TMM Belize Yacht Charters donates HP Pavilion

The Saga Humane Education program, lead by Sandie Betz-Eisenberg, and Cindy Kyles and her service dog Sheila, has been successfully educating the children of Ambergris Caye with a revitalized learning program since September of this year. The Humane Education Team has presented to Ambergris Caye Elementary School, Island Academy, and ABC Pre-School in the last few months, spreading the word about the Basics of Pet Care – students learn about their pet’s basic needs, as well as the importance of safety around animals, Respecting animals – students learn the importance of the human-animal bond and why proper animal treatment is very important, and Pet Overpopulation – students learn about the issue of pet overpopulation, its root cause and the Saga Spay/Neuter Initiative Program (SNIP): “It’s Hip To Snip!”.

The goal of the Saga Humane Education Program team is to reach all the students in Ambergris Caye by the end of the 2015 school year and San Pedro Roman Catholic School has the largest student population on the island. “The generous donation of the HP Pavilion Entertainment Notebook PC, valued at $799 USD, from TMM Belize Yacht Charters, is just what the doctor ordered, stated Sandie Betz-Eisenberg. Now we can bring our Humane Education presentation to every one of the over 800 students at RC School and present it with interactive computer-aided materials. Our program kicks-off at RC School in mid-January and will run until the end of the school year”.

The donated laptop will be utilized in the school’s computer lab and will allow more students to use a computer for assignments and special projects. The computer lab at RC school has 26 working computers and class size is over 30 students leaving some unable to work interactively or access the web for information necessary for assignments and projects.

The Saga Humane Education program teaches students how to be kind, and responsible citizens in our community. From caring for their families’ animal companions to taking action to prevent animal suffering, students learn to be compassionate toward all living beings. Humane education helps to prevent violence and helps students apply the lesson of respect and kindness toward animals in their own lives. It helps students understand social justice movements, and empowers them to realize that they can bring about change in their communities through kindness to animals and others. A Humane Education program also provides teachers with the resources they need to identify and address any incident at school or in student’s homes’ that involve cruelty or neglect to animals. Because of the link between cruelty to animals and family violence, it is essential that teachers recognize the signs of animal abuse and know how to address the problem. Teaching students to have empathy for other beings is essential to raising kind, compassionate citizens.

The Saga Humane Education team will be a part of a bigger Saga team on hand on December 6th at the 2014 Holiday Lighted Boat Parade. Beautifully lit boats will take off from the Boca del Rio Area, moving southwards to Caribbean Villas the turning back to Central Park. During the boat parade, events will also be simultaneously taking place in Central Park. Children of all ages can have their picture taken with Santa at the Saga Santa Picture booth, and learn about the Humane Education team and their program.

Saga Humane Society was founded in 1999 as the first and only non-profit animal shelter and clinic in Belize, whose mission is to promote kindness and prevent cruelty to all animals. For more information, to book a Humane Education presentation or to make a donation, please go to SAGA Humane Society website or email saga@btl.net