DePaul University Business Brigade June 2016 Panama

Start Date: Jun 18, 2016 12:00 AM
End Date: Jun 24, 2016 12:00 AM

Global Brigades offers 7-10 day Business Brigades throughout the year in Honduras, Panama and Ghana. Business Brigades volunteers empowers rural communities in Panama without access to financial services and business guidance by providing micro-enterprise counseling, financial planning assistance and strategic investment. During the brigade, volunteers divide into small groups to conduct client visits in which they get to know the client and assess each client’s level of financial competency, entrepreneurial aspirations, and/or business knowledge. Volunteers then provide educational and capacity building assistance in the form of workshops. Topics range from personal finance to basic accounting and business planning.

Global Brigades offers 7-day Environmental Brigades throughout the year in Panama. Environmental Brigades provide student volunteers with the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in environmental management and education by empowering community members in rural communities. During brigades, volunteers spend time with environmental committees to better understand the region's pressing environmental concerns and potential for improvement. Through interactive workshops and the implementation of physical projects, student volunteers provide the education and physical assistance necessary for these families to sustain long-term behavioral change, which will benefit the well-being of not only themselves but their surrounding environment as well. Subsequent brigades build on each other and therefore, projects are continued through successive phases year after year. Between brigades, our in-country team maintains relationships with our community leaders to ensure the continuation of projects started by brigades and to provide follow-up on community members’ feedback as well as next steps.