Humana People to People Belize

Support Development
in
Belize
Newsletter (3rd issue 2016)

“Development is about transform-

ing the lives of people, not just
transforming economies.”
Inside this issue:
Joseph E. Stiglitz
Pre-School Summer 2
program 2016

News from Child Aid 3

Project Council

Special Project from 4

the Development In-
structors in Silver
Creek Village

Garbage System Im- 5

plementation in Trio
Village

News From the Se- 6

cond Hand Clothes
Shops

Contact 7
information
 Page 2
Pre-school Summer Program 2016

Each child is an individual human being with a unique path of

life to follow. The personality and the capability of a person
depends on the input it receives from its surroundings – es-
pecially the first few years of the child’s life which are vital for
the development of the person. Therefore it is important that
the child is given the possibility to experience, see, touch and
do as much as possible.
Belize is a multi-culture and multi-language country where
Spanish or local languages such as Mopan Maya or Kekchi are
the first or only language for many, while the official language
and therefore also the language used in schools is English. Sta-
tistic found at the Belize Statistical Institution shows that 14%
of the children are not passing the grades in the school al-
ready from the first class in primary school – mostly due to
language barriers.

Humana People to People Belize mobilizes for pre-school en-

rollment; through the preschool, the child develops its physi-
cal and mental capabilities as well as social attitude. Humana
People to People Belize works together with the pre-schools
in various activities such as improving buildings, building play-
grounds and carry out interactive activities with the children.

Humana People to People Belize’s yearly summer program,

which span over one month during the school holidays, is an-
other initiative that promotes preschools. This year the sum-
mer program took place in the following 14 communities: Sil-
ver Creek, San Miguel, Otoxha, San Antonio, Bella Vista,
Bladen, Trio, Medina bank, Indian Creek, Big Falls, Blue
Creek, Aguacate, Santa Teresa, and San Benito Poite. More
than 500 children under 4 years of age participated along with
youth in each community spearheading the initiative.
The pre-school summer programs are community based and
community driven programs. Youth Clubs are organized to
prepare, develop, promote, and teach and provide opportuni-
ties to the children in the community.
The topics during the summer program include healthy eating,
singing, exercise, play and games, the ABC and numbers and
shapes, art and craft and origami.
The Humana People to People Belize summer program is a
taste of pre-school and an encouragement to parents to en-
roll their child in pre-school where that is possible.
 Page33
Page
News from the Child Aid Project Council

Numbers from the Ministry of Health show that the “Belizean people
face several nutritional problems including high intake of fatty, sugary
and salty foods, unbalanced diets, low fruit and vegetable consumption,
and overall poor food choices. Overweight and obesity, high morbidity
and mortality rates due to non-communicable diseases, poor food safety
practices and lack of reduced physical activity continue to plague the
society”.
As a response to that Humana People to People Belize provides nutri-
tion sessions - to spread awareness about the importance of the food
consumed and the consequences of malnutrition; with emphasis and
healthy, delicious and attractive recipes, - to members of the mother’s
clubs and to individual families—currently in seven communities of To-
ledo.
Several participating families have established back-yard gardens that
provide healthy ingredients to their meals.

UNESCO defines literacy as ‘the ability to identify, understand, inter-

pret, create, communicate and compute using printed and written mate-
rials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of
learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their
knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and
wider society’.
2010 numbers related to literacy rate in Belize show a literacy rate of
80% . Humana People to People Belize has been providing literacy clas-
ses to adults and to children with special needs like the child in this pic-
ture. She is not attending pre-school because a physical constrain mak-
ing it difficult for her to write. Through the Child Aid project literacy
classes are provided to women clubs in Aguacate Village and Golden
Stream and individual classes to adults in Silver Creek, Corazon and
Otoxa Village.

Women are the backbone of the development of rural and national

economies. When women are empowered and can claim their rights
and access to land, leadership, opportunities and choices, economies
grow, food security is enhanced and prospects are improved for cur-
rent and future generations. Women guarantee livelihoods, especially in
rural areas. As a result of their great efforts in agricultural production,
women’s production helps to guarantee their self-sustenance. Realizing
the importance of rural women in agriculture is an important aspect of
gender relations and this is why Humana People to People Belize pro-
motes garden farming for women and provide training for them to learn
more about agricultural techniques and practices.
 Page 4
Development Instructors’ Special Project in Silver Creek

As part of the 6 months program, the International Devel-

opment Instructors identify, plan for and carry out a special
project (a foot print) in the community they work with.
In this case a mini playground was built and a Moringa Tree
and Fruit Tree Planting Action was carried out in Silver
Creek to the benefit of its population of approximately 185
households.

The play ground was made because play-

ing allows children to use their creativity while developing
their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and
emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain devel-
opment. It is through play that children at a very early age
engage and interact with the world around them.

290 Morning trees were produced and distributed to the

families in Silver Creek.
The Moringa tree is known as the Miracle Tree. It originat-
ed from Asia/Africa. It provides a boost in energy, nutrition
and health.

The leaves, bark, flowers, fruit, seeds and root can all be
used and function as either medicine or supplement.
Some benefits are:
 Blood pressure is controlled
 Skin condition is restored
 Immune system is strengthened
 Headache and migraine are handled
 Diabetes is controlled

Moringa can be grown cheaply and easily and has been pro-
moted by Humana People to People Belize for several years
now.
 Page 5
Garbage system Implementation in Trio Village

Proper garbage disposal prevents the spread of diseases and

ensures that environments remain habitable for humans, plants
and animals. Garbage comes in many forms and occurs as solid
material, taking the shape of discarded household items like
clothing, food scraps, empty bottles, hardware, plastic bags and
paper plates and utensils. As human populations grow, so does
the demand for and consumption of resources and consumer
goods. If not properly disposed of, these types of garbage accu-
mulate quickly and pose significant harms. The increased vol-
ume of trash threatens standards of hygiene at micro and mac-
ro levels. Waste that is not properly disposed of can be haz-
ardous to your safety. Sharp object such as glass and rusty met-
als could cause serious injuries and infections. Some kinds of
environmental contaminants can also spread serious illness and
disease if not disposed of in the right way. Proper waste man-
agement and disposal removes all these hazardous materials
from the environment making it safer for both human beings
and animals.

To avoid contributing to the growing problem of trash disposal,

recycling and reducing consumption of packaged items is a
good place to start. Even non-toxic waste causes pollution that
contributes to global warming in its process of decomposing.
When waste is disposed of properly, people can prevent haz-
ardous materials from contaminating the environment.

One of the challenges faced in Trio village is that there is no

dumping site and villagers tend to dump the garbage in neigh-
bors’ empty lots or in the main drain of the community. Now
when it rains there is no way the water can run resulting in
flooding of all the school and houses located near the main
drainage and resulting in many breeding grounds for mosquitos
increasing the risk of spreading dengue and malaria.

Humana People to People Belize in partnership with the Village

Council in Trio Village, the neighboring banana farm and Minis-
try of Health it was decided to do something about the prob-
lem. A simple way to get garbage properly disposed at the
nearest dump site every two week was agreed upon. People in
the community are mobilized to take active part in cleaning
campaigns which are held bi-weekly and they are taught about
sanitation and recycling as a way to eradicate the problem of
garbage affecting the community.
Next step is to make a recycling station for
organic matters either at each household level
or at a strategic place in the community, and
learn how to properly handle that for exam-
ple by using sawdust and micro effective bac-
teria's. In that way the waste will be turned
into high valued fertilizer. And waste trans-
ported to dump site will be vastly reduced.
 Page 6
News from the Clothes Project

the shops numbers and conclusions it is a good place

to also learn about the wider organization, the
achievements in the communities, how to work in a
team, how to manage a team towards its objectives,
and what improvements a team can achieve together.

Humana People to People Belize consider that meet-

Humana People to People Belize sees its staff as the
greatest resource to achieve the objectives.
Staff and key personnel is thus wholeheartedly and re-
spectfully counted with at all levels, from brainstorming
ideas, planning and budgeting, making commitments and
frank speaking evaluation.
This also counts for staff in the clothes project, current-
ly implementing and earning funds from 4 shops located
in Toledo and Stann Creek.
Here the key staff participate in a shop meeting every
month, to reflect on the results of the past month and
revise plans for the coming months. The shop managers
shares ideas of new tactics of promotions with each
other to increase sales and good customer service.
And they share problems and solutions. Individually and
as a project team they have a month and year goal to
reach, they have committed themselves and their shop
to raise a certain amount of funds that the organization
can rely on to cover a portion of its operational and
program expenses.
ings are great for building supportive relationships–
it give team members a place to help each other and
offer support.
Humana People to People Belize holds regular sched-
uled meetings as part of the routine at work, it is
one of the ways to keep each other updated with
work matters and a way of keeping track of individu-
al and team work progress through a healthy discus-
sion. The whole team is constantly updated with how
well the project goes and what things need to be
worked on in order to deliver as promised.
Back to
School -
September
promotion

Through these monthly meetings the shop managers

realize the bigger picture and the ultimate result of
their efforts; - the more money earned, the more peo-
ple reached in the community development project.
Because they are informed and involved all the way
around they become very proud of what they are part
of!

The meetings are a learning and improvement oppor-

tunity for the shop managers, - apart from dealing with
 Page 8

Humana People to People Belize is a member of a network of 32 organ-

izations engaged in international solidarity, cooperation and development in
HUMANA PEOPLE Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas.
TO PEOPLE The development work of the Humana People to People Movement is rooted
BELIZE in a commitment to fight alongside The Poor in a collective process that sup-
ports people to make changes, solve problems and improve their lives.

Monkey River Road,

Toledo District,
Belize
Central America.

Phone: (+501) 678 99 43

Email: Info@humana-belize.org
www.humana-belize.org
www.humana.org

Director: Susanne Jensen

Email: susanne.j@humana-belize.org

General Manager: Jaime Barrientos

Email: Jaime.b@humana-belize.org

Project leader Child Aid Toledo: Pantaleon Escobar

Email: Pantaleon@humana-belize.org

Partnership & Promotion:

Cindy Rodezno Email: cindy@humana-belize.org
Ishelly Williams Email: Ishelly.w@humana-belize.org

SHOPS ADDRESSES:

Dangriga Town, Commerce Street, Stann Creek District

Santa Cruz, (beside the football field), Stann Creek District
Independence, (Mango Creek), Toucan Street, Stann Creek District.
Bella Vista, (in front of A&A Supermarket) Toledo District