What is Public Health?
According to The Untilled Hills of Public Health by Charles-Edward Amory Winslow, public health is “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals.”
Our Mission:
The mission of Pitt Global Public Health Brigades is to educate students about the importance of public health in a community and to foster an awareness of the interconnectedness of public health and medicine. We hope to empower rural communities to prevent common illnesses through in-home infrastructural development, community leader training, and health education.
Our Focus:
The Public Health chapter of Global Brigades aims to treat the source of the underlying causes of disease in countries like Honduras, Ghana, Nicaragua, and Panama. Currently, Pitt Global Brigades operates in the remote rural communities of Honduras working alongside Global Brigades staff and community members to construct public health projects, educate about the importance of sanitation, and implement a Sanitation Committee made up of members of the community to ensure program sustainability.
Brigade Length & Logistics:
The Public Health Brigade lasts 7-10 days in Honduras. Upon arrival in Honduras, Global Brigades staff pick up students from the airport and transport them to safe and secure lodging facility where they will stay during the entirety of the brigade. Each day, volunteers and staff travel to and from the communities. All meals, in-country transportation, coordinators, translators, and supplies are provided during the brigade. While in community, brigadiers will be working on several projects including the construction of the following:
Water storage units
Showers
Latrines
Eco-stoves
Concrete floors
When is the next Public Health Brigade?
Brigade Dates: TBD
Country: Honduras
Program Fee: TBD
Airfare: TBD
Total Cost: TBD
For more information:
www.globalbrigades.org/public-health-brigades-overview
What is the Public Health Brigade program fee used for?
Global Brigades’ operations are 100% derived from volunteer contributions. The work of the local staff and our systematic approach to perpetuating volunteers´ projects between brigades allows Global Brigades to be a recognized sustainable development organization. Therefore, Global Brigades asks volunteers to contribute 750 to 790 USD per volunteer (not including airfare) to support our programs.
About 60% of each volunteer´s contribution is used to pay for brigade-related expenses such as food and housing for volunteers and staff, transportation to the communities, and brigade specific expenses. Public Health's brigade specific expenses include staffing masons and building supplies.
Approximately 35% of your contribution will go toward program sustainability. There are a number of local Global Brigades team members that work behind the scenes, local technicians and staff, that mobilize community leaders prior to brigades, conduct capacity building with community members between brigades, and ultimately perpetuate the follow-up long after there is a need for brigades in a community. Ultimately, this means creating longer-term partnerships with the community with the ultimate goal of sustainably exiting the community with brigades by leaving an infrastructure of community-led committees and locally hired technicians to perpetuate projects.
Global Brigades’ operations are 100% derived from volunteer contributions. The work of the local staff and our systematic approach to perpetuating volunteers´ projects between brigades allows Global Brigades to be a recognized sustainable development organization. Therefore, Global Brigades asks volunteers to contribute 750 to 790 USD per volunteer (not including airfare) to support our programs.
About 60% of each volunteer´s contribution is used to pay for brigade-related expenses such as food and housing for volunteers and staff, transportation to the communities, and brigade specific expenses. Public Health's brigade specific expenses include staffing masons and building supplies.
Approximately 35% of your contribution will go toward program sustainability. There are a number of local Global Brigades team members that work behind the scenes, local technicians and staff, that mobilize community leaders prior to brigades, conduct capacity building with community members between brigades, and ultimately perpetuate the follow-up long after there is a need for brigades in a community. Ultimately, this means creating longer-term partnerships with the community with the ultimate goal of sustainably exiting the community with brigades by leaving an infrastructure of community-led committees and locally hired technicians to perpetuate projects.
Why should you get involved?
Global Public Health Brigades provides the amazing opportunity of working one-on-one with community members, sharing in their culture, and promoting a better way of life for the people leaving a sustainable impact in the process. You have the opportunity to learn more about public health issues in under-resourced regions, become involved in volunteer opportunities throughout the Pittsburgh area, travel to Central America over the summer with the brigade, and enhance your language skills through interactions with the community members.
How can you become involved?
Attend Global Brigades general body meetings! These meetings not only allow you to get more information about all of the brigades Pitt has to offer but also shows you how each brigade fits into the holistic model of Global Brigades to provide sustainable development to communities in need. Next, come to Public Health Brigades chapter meeting to learn more about the brigade and the impact that you can have on the lives of people in need. Finally, become a part of the Global Brigades family: volunteer with us, join a committee, attend documentary screenings, participate in social events, check out our other brigades (Environmental, Medical, Business, Engineering, Human Rights, Microfinance, Water), and talk to our board members. Together, we can make a difference.
Questions?
Feel free to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns:
[email protected]
Global Public Health Brigades provides the amazing opportunity of working one-on-one with community members, sharing in their culture, and promoting a better way of life for the people leaving a sustainable impact in the process. You have the opportunity to learn more about public health issues in under-resourced regions, become involved in volunteer opportunities throughout the Pittsburgh area, travel to Central America over the summer with the brigade, and enhance your language skills through interactions with the community members.
How can you become involved?
Attend Global Brigades general body meetings! These meetings not only allow you to get more information about all of the brigades Pitt has to offer but also shows you how each brigade fits into the holistic model of Global Brigades to provide sustainable development to communities in need. Next, come to Public Health Brigades chapter meeting to learn more about the brigade and the impact that you can have on the lives of people in need. Finally, become a part of the Global Brigades family: volunteer with us, join a committee, attend documentary screenings, participate in social events, check out our other brigades (Environmental, Medical, Business, Engineering, Human Rights, Microfinance, Water), and talk to our board members. Together, we can make a difference.
Questions?
Feel free to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns:
[email protected]
2017-2018 EXECUTIVE BOARD
KAYLA ORTIZ
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SHRENIK GADAGKAR CO-PRESIDENTKATHY XAVIAR
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EMMY BROWN
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