Global Brigades

Global Brigades (GB) is the largest, student-led, nonprofit health and sustainable development organization with varied membership that spans North American and European universities. Participating student and professional volunteers empower communities in developing countries with sustainable solutions that improve quality of life and environment, while respecting local culture.

According to the organization, more than 30,000 volunteers from over 800 university clubs have traveled to provide health and economic development solutions to more than 600,000 beneficiaries. Brigades usually consist of a minimum of 30 students that participate in 7 to 10 day brigades. There is usually a new university on brigade at each community every 3–4 months. The organization has concentrated its efforts largely within Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, and Ghana. Various programs are designed to suit the broad range of needs in those developing nations.

Global Brigades currently has ten different branches: Architecture, Business, Dental, Engineering, Environmental, Human Rights, Medical, Microfinance, Public Health, and Water. When a community has all aspects of these branches established to the point where it is self-sustaining, Global Brigades exits the community.

Global Brigades is based on the holistic model. Before a community is even chosen, Global Brigades will do extensive research to make sure the community they are helping will benefit successfully from the program. The Global Brigades team will visit a community before volunteers come in and discuss with them the goals and expected outcomes and responsibilities. Afterwards, the community is partnered with a team of Global Brigaders, usually different volunteers from different colleges, and both the communities and volunteers work with each other. When a community is chosen, they get a visit from all ten of the brigades, with the idea being that the community's development will be built up enough to live sustainably and beneficially even after all ten brigades have visited. In between the different brigades, the staff will go back to the community to follow up and make sure that the community is moving forward in the right direction. Even after the community has met the success standards and "graduated" from the program, Global Brigades still partners up and offers lifetime guidance. Through this entire process, the help that these communities receive are more beneficial in the long run.