St Lawrence students to work with disadvantaged children during trip to Belize

Thirty St. Lawrence College students and faculty members will be spending two weeks working with disadvantaged children in poverty and disease-stricken Belize at the end of next month.

Approximately 20 second-year child and youth worker students, five second-year nursing students, college staff and spouses are leaving for Belize for two weeks on April 28 - and they're hoping that the community will help to get them there.

Although the students have spearheaded the fundraising for their trip, they're only about halfway there - they need $34,000 more for their trip, which will cost approximately $60,000 for airfare, room and board, building supplies, transportation in Belize and medical insurance. Each person traveling there has been asked to contribute $500, plus the cost of their vaccinations and passports. The group will come up with the remainder through fundraising.

Belize is located in Central America south of Mexico. It has a large youth population - more than half of its population of 270,000 is under 15 years old - and the highest rate of HIV in Central America.

The child and youth worker students will be focusing their efforts in Dangriga, which comprises the urban part of Belize. Many of the children there are malnourished. Teachers in Belize are only required to have a Grade 10 education, but those who can afford to go to school are usually taught by teachers who have less education than that. As a result, literacy in Belize is on a decline, said child and youth worker program co-ordinator Katharine Murphy.

Although the official language of Belize is English, it's predominantly spoken as a second language. The people living there are African, Hispanic, Creole, Native and Aboriginal.

Once in Belize, students will be rebuilding a section of a school. They'll also work with the children on literacy skills, with the teachers to improve education and help to set up an after-school program with activities such as music and sports. "Basically, what they need us for is to increase literacy and language skills in elementary-level students," said child and youth worker student James Filion.

"The plan is to get up early in the morning to work on the building, because the heat is very intense there," Filion said. Due to the extreme poverty of the country, there is a high rate of theft, but not of violent crime, Filion said. The nursing students will educate children about health - how to prevent the spread of HIV and about diabetes, which affects a "huge part of the population," said Murphy.

Students will also immunize the people of Belize and work in the tertiary clinics for the treatment of AIDS. Although there are obvious health risks to the students themselves, it's not something that they're too worried about. "There are always risks," said child and youth worker student Dana King. "But we've got our shots and we're informed." "Being in a Third World country doesn't mean that a person is at greater risk than if they stayed here," said nursing student Jennifer Pauze.

The project for the school started when a representative from the organizing group, TYPS, contacted Murphy 10 months ago with the idea of doing a project in Belize. "I am so excited to be a part of this group," said Murphy, who is also the project co-ordinator. Sara Craig is co-ordinating the project from the nursing department's end. "It's a great opportunity for (the two departments) to work together," Murphy said. "You couldn't get the full impact of this locally."

Students are equally enthusiastic. "I'm expecting a lot of experience," said Pauze. "I'm expecting that this will be very emotional, especially dealing with children and AIDS. I expect to be touched and moved by it; I don't expect that I'll come out of this and feel nothing. "This will open our eyes to the rest of the world. We're spoiled here." "It will be interesting to see a different culture and a different way of life," said King.

Child and youth worker student Venessa Anstey said that she was looking forward to seeing the differences between Canadian culture and the way things are done in Central America. "I want to get experience working with children that I otherwise wouldn't get to," said child and youth worker student Heather Broadbent. "This is an excellent opportunity for personal growth," said child and youth worker student Katie Schaafsma.

The students are already a tight-knit group, but anticipate that they'll be even closer after this shared experience. "This will be an opportunity to strengthen our bond as a group and as individuals," King said.

Although the majority of the students will be staying in Belize for two weeks, they have the option of staying for an extra two weeks if they are able to find funding and host families. After that, it won't necessarily spell the end. "I'm hoping that this is the beginning of a long relationship between Belize and this community," Murphy said. "We hope that the (child and youth worker and nursing) programs will adopt the area and that they'll go every year.

Murphy gives full credit to the students for the project. "They're the ones that have done it," she said. "They're the ones who took the opportunity and ran with it." The students have organized "a lot of fundraisers so far, like teen dances, a night at the Keystorm and 50-50 tickets," said Filion, but they are hoping the community can offer some financial support for the group.

Tracey Tong
7 March 2006

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