Alumni Brigades
Business Brigades for Working Professionals
In Honduras, working professionals have the opportunity to volunteer in teams of 10 alongside our local business staff to provide consulting to small businesses in under resourced, rural communities. Volunteers will use their business experience to support business owners in various challenges, such as loan payment capacity, supply chain, marketing and more. The advanced alumni program builds upon the work of our undergraduate movement, focusing on some of the more complex challenges facing small businesses.
Business Alumni Brigade – 5 Day Sample Itinerary
The 5 day brigade itinerary was built for the busy schedules of GB Alumni Working Business Professionals. All brigades will arrive on Thursday and depart on Monday. Prior to the brigade, our local business team will work with business owners to identify the most pressing challenges needing support from alumni. The first day, alumni will be on-boarded and meet with community bank leaders. Then, alumni will participate in two days of consulting research in our rural community partners. On the last day, alumni will present their business plan feedback as well as recommendations on potential loans from the local community bank to support the operations of the business.
| Day 1 – Thursday | Day 2 – Friday | Day 3 – Saturday | Day 4 – Sunday | Day 5 – Monday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00am | Airport Pick up and Transport to Lodging Facility |
Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | |
| 8:00am | Transport to Community | Transport to Community | Transport to Community | Program Feedback Session | ||
| 9:00am | ||||||
| 10:00am | Community Bank & Micro-Enterprise Introduction | Market & Community Research | Business Plan Presentation | |||
| 11:00am | Transport to Airport and Airline Check In |
|||||
| 12:00pm | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | |||
| 1:00pm | Introduction to Community Leaders | Market & Community Research | Market & Community Research | Business Plan Presentation Feedback & Loan Recommendation | ||
| 2:00pm | ||||||
| 3:00pm | ||||||
| 4:00pm | ||||||
| 5:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | ||
| 6:00pm | ||||||
| 7:00pm | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | ||
| 8:00pm | Introduction to Program & Prep for Primary Market Research | Reflection & Research Compilation | Reflection & Research Compilation | Final Reflection | ||
| 9:00pm |
| Day 1 – Thursday | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Airport Pick up and Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 8:00am | |
| 9:00am | |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | |
| 1:00pm | Introduction to Community Bank Leaders |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 6:00pm | |
| 7:00pm | Dinner |
| 8:00pm | Introduction to Program & Prep for Primary Market Research |
| 9:00pm | |
| Day 2 – Friday | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Transport to Community |
| 9:00am | Community Bank & Micro-Enterprise Introduction |
| 9:00am | |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Market & Community Research |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 6:00pm | |
| 7:00pm | Dinner |
| 8:00pm | Reflection & Research Compilation |
| 9:00pm | |
| Day 3 – Saturday | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Transport to Community |
| 9:00am | Market & Community Research |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Market & Community Research |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 6:00pm | |
| 7:00pm | Dinner |
| 8:00pm | Reflection & Research Compilation |
| 9:00pm | |
| Day 4 – Sunday | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 9:00am | |
| 10:00am | Business Plan Presentation |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Business Plan Presentation Feedback & Loan Recommendation |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 6:00pm | |
| 7:00pm | Dinner |
| 8:00pm | Final Reflection |
| 9:00pm | |
| Day 5 – Monday | |
|---|---|
| 7:00am | Breakfast |
| 8:00am | Program Feedback |
| 8:00am | |
| 9:00am | |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | Transport to Airport and Airline Check In |
| 12:00pm | |
| 1:00pm | |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | |
| 5:00pm | |
| 6:00pm | |
| 7:00pm | |
| 8:00pm | |
| 9:00pm | |
Program Contribution
All volunteers are asked to fundraise for their brigade. Their program contribution includes everything needed for the brigade: supplies, translators, support staff, ground transportation, food, lodging, and emergency medical insurance. Airfare is not included. The 5-day brigade may be extended at $100 per day.
Honduras 5 day Business Brigade –
November 2018 Honduras Brigade
The next Business Brigade for Alumni is scheduled for November 9-12, 2018. Working Business Professionals will have the opportunity to work alongside local staff to provide business consulting to rural communities.
Can’t join this brigade? We’ll have additional dates in 2019. Click the Sign-Up button below and note your preferred future date to get more information and get added to our contact list.
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 Honduras
- 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 relationships with local military and police to provide dedicated security personnel to accompany each group at all times;
- 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.
Brigades are assigned to lodging facilities based on proximity to the partner community they will be working with.
Neuvo Paraiso
The Nuevo Paraiso facility is located in a valley approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes east of Tegucigalpa. Nestled in a valley, the rural setting offers views of surrounding mountains and sugar cane farms. Unique to Nuevo Paraiso, there is an orphanage nearby welcoming volunteers to interact with the children. Nuevo Paraiso is the first lodging facility that Global Brigade has used.
El Censo
The El Censo lodging facility is located in a valley approximately 1 hour and 30 mintues east of Tegucigalpa. Here, brigaders enjoy a beautiful view of a landscape full of green pastures, sugar cane fields and distant mountains. Global Brigades Honduras has used the El Censo facility for more than 2 years, and it has housed hundreds of brigaders.
Posada Azul
The Posada Azul facility is located in a valley approximately 1 hour and 30 mintues east of Tegucigalpa. Here, brigaders enjoy a beautiful view of a landscape full of green pastures, sugar cane fields and distant mountains. Global Brigades Honduras has used the Posada Azul facility for more than 5 years, and it has housed hundreds of brigaders.
Villas de Valle
The Villas del Valle lodging facility is located in the mountains approximately 1 hour northwest of Tegucigalpa. Here, brigaders enjoy a cool climate high up in the mountains near the town of Valle de los Angeles. Global Brigades Honduras has used the Villas del Valle facility for more than 3 years, housing hundreds of brigaders.
Hotel y Club Morazan
Hotel y Club Morazan sits along the Pan-American highway in the south of Honduras. It is located in the town of San Lorenzo – a fairly large town in Honduras – in the department of Valle. Although this facility does function as a hotel when students are not present, all compound rules that apply at our other compounds apply here as well, including that all students must stay on hotel premises at all times unless accompanied by staff members. Here, brigaders can enjoy the hotel pool and several indoor and outdoor lounge areas. Global Brigades has used this hotel for approximately 4 years, since the beginning of Medical and Dental brigades began working in the south of Honduras.
