Due Covid-19, Global Brigades suspended it’s in-person Legal Empowerment Brigades in Panama. Please check our Responding to COVID-19 page for information of reopening dates.
Panama
Empowering Women and Children with their Rights
The barrier to legal justice is extremely high in rural Panama where a lack of familiarity of legal procedures, an over-reliance on verbal agreements and poor record keeping result in many unresolved legal cases and preventable inter-community conflict. Legal Empowerment chapters help communities overcome these obstacles by working alongside our local attorneys to conduct mobile legal clinics directly in the community. The clinics confidentially serve families on a one-on-one basis and help fund a sustainable legal support system in the region to decrease the number of unresolved legal cases over time.
The Legal Empowerment program has four main brigade activities: pro-bono legal clinics, family law cases, educational workshops about civic engagement and empowerment, and legal training for community leaders. The program responds to the communities´ need for accessible legal resources, knowledge of legal procedures, and acts as a bridge between customary practices and state legal procedures. By addressing these needs, the program empowers the communities with the tools to overcome barriers to justice and leaves them with a culture of legal consciousness.
Legal Empowerment Brigade –
7 Day Sample Schedule
Volunteers split into small groups to support Panamanian lawyers who are assigned families that have been pre-identified with an open or potential legal case. Volunteers gather important information needed to resolve the case and later present their recommendations to the attorney in a learning environment. Volunteers also support the Panamanian Ministry of Social Development (MIDES) to present educational workshops on topics related to legal rights. In addition to the family cases, volunteers support lawyers during a community-wide legal clinic, open to anyone to present legal challenges and receive pro-bono consulting and resources from our attorneys. Volunteers will also have the opportunity to visit a local court to learn about the Panamanian justice system.
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00am | Airport Pick up and Transport to Lodging Facility | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Transport to Airport & Airline Check in | |
| 8:00am | Intro to Panama, Holistic Model, and Legal Empowerment Program | Transport to Community | Transport to Community | Transport to Community | Transport to Community | |||
| 9:00am | Indigenous Tribal Laws & Traditional Workshop | Workshop Set-up | Legal Clinic Set-up | Community Bank Meeting (Bylaws & Legal Training) | ||||
| 10:00am | Legal Empowerment Workshop | Legal Clinics | ||||||
| 11:00am | Transport to Community | |||||||
| 12:00pm | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | |||
| 1:00pm | Family Legal Case Introduction | Family Legal Case & Testimonial Cases | Family Legal Case Evaluation | Legal Clinics | Family Legal Cases Deliverables | |||
| 2:00pm | Cultural Exchange | |||||||
| 3:00pm | ||||||||
| 4:00pm | Dinner | |||||||
| 5:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | |||
| 6:00pm | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | |||
| 7:00pm | Cultural Sensitivity & Lodging Rules Discussion | Reflection | Reflection | Reflection | Reflection | Final Reflection | ||
| 8:00pm | Review of Family Legal Cases | Legal Empowerment Workshop Preparation | Preparation for Legal Clinic | Community Bank Brief & Deliverables Preparation | Packing |
| Day 1 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Airport Pick up and Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 8:00am | |
| 9:00am | |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | |
| 1:00pm | |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | Dinner |
| 5:00pm | |
| 6:00pm | |
| 7:00pm | Cultural Sensitivity & Lodging Rules Discussion |
| 8:00pm | |
| Day 2 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Intro to Panama, Holistic Model, and Legal Empowerment Program |
| 9:00am | |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | Transport to Community |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Family Legal Case Introduction |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Reflection |
| 8:00pm | Review of Family Legal Cases |
| Day 3 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Transport to Community |
| 9:00am | Indigenous Tribal Laws and Traditional Workshop |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Family Legal Case & Testimonial Cases |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Reflection |
| 8:00pm | Legal Empowerment Workshop Preparation |
| Day 4 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Transport to Community |
| 9:00am | Workshop Set-up |
| 10:00am | Legal Empowerment Workshop |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Family Legal Case Evaluation |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Reflection |
| 8:00pm | Preparation for the Legal Clinic |
| Day 5 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Transport to Community |
| 9:00am | Legal Clinic Set-up |
| 10:00am | Legal Clinics |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Legal Clinics |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Reflection |
| 8:00pm | Community Bank Brief & Deliverables Preparation |
| Day 6 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Transport to Community |
| 9:00am | Community Bank Meeting (Blaws & Legal Training) |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Family Legal Case Deliverables |
| 2:00pm | Cultural Exchange |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 6:00pm | Dinner |
| 7:00pm | Final Reflection |
| 8:00pm | Packing |
| Day 7 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Transport to Airport & Airline Check In |
| 8:00am | |
| 9:00am | |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | |
| 1:00pm | |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | |
| 6:00pm | |
| 7:00pm | |
| 8:00pm | |
Volunteer Donation Goal
Volunteers do not pay to participate in a Legal Empowerment Brigade. Instead, volunteers fundraise to support Global Brigades’ Holistic Model. Once a volunteer meets a set Donation Goal, they are eligible to join us on-the-ground to see their fundraising efforts put into action by participating in a Legal Empowerment Brigade.
When a volunteer participates in a Legal Empowerment Brigade, the volunteer’s ground transportation, food, lodging, and emergency insurance are all covered. The funding that the volunteer raised also supports all the necessary costs for program implementation, such as lawyers, supplies, coordinators, translators, and support staff.
Airfare is not included in the standard Donation Goal. However, Global Brigades’ travel team can work with volunteers to book airfare and incorporate the airfare expense into the volunteer’s Donation Goal.
2019 Panama 7 day Brigade –
*The donation goals listed above are for volunteers joining an existing Global Legal Empowerment Brigades Chapter on a university campus. Scholarship opportunities are available for volunteers to meet their Donation Goal by starting or referring a new chapter. Options to brigade for 12 days with 2 different programs are also available. Once a volunteer meets their Donation Goal, they have up to 1 year to participate in a Legal Empowerment Brigade.
Donations to Legal Empowerment
Extra donations made to our Legal Empowerment program supports year-round legal case processing and follow-up, Legal Empowerment Program management and on-going project monitoring and impact evaluation.
Safety
Volunteer safety will always be our absolute top priority. Global Brigades recently engaged Askari International Security, an industry leader in international risk assessment, to complete a comprehensive risk/safety assessment of all brigade operations. A full explanation of safety precautions and procedures can be found on our “Safety & Insurance” page.
A Quote from Askari International Security
“I was asked to review Global Brigades safety and security procedures for their operations in Central America. I always use a “litmus test” by assessing whether I’d be happy to send my own daughters (late teens early 20’s) on one of their events. The answer was a resounding yes. I hope I was able to help them improve their processes and procedures, but what was already in place was good, but better still was the culture of safety and security. All the staff were concerned with safety and security and keen to improve. Nothing can ever be 100% secure or safe, but with Global Brigades I can genuinely say they care and take things very seriously.”
– Bryan Hemmings, Managing Director, Askari International Security
Safety Highlights in Panama
- Global Brigades is an active member of OSAC (the Overseas Security Advisory Committee) and receives up-to-date security and safety briefings from the U.S. State Department;
- Established relationship with Senafront to provide security escorts to those groups working in the Darien region;
- Full-time local Global Brigades medical personnel on-call at all times;
- Adherence to the IVPA standards of international volunteering.
Lodging Facilities
Global Brigades does an annual safety review of all lodging facility partners each year. Lodging facilities provide pillows, bedsheets and towels. Facilities have showers, toilets and sinks with running water (no hot water) as well as filtered clean drinking water dispensers onsite. 24-hour security is provided at all facilities. Conditions are most similar to a comfortable summer camp, with dormitory-style sleeping and shared bathrooms.
Legal Empowerment Brigades are assigned to lodging facilities based on proximity to the partner community they will be working with.
Asamblea de Dios
Campamento Asambleas De Dios, San Carlos, Panama is a large facility that sits only about 800 meters from the main road(Via Panamericana) approximately 2 hours from Panama City. Here, brigaders enjoy a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean. Global Brigades Panama has been using the San Carlos facility since March 2015. Emergency medical care is available at the Health Center in the town of San Carlos, approximately 2 minutes from this facility.
El Palmar
The El Palmar hostel sits along the Pan-American highway, approximately 30 minutes after passing Lago Bayano and approximately 10 minutes before reaching the town of Torti. Here, brigaders enjoy a beautiful view of a landscape full of green mountains and farms’ pastures. Global Brigades Panama has used El Palmar for several years, and it has housed hundreds of brigaders. Emergency medical care is easily accessible in Torti.
Hotel Avicar
Hotel Avicar sits along the Pan-American highway, approximately 40 minutes after passing Lago Bayano and is in the center of the town of Torti. Here, brigaders enjoy a beautiful view of a landscape full of green mountains and farms’ pastures. Also, brigaders staying at Hotel Avicar get see how life plays out in a rural town in East Panama. Emergency medical care is available
in Torti.
Hotel Tonosi
It is located on the Pan-American Highway in the Meteti sector, it has cozy rooms, of four and five people, with color television and air conditioning. It has a covered terrace and countryside landscapes. He is known for his good food and great hospitality.
Pro Niños
Pro Ninos was one of the first lodges used by GB in its trajectory in the Darien area. It is a beautiful camp in which you can enjoy its variable flora and fauna. It has wooded areas and open spaces to recreate in contact with nature.
Iguana Eco Resort
It is a wide place that offers the experience to the volunteers of being in contact with nature. It offers various activities such as hiking. It has cozy rooms with air conditioning, 2 swimming pools and a meeting area. It is located near the city of Penonomé. It is the ideal place to rest after a long day of work in the brigade
Oasis de Bendición
As the name implies, it is the ideal place to relax after a hard day. It has beautiful landscapes, spacious bedrooms with cabins to encourage coexistence among volunteers. It has a terrace for meetings, multiple areas for indoor recreational activities. It is located a few meters from the main road which provides good access to it.
Hotel Vista Lago Eco Resort
This camp is the first on the GB expansion route to the Veraguas area. It has extensive landscapes, a beautiful lake on the side of the camp. Large areas for recreation. It has a restaurant specializing in typical Panamanian and international food. It has rooms on several floors from which you can see a beautiful view of the whole panorama.
Hotel Ojos del Rio
Hotel Ojos del Rio sits in the center of Panama City, about 40 minutes from Panama’s international airport. Here, brigaders enjoy a beautiful view of Panama City’s skyline. Global Brigades Panama began using this hotel in 2018 to accommodate any brigades that needed to stay in Panama City. Brigades do not typically stay in Panama City; Global Brigades Panama only uses this facility during emergencies and cases involving extenuating circumstances. Emergency medical care is available in several hospitals in the city.
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This DONATION is non-refundable
This DONATION is non-refundable Global Brigades, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Your donation will be used to further Global Brigades' mission and will be allocated toward the program you selected. This donation will not be utilized to fulfill a chapter or a volunteer's fundraising goal. Read Global Brigades, Inc's full Donation Refund Policy here.
Looking to donate to support a volunteer's fundraising goal? Find their Global Brigades Chapter by searching our Chapters map and then selecting their upcoming brigade. If you need help finding their chapter, you can ask the volunteer to send you their brigade's specific website link or you can contact us.
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