Types of Brigades and Partner Countries

Browse all of our Brigade options by program and country

Browse by Program:

As you start or get involved with a Chapter of Global Brigades, it is important to consider which Program you feel most passionate about. For example, if you are hoping to focus your Chapter on access to healthcare and plan a Medical Brigade, you should start a Medical Chapter. If you are interested specifically in oral care, then you should get involved with Dental Brigades.

Global Brigades facilitates the participation of volunteers in sustainable development through Brigades, either in-person or virtually within Central America, West Africa, and Southeast Europe.

Each Program has been developed in conjunction with community members and students to empower community members and leaders while engaging students to deliver high-impact solutions to help address needs in health and economic development. Through fundraising and participation on Brigades, volunteers can support the implementation of Global Brigades’ Holistic Model.

Find Which Program Is Right for You by Exploring the Following Brigade Options:

Browse by Country:

GHANA 

• Region: Along the Gulf of Guinea in the Central Region. Global Brigades works specifically in the districts of Ekumfi and Abura Asebu Kwamankense.
• Brigade Types:
  • Medical Brigades (in-person and TeleBrigades)
  • Public Health Brigades
• Program Focus: Strengthening local institutions through public and private partnerships, particularly the Ghana Health Service.    
• Work Setting: Partner Communities are coastal or located on the relatively flat, inland coastal plain. The climate is tropical and humid with lush vegetation. Communities are typically larger and more densely populated than in Central America.
• Primary Language(s): English, Fanti, and Twi    
• Partner Demographic: Rural African    
• Health (# of physicians for every 10,000 people): 1.06 physicians  
• WASH (% of rural population without access to basic or safely managed drinking water sources): 28.1% 
• Economic Development ($ / USD per month that the average family in a Global Brigades Partner Community lives on): $43    
• Visa Required for U.S. Citizens: Yes    
• Other Considerations: Must obtain a visa Pre-Brigade and have proof of yellow fever vaccine. Likely need to start flight booking farther in advance to secure reasonable airfare quotes.

  GREECE

• Region: Athens, the capital of Greece.    
• Brigade Types:
  • Business Brigades (in-person and TeleBrigades) 
  • Legal Empowerment Brigades
  • Medical Brigades (in-person and TeleBrigades) 

• Program Focus: Supporting diverse groups of refugees and vulnerable populations in Greece.    
• Work Setting: Global Brigades works in Athens with refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and vulnerable populations from various nationalities and backgrounds. The climate of the area is Mediterranean, which means that it is frequently sunny and dry during summer and mild and wet during the winter.
• Primary Language(s): Greek, Arabic, Farsi, and French       
• Partner Demographic: Urban Refugees
• Health (# of physicians for every 10,000 people): 62.26 physicians    
• Economic Development ($ / USD per month that the average family in a Global Brigades Partner Community lives on): $395
• Visa Required for U.S. Citizens: No
• Other Considerations: As the work is mainly with very vulnerable populations, this might not be an ideal Partner Country for first-time volunteers. Leaders should have a strong emphasis on Pre-Brigade education.

GUATEMALA 

• Region: Central Guatemala, specifically in the municipality of Tecpan in the Chimaltenango department, which is within an hour of Antigua and Lake Atitlan.    
• Brigade Types:
  • Dental Brigades
  • Medical Brigades
  • Public Health Brigades 
• Program Focus: Healthcare solutions in close collaboration with indigenous community leadership.    
• Work Setting: Mayan communities, high in the mountains of Central Guatemala, with unique indigenous leadership structures and traditions. While hot in certain months and times of day, it is often relatively cold at these lofty elevations.    
• Primary Language(s): Spanish and Mayan         
• Partner Demographic: Rural Mayan        
• Health (# of physicians for every 10,000 people): 3.55 physicians       
• WASH (% of rural population without access to basic or safely managed drinking water sources): 9.8%     
• Economic Development ($ / USD per month that the average family in a Global Brigades Partner Community lives on): $112    
• Visa Required for U.S. Citizens: No

HONDURAS 

• Region: Central and Southern Honduras, specifically in the departments of Comayagua, La Paz, Francisco Morazan, El Paraiso, Choluteca, and Valle.       
• Brigade Types:
  • Dental Brigades
  • Engineering Brigades (in-person and TeleBrigades)
  • Legal Empowerment Brigades (in-person and TeleBrigades)
  • Medical Brigades (in-person and TeleBrigades)
  • Public Health Brigades (in-person and TeleBrigades)
  • Water Brigades
• Program Focus: The design and implementation of WASH solutions, and an innovative, self-sustaining Healthcare Access Program.    
• Work Setting: Remote communities in the coffee-producing mountains of Central Honduras. It's a generally dry and warm climate, with colder months being at the end of the year. Partner Communities in Southern Honduras -- some of which are coastal -- are generally flat, quite hot, and dry.
• Primary Language(s): Spanish         
• Partner Demographic: Rural Latino            
• Health (# of physicians for every 10,000 people):  3.09 physicians       
• WASH (% of rural population without access to basic or safely managed drinking water sources): 10.10%         
• Economic Development ($ / USD per month that the average family in a Global Brigades Partner Community lives on): $118  
• Visa Required for U.S. Citizens: No

PANAMA

• Regions: Eastern Panama, the Darien Province, and the Western Provinces of Cocle and Veraguas.        
• Brigade Types:
  • Business Brigades (in-person and TeleBrigades)
  • Medical Brigades
  • Public Health Brigades    
  • Water Brigades
• Program Focus: Economic Development Programming through our top-performing community banks, with a specific focus on empowering indigenous women.
• Work Setting: Hot, humid, and tropical communities with lush vegetation in both Western and Eastern Panama. Relatively flat terrain in the east, while more mountainous in the west. Many Partner Communities are indigenous, while others are Latino.       
• Primary Language(s): Spanish         
• Partner Demographic: Rural Indigenous and Latino        
• Health (# of physicians for every 10,000 people):  13.32 physicians    
• WASH (% of rural population without access to basic or safely managed drinking water sources): 13.66%             
• Economic Development ($ / USD per month that the average family in a Global Brigades Partner Community lives on): $215           
• Visa Required for U.S. Citizens: No

BELIZE

• Regions: Cayo and Stann Creek   
• Brigade Types:
  • Medical Brigades  
• Program Focus: Healthcare solutions in close collaboration with community leadership.
• Work Setting: Hot, humid, and tropical communities.   
• Primary Language(s): Spanish         
• Partner Demographic: Rural Mayan and Latino        
• Health (# of physicians for every 10,000 people): 8.4 physicians        
• Visa Required for U.S. Citizens: No