You better Belize it!

Yesterday got off to a slow start, but in the end, I got even more done than I had hoped. While waiting for a car to be available so we could go into town, the caretaker of the ranch, a Belizian man, came over and chatted with us. I was able to ask him all my questions about Belize- from politics, to social problems, to education, to the drug trade, and so on. He had some very interesting perspectives, as he was born in Belize and has lived here most of his life.

In the afternoon, we headed to San Ignacio, to The Cornerstone Foundation. Josh and I were able to sit down with a staff member and find out all about this NGO, which was very impressive. From women's issues, to health, to youth, to HIV/AIDS Prevention, to relief and aid, Cornerstone covers it all. However, several programs were particularly interesting to me. The government does not provide a free or reduced lunch program for students here, and so some students are not able to afford the food in their school's cafeterias. Cornerstone actually delivers meals to schools that are a little further away, and also allows local kids to eat lunch in their facility.

They also have many services pertaining to HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. They do contraceptive distribution, programming in schools and communities, and even have a group called Y.A.P (Youth Ambassador Program) that teaches youth to be leaders in the fight against AIDS in their community. Which is especially important here, as Belize has the highest percentage of HIV infected persons in Central America, at 3%. However, there are some boundaries to the work that Cornerstone does. In a country where Catholicism is a large percent of the population, and many of the schools are Catholic schools, talk about contraceptives is often not welcome. Also, Cornerstone's budget this year is lower than usual, and they do not have enough money to distribute as many contraceptives as before. Which is a problem for a couple reasons: 1. Many people have come to rely on their distribution, as condoms can be expensive. 2. It is considered shameful for men to buy contraceptives, and so they rarely go into stores and buy them.

All in all, I was very impressed with the organization and everything they are able to do in the community. Here is their website: http://www.cornerstonefoundationbelize.org/

Next, was Mary Open Doors, which is a domestic violence shelter. I stopped by briefly and talked with one of the workers, but I have a meeting with the Director there on Thursday, so I will go more into detail then.

The last place we visited was the Octavia Waight Centre, which is one of the few (I heard 2) homes for older adults in all of Belize. Their website is www.octaviawaightcentre.org. This was a spontaneous meeting, as we saw it and Brin (my sister) suggested it might be a good place to visit, but the Director was more than happy to talk with us. The home has spots for 26 residents, and most of them would have nowhere else to go. They need volunteers for most of what they do, outside of caring for basic needs of the residents. But when it comes to activities, games, and fundraising, they seem to rely on volunteers a lot. And they certainly don't have mental health services.

One of the most poignant moments of our visit, though, was when Josh asked what happened to older adults who were not able to be placed because the Centre was full. The Director got very somber, and replied, "They die." He then told us about how he had recently called several people on the waiting list to fill spots. Three of them had passed away, and all the deaths could have been prevented had they been living at the Centre. As far as I know (and I also asked several people), there are no homeless shelters in this area, besides the domestic violence shelter. So, if you don't have anywhere to go, you live on the street.

I am excited about possibilities from each of these organizations, they are doing some amazing things, but also have needs that are evident.