felt helpless, but when we gave her extra stickers later in the day, her beaming smile made us realize that it’s the little things – she was happy.

On the last day of the clinic, that same little girl, along with the town stud, and a few other kids put on a show for us. They were all from La Garnacha, so we got to know them across the three days we spent there. We surrounded them in a half circle, thinking maybe they’d say a few sweet things and then we’d be on our way, but we were wrong. The kids we saw those few days began a choreographed dance, and eventually began pulling us brigaders in with them. By the end of the first song, all of us were dancing along to the music with these kids and our hearts could not have been more full. We had an incredible dance party with the community that had so graciously accepted us and it was incredibly touching. After just three days in La Garnacha, we didn’t want to leave.

For our Public Health days, we were split into 4 groups and sent to homes in the community to build sanitation stations (which include a toilet, a washing station, and a shower station) and a septic tank. Concrete was not our friend, but all of the sweat and muscle aches were made worth it when we saw the tears in the eyes of our host once we finished. She told us that with the sanitation station, she would no longer have to walk the hour to the water source in her community just to wash some clothes. Each of the groups had a similar experience, and most of us agreed that our public health days were definitely the hardest, but most rewarding.

In the end we hoped that we touched some lives ourselves, but by the looks on my fellow brigaders faces and my own feelings, it was blatantly obvious that our lives were impacted just as much, or even more in some cases, by the people in the communities we visited. My brigade to Nicaragua in the summer of 2016 changed my life, and I know I’m not alone in that sentiment. Any expectations I had going in were completely exceeded. La Garnacha taught me so much more than I thought it would and for that, I’m so grateful.

Business Brigade

This brigade was a great experience with UT Austin staying in a compound in San Carlos that recently entered into a contract with Global Brigades.  The first two days were spent in Las Delicias, constructing composting latrines for individual families.  Brigaders really had the opportunity to interact with families as two groups were fed a homemade lunch for their work and another was entertained with classical Panamanian songs on guitar.  Additionally, this brigade was able to see a little over 800 patients in clinic in a community called El Cano.  The pharmacist volunteering with us, “Mama Teresa,” really connected with brigaders and was influential for both her commitment to helping others and her sassy, funny attitude.  Her bright pink lipstick frequently matched her heels and scrubs.

Our team of 16 students spent ten days in the rural village of Guaricaran, where they began a Tamale Microenterprise with 6 women from the community, restructured the Caja Rural Bank and loan system for efficiency, and gave workshops on leadership and team-building for the members of the bank executive team and the community at-large.

During the week, the team also gathered vital information about the regional economy and rural banking system that will help Global Brigades operate more effectively in the future.

Business Brigade

On my Global Medical Brigade trip to Honduras, I was able to assist doctors, perform triage, ration medications, and perform vision exams. I will never forget the mother and her young daughter who came to our makeshift clinic at a crumbling elementary school in rural Honduras. The daughter was severely nearsighted and had never had access to glasses. After running vision tests and asking her questions in Spanish, I found a perfect pair for her in our supplies. When she put them on her face, silence overcame her. Tears began to stream down her cheeks and the mothers’ as well. They embraced each other, and they embraced me. It was in that moment that I realized that I wanted to contribute to the betterment of others for the rest of my life. For me, Global Medical Brigades has helped me realize what it really means to provide help for others. GMB provides an accurate glimpse into the true meaning of medicine, as caring for an individual is truly a holistic endeavor.”

In January 2015, UT traveled to Nicaragua for a Medical/Dental brigade with a 3 day health project. During the first day, we packed medications to prepare for the medical brigade in the coming days and also went to visit the clinic site where we would be working. The following 3 days consisted of setting up and running the medical brigade in El Cano. In clinic, we assisted a number of physicians, dentists, gynecologists, an occupational therapist, and a pharmacist. Following the medical brigade, we traveled to the town of Las Delicias to work with individual families to build sanitation stations with a shower and toilet, as well as putting in cement floors to prevent future diseases. With a small group working with individual families for multiple days, we were able to really get to know the families we worked with. The people we met and the professionals we worked with illustrated the kind and generous people that live within Nicaragua. As a group, we hope that our contribution to these communities made an impact in their life as meaningful as the impact they had on us.

Our team of 24 students spent ten days in the rural village of Ekumfi Ebiram, where they prepped community members for the first round of loans to be issued from Ebiram's Community Development Fund (the Global Brigades-backed local bank).

During the week, the team also gathered vital information about the regional economy that will help Global Brigades operate more effectively in the future.

While I was shadowing in doctor consultation, our group received news that a man had been in a motorcycle accident not too far from the clinic we were working in. Our physician directed my teammates to quickly join the school desks in the room together to form an examination table. A few community members carried the injured man in and laid him in front of us. He had a few broken ribs and his entire right side was skinned pretty badly. The physicians asked him questions about the accident while we cleaned and bandaged his wounds. Immediately after we finished, Global Brigades provided him a ride to the capital, where his could seek more specialized treatment for his internal wounds. As exciting as this experience was, it served as more than a source for a good story. On this day I came to realize that GMB is not just another global healthcare training program. It is one that truly cares about the communities it serves. Not only do volunteers with  Global Brigades provide the initial treatment for illnesses and injuries, they also make sure that the effects of their work are sustainable and, thus, permanent. For any person who wants to make a difference, GMB is an amazing opportunity to do so!

Over Winter Break, 45 students helped open banks in two communities and over 100 savings accounts between them. The team made history as both the largest brigade ever from Texas and as the first UT brigade to Ghana.

The team in the seaside community of Aboano laid the groundwork for a cold store investment project to help increase the market value of the local fishermen's catch. In neighboring Adansi Maim, the Microfinance team devised a plan to fund the construction of a much-needed processing mill.

This was a three-day medical brigade to the community of Ibedi Guna where we treated about 400 patients. The people of the community used the nearby river for drinking water as well as for bathing, and they had dirt floors in their homes. For these reasons, we mainly treated for parasites, lice, scabies, and fungal infections. They were an indigenous community who had their own language, although many of the younger people spoke Spanish as well. The children danced for us, and they allowed us to join in the community’s celebration that occurred while we were there. It was amazing to be able to exchange cultures and share joy with each other.

A few weeks after the end of the semester, 13 of our members left for eastern Panama, where they spent the next week in the small community of Platanilla (population 600) holding workshops and individual consultations for local small business owners.

Our team did a fantastic job during their week building a relationship between the community and Global Brigades, as well as helping entrepreneurs in Plantanilla get comfortable with their new business skills.

Medical Brigade

Business Brigade

Medical Brigade

Medical Brigade

Medical Brigade

Business Brigade

Business Brigade

Medical Brigade

Medical Brigade

Business Brigade