Brigadistas: Protecting and Educating the Community One Mosquito Larva at a Time

By Sarah Sampson

To be quite honest, I was a little anxious when I found out that my OTS group and I would be going into the small community of La Quinta in the heart of Managua, Nicaragua, to visit residents door-to-door on October 3, 2017. Despite this, I knew that we were going to learn about a great cause and help them in their work, so I packed away my nerves and tried to be as open as possible to the day ahead of me. I cannot be more thankful that I did, because it turned out to be a truly wonderful opportunity.

            We visited the neighborhood of La Quinta to learn about the ongoing health initiatives there and the people behind them. The “brigadistas” (volunteers and area facilitators of the Sustainable Sciences Institute) welcomed us with a bright banner and very excited introductions. They were charged with educating their community members about the spread of infectious diseases and how to prevent them. The brigadistas began by showing us how they sought out mosquito larvae, as mosquitoes are responsible for carrying and transmitting many problematic diseases such as Zika, Dengue fever, and Chikungunya among Central American communities. After learning how to collect samples, we were paired up with a brigadista and sent door-to-door to check homes for mosquito larvae and to eliminate any standing water that we found. We then took the samples to a local elementary school to teach the children about the mosquitoes, their life cycle, and some basic prevention methods.

            Overall, this was a really fantastic experience. All of the people that I encountered were really excited about our interest in their work and very friendly. It was amazing to see that these volunteers -many of them just older kids and young adults- genuinely loved what they did and cared so deeply for their communities. It was so inspiring to see the effort that these individuals were willing to put forth to improve the quality of life for everyone in their neighborhoods. Experiences like these really make you think about all of the little things that can be done to improve the lives of those around us and to make a better future for us all. This experience also reminded me that anyone, no matter age or ability, can be a great force of change in the world. Sometimes making a difference requires little more than an initiative and some dedicated individuals!

This photo was taken of the brigadistas of La Quinta along with the members and faculty of the OTS Tropical Diseases, Environmental Change, and Human Health program. Picture credits go to the dual effort of one of the residents of La Quinta and Christian Valverde.