Feb 2013 Trip Summary
This trip has been one of the most satisfying and rewarding trips ever. It included two major projects unlike prior trips that included just one major project or several minor projects.
15 teams members including 9 first-timers completed a new house for Moses and his mom, Ernelda. Moses is so afraid of strangers that he would not be able to go to a hurricane shelter in case of emergency. The new block and stucco house with a poured roof will be safe during a hurricane so Moses and Ernelda will not have to evaluate. The basic structure was built by contracted Belizean workers and friends before the team arrived. Working together, the team and the Belizeans applied plaster (stucco) inside and outsice, installed bathroom fixtures and water line, windows, doors and room partitions and painted the interior. The house was dedicated on the last day before our return home. After we left, the Belizean finished a few minor elements, installed electrical components, a front porch and a connection to the old house. These additional components were made possible by the generosity of donors to this worthy project. The exterior of the house will be painted on our next trip after the stucco is fully cured.
During the 10 months preceding the trip, several people assembled nearly 200,000 pages of educational resources for the teachers in 3 primary schools, 1 high school and a junior college. Teachers resources in Belize are either scarce or expensive. The 100+ binders of printed material and data disks were so well received that more have been requested in additional subjects. Most gratifying was the possibility that the District Education Manager will make copies of the disks and make them available to the other 14 primary schools under his control. He was very supportive and gave us carte blanc to bring additional resources without his further permission. One school presented a special program to our team as a "Thank You" for the material.
A 12 minute slide show video is available showing some of the activities from this trip. Select the format of your choice below.
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