Past Chapters
UVic Global Brigades has led 27 different brigades since 2008 to Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
We have active Medical/Dental, Business and Engineering Chapters due to our current volunteer interests; however, we have had both Public Health and Water chapters run in the past. There is also a Global Legal Empowerment Brigade option as well.
If you are interested in getting any of these brigade types started at UVic, please contact us!
On a Public Health Brigade, students work with local masons and families to construct eco-stoves, latrines, showers, water storage units, and deliver drinking water filters. They also present a sanitation and hygiene workshop to their partner community. For a more in depth description of a Public Health brigade, click here.
UVic Global Brigades ran their first Public Health Brigade in 2012 in El Cantón, Honduras. Since then, we have run several more Public Health Brigades and have run numerous Public Health brigades in adjunct to a Medical/Dental Brigade. Since 2012, we have had a total of 71 volunteers partnering with communities in Honduras to assist in implementing public health infrastructure. This infrastructure is what makes Public Health Brigades vital to the holistic model because it increases hygiene and sanitation which lowers the risk of disease and respiratory issues from developing in our partner communities. The goals of the Public Health Brigade also directly align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.”
~United Nations, Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals
The partner community of El Cantón is now one of Global Brigade’s empowered communities which means that they have achieved their goals in healthcare, WASH, and economic development and are now a self-sustaining community. Back in 2012, we worked alongside masons and community members to help construct some of the 80 eco-stoves, 81 latrines, and 215 floors that were laid to promote the overall health and well-being of the 500 residents of El Cantón.
If you are interesting in running another Public Health Brigade with UVic Global Brigades, please contact us!
On a Water Brigade, students help conduct community water assessments, construct water systems, present an education workshop on basic sanitation, and help with evaluating potential water systems for new community partners. For a more in depth description of a Water Brigade, click here.
UVic Global Brigades ran their first Water Brigade in Honduras in 2010. Since then, we have had a total of 75 volunteers partnering with communities like El Retiro, Honduras to assist in the implementation of safe drinking water systems. Water Brigades are an important piece of the holistic model as a lack of safe drinking water increases the risk of contracting waterborne illnesses and parasites.
The El Retiro water system was completed in March of 2013. For this project, a new dam was constructed, a 10,000-gallon tank with a chlorinator was built, 10 km of piping was installed, and 91 houses, 2 schools, 2 churches, and 1 community centre were all connected to this water source. To this day, a nine-member Water Council and Basic Sanitation Committee consisting of trained community members continue to maintain this water system ensuring its sustainability and safety for the 440 residents in El Retiro for the years to come.
If you are interesting in running another Water Brigade with UVic Global Brigades, please contact us!