Belize Charity Organization Updates

Saga would like to invite you to the Italian Cook-off  tomorrow Wednesday February 22 6-9pm at Ristorante DiCaprio.

 

Over $3,000 raised at Saga Valentines Benefit hosted by Captain Morgans Casino

‘Fur-ever Love’ was flying through the air on Valentine’s night at Captain’s Casino! All the ladies were treated to a glass of champagne and a rose from our hosts, Karen Riley and Ernie Olmstead, the gracious owners and directors of Captain Morgan’s Resort and the Captain’s Casino.

Saga Humane Society is very happy to report that just over $3,000BZ was raised from the event.

Saga H.S. would like to send heartfelt Thanks to Karen and Ernie for extending Saga the stupendous generosity that made this benefit event possible, including all the items donated by the Resort for raffle prizes that made the night great fun for our guests! A big “Thank You” also goes out to the wonderful staff at the Resort and Casino that were simply stellar in their service and hospitality;  they are outstanding!

Saga HS would also like to thank Jose Luis and Perlita Zapata of Jose Luis Zapata Photography for capturing the evening’s couples and the event; Ambergris Brewing Company, Premium Wines & Liquors, Wine De Vine, Bruce Pickering, and Coleen Creeden for their contributions and donations to the Raffle Prizes, and to Gecko Graphics, San Pedro Sun and Quicksilver for contributions to the event’s marketing efforts, Thank You!

The big winner of the night’s raffles was Jack Brown who won the Raffle Grand Prize “Lovers’ Basket of Goodies,” which was filled with Italian red wine, Tia Maria liqueur, Ambergris Brewing Co. fresh roasted coffee & Kakaw dark chocolate.

Thanks also to the many individuals who donated to Saga above and beyond the entry fee for the night, especially Deborah Valentine, Gene Wells and Janet Wells for their generous $300BZ donation.

Thank you too to the folks working as a Saga volunteer for the night, and finally, a very special Thank You for each and every person who came out and enjoyed a lovely Valentine’s evening at this Captain’s Casino benefit event. Saga Humane Society appreciates your continued support!

Holy Cross

Winter is always a busy time at Holy Cross School as the children get back from their Christmas Holidays and start to focus seriously on their school work. It is also a fun time as we are blessed with many visits from those coming to Belize to escape the hard American winter.

I just want to take a moment to share some of our stories from the last few months and to say thank you one and all for your faithful and generous support of Holy Cross From the Classrooms As always, our classrooms are busy with plenty of learning but also a little fun. Some of the highlights this month have been:

Soccer Coashing
We were thrilled when Ali Andrzejewski of Champions Soccer Camp in Baltimore, MD offered to give a week of professional coaching to our soccer teams, as well as leading other classes for PE. The students all had a wonderful time, especially the soccer teams who surprised the coaches with their dedication and love of drills! The coaching showed immediate results – our girls entered a soccer tournament that weekend and blitzed the opposition 5-0 and 2-0 to bring home the first place trophy – well done!

Pen Pals
Our Std 3 students (approx 5th grade) started a pen pal relationship with a 5th grade class in Maryland earlier this year and with the soccer coaches came a teacher from that school. It’s been so rewarding seeing how excited the students have been about writing and receiving letters and they excelled themselves making cards, bracelets and even a very creative video for their pen pals in the USA.

Thank you to Volunteers
Thank you also to the many other volunteers who have spent time in the school this winter – sewing, tutoring, reading, water testing, road building, doing construction and running camps. Your effort and dedication are phenomenal.

Thinking about Scholarships
Sadly, in Belize only 1 in 16 children start high school, with financial pressure being one of the reasons for parents not enrolling their eligible children. So every year we try and raise scholarships to give graduating primary school children the opportunity to attend high school.

Scholarships start at $750 US for one year and include everything a child needs for high school. If you, your Rotary Club, Church or friends would like to find out more about donating a scholarship, please contact our Office Manager Linda Carter at lindabelize@gmail.com for details.

Sewing Center
The ladies in the sewing center have continued to volunteer their time faithfully, building skills, friendship and confidence.  We’ve welcomed some new members and said goodbye to old members who have found other jobs and continue to be excited by the possibilities.

In the last couple of weeks, the ladies have been learning to make uniform shirts, which are always in demand as students grow and old shirts wear out. The ladies are also hoping to make bags, though getting the right parts in Belize can be unbelievable frustrating!

I often hear people ask “how can I support the sewing center?” If that is a question on your mind, please get in touch as there are many ways you can help, both in person or from overseas.

San Mateo
San Mateo has continued to make the headlines, but for all the wrong reasons. After years of trying to get independent water testing done, help arrived in the form of the student chapter of Engineers Without Borders from Texas A&E.

Unfortunately their results showed what we’ve long suspected – the water supply to the houses is inadequate and allows the water to become contaminated with sewerage, with no simple solution available beyond point of use treatment.

To find out more:
Holy Cross Blog Story: EWB Visit San Mateo Newspaper Story: San Pedro Sun Read the Preliminary Report: EWB Report – San Mateo Water Quality

To help:
There’s no simple solution, but there are a couple of ways to help. One is through the San Mateo Community Empowerment Project. They are working to finish the roads, as until the roads are build the utility companies refuse to upgrade the water and power.

The second is to book your next Belize accommodation through the Exotic Caye Beach Resort – for a limited time you can buy an accommodation voucher using the code and instructions. They will then donate 50% of your stay to Direct Abundance, who help in San Mateo. You need to book before Feb 21, but the voucher is valid any time before the end of May 2013.

Thank you
Finally, I’d like to thank everyone for their generous donations to the fund matching campaign. It was a great success and enough donations were received to ensure the maximum possible funds were matched.

We could not do anything for the children of San Mateo and San Pedro without your help. Thank you for making this opportunity available to so many.

Yours gratefully
The staff of Holy Cross Anglican School

Mama Vilma’s – home still needs land to build on if anyone happens to have a spare piece they are willing to donate to a great cause.

Marco Gonzalez – still looking for a used shipping container in decent condition for site storage.

This last one is an interesting website to check out sent in by one of my readers. If you do a Belize search lots of businesses that are charity-minded showup.

Hi Laurie,

This website may be of interest, pack for a purpose.   There are some drop-off places already listed for Central America and specifically Belize.

Each individual could make a difference.

Lynda Norton