International Development

September 2, 2011

The Eleventh Hour: Signs in Succotz

This project was really done at the last moments of the team's stay in Belize. We finished this project the day before they left town. It was a mad dash to the finish, but we made it! 

This is yet another project we did in the charming village of Succotz - naming streets and ordering and hanging street signs. This is part of a larger project to help generate income for the village as they now run on $300 dollars a month. We hope the things we've implemented will help to raise that figure so they can have better healthcare, education and quality of life. 

Here we are, laying out the signs by village areas so we can divide and conquer.

Interested villagers look at our work.

The Village Council were so grateful for all our work with them this year and in past years, they wanted to honor us by naming a few of their streets after us. So, there is a Spencer Street in Belize! Also, a HELP International Way.

Our friends help us out.

We have since talked with villagers in Succotz and they are thrilled to be able to say what street they live on as previously nothing in the village had a name. One lady proudly told me, "I live on Maya street!" It's a good feeling to know the project is well received.

August 17, 2011

Soilets!

Katie, an aspiring engineer, has thrown her heart into a project known as the Soilet. A Soilet is a toilet that requires no septic or other disposal as it uses worms in a special box outside the house to decompose waste, as well as a filtration process to purify toxins. After moving through this process, the purified waste exits into the ground.

Katie, Sarah and Maren are getting ready for another day's work.

Katie cuddles up to her project and on the left we have the "Sexy Soileteers."

Soilets are a great installment in developing countries where septic units are cost prohibitive or non-existent.

August 10, 2011

Peace Camp is a camp run by one of Belize's most solid and established NGO's, the George Price Center. Located in the capitol city of Belmopan, the George Price Center houses an exhibit featuring Belize's peaceful movement toward independence (in 1981), offers the use of a public computer lab free of charge and hosts and promotes many community events including reading camps and programs, conflict resolution workshops and the annual Peace Camp.

We were excited for the opportunity to work with Peace Corps volunteers Cisco and his wife Cathryn during Peace Camp.

The program features educational games, activities and discussion to learn how to peacefully resolve conflict.

Maren and Ashley help oversee one of the games.

Here we all are!

Ashley directs the blindfolded game where everyone must verbally communicate in order to make a square while remaining blindfolded!

Rin, Maren and Ashley pose for a pic!

We look forward to working with you again next year, George Price Center. Thanks!

August 7, 2011

This camp was a project that was completed during the month of July. It was a summer camp headed by Andrea and was held for the elementary age children in the village of Succotz. It lasted one week and went from 9 am-12 pm each day. Activities educating about different cultures was the backbone of the program. The children and volunteers alike had a wonderful week and made strong friendships.

Attentive children play games.

Emily picks the next leader.

Mackenzie stops to pose for a pic. 

Happy children color!

Paul, Shelbi and 4 happy children smile for the camera.

Here's the mastermind behind the program. Thanks, Andrea!

This little girl is wondering how to spell Jaelyn's name.

Megan and Jewel are all smiles!

Here's a typical site - children lining up to hug the ever-loving Lauren!

The message in the background says it all!

Thanks for another great project, great people and great memories, Succotz Village!

August 7, 2011

More Rainforest Haven

This week we worked to get pictures for the website of Rainforest Haven. As the resort is not currently being used, it took a bit of work from our team to tidy things up and carry the decor for the pictures. We decided to have a sleepover at the resort and enjoyed marshmallows over a campfire at night and a pancake breakfast in the morning. We set things up and I was very pleased with how the pics turned out. 

 

Here's Pete posing as a maid - service with a smile! :)

 

Maren and Jake pose as a love-struck couple on one of the cabana porches. Don't you want to come here?!

This is the open-air dining area. It really is beautiful.

July 22, 2011

Rainforest Haven Resort Consulting

One of the projects we are involved in right now is consulting a couple on starting a resort. Jorge and Shamira desire to have their realty turn a profit, and with volunteers with expertise in business, we are happy to offer our service. RainforestHaven.com is coming soon!

July 5, 2011

Women's Orphanage

Sounds like a bit of a contradiction, doesn't it? Orphans here are forced to leave orphanages at age 16. With nowhere to go, young women often resort to prostitution or living on the streets. This orphanage is designed with these women in mind. The community is sustainable and features a self-composting toilet, gardens, and houses made from tires, sandbags and plaster.

Site of next sustainable home.

This is us helping to build a home.

June 27, 2011

More on Square Foot Gardens

Remember the square foot garden plot just a few weeks ago? Well, HELP has been hard at work at Sacred Heart College (high school through 2 years of college) and here are the results!

The dirt arrived and is ready to put into smaller piles.

Michelle points out to one of the students where the next hole should go. The students who will benefit from this were required to help our volunteers make the gardens.

Shelbi poses with one of the students with the piles of dirt they are moving. It's hard work!!!

Andy helps fashion the structures for the boxes that will create the raised beds. 

Kayla and the students section off the garden boxes in square feet using yellow string.

HELP volunteers made signs to mark what food is where. 

And....drumroll.....here it is! Isn't it beautiful?!

And we are now ready to plant! Great work, HELP!

June 25, 2011

Up Go The Chimneys!

Adobe Stoves #1 and #2 are coming right along! The white maul takes several days to completely harden. While they harden, we are getting the chimneys and other metal coverings prepared so the stoves can be used as soon as possible.

This is Kyle stepping out of the house where the chimneys were custom made for the stoves. 

Here is one chimney installed at our very first stove. 

And here is the second chimney going up. Mr. Chee (on the left) is the craftsman who made the chimneys.

June 25, 2011

More On Adobe Stoves

Adobe Stoves are an ongoing project. Although adobe stoves have successfully been built in various locations worldwide, we worked to develop a stove that would work effectively for the specific needs of Belizeans.  


We began with 2 stoves in the village of Succotz. As neighbors and others in surrounding communities see the stove, there are many who would like one. 

Sarah, Lindsay and Chloe work to fill stove #2 with white maul.

We use trowels to level the maul to insure a flat future work space.

Sarah and Chloe strike a "shovel pose" at the white maul quarry.

Anyone who has dug here knows that white maul is hard! It also eats at your skin a bit and leaves your hands and feet peeling.

After the maul is excavated, it is filled into bags. Good work there!

The (HEAVY!) bags are lifted to a transport and taken to the adobe stove sites.

June 25, 2011

ESL Classes

ESL Classes in Belize? Although it's the official language, the melting pot of Belize sustains a need for citizens to learn English.

This if the Cornerstone Foundation, an established non-profit organization just up the street from us. They offer various classes to the public in which we participate, including ESL.

Erika and Hannah put on their thinking caps (and faces) to plan effective lessons.

Leah, Kayla and Erika wait for students to arrive.

This man is so grateful to be learning English. Thanks for your hard work, HELP!

June 16, 2011

Magnificent Music!

Piano class commenced 6 weeks ago and has been going strong ever since. I have been the project lead and we've had a lot of fun and a consistent turnout with interested students. 

This is me teaching the advanced class. There are no music classes in school and few music lessons available in Belize, so having a student who's not a beginner is a rarity. Arnell is bright and quick and we have fun learning!

Kayla and Leah just arrived last week and have jumped in as teachers. They love to work with the locals and these children here love to come to piano class.

Jake is teaching the beginning class here and just committed to take the torch as a team lead for this project. He loves music and loves to share it. This class is having fun! Way to go, Jake!

We're hard at work!

I taught piano for 13 years and I have very rarely seen students so enthusiastic about music lessons. They come week after week and are thrilled just to share a piano or keyboard with 5-8 other students and they also practice assignments at home. It is fulfilling to work with these people!

With many teachers at the music lessons, it's fabulous we can offer some one-on-one time when needed. Leah works on teaching note-reading here with cute Jared.

Emily arrived last week and as a great guitarist, we can now offer guitar lessons to some students who are dying to learn guitar.

June 16, 2011

Research Is Half the Fun!

You might imagine us out on projects constantly, and really, we are. But along with being on projects, we also do a lot of research. Since HELP allows us to structure our own projects, that means doing groundwork for ourselves. Here is Jake, Rin and Chloe doing research for a library project. 

June 9, 2011

Adobe Stoves

You're wondering what adobe stoves are, aren't you? According to the World Health Organization, "over 3 billion people cook their meals indoors using basic fires and stoves, burning wood and waste. The majority of the heat is wasted and toxic byproducts substances like carbon monoxide and formaldehyde are created" (those sound bad, don't they?!) "Over 2 million people are killed every year due to the effects of this kind of cooking." 

"85% of these deaths are women and young children, due to their increased exposure" ( makes sense, right? They're the ones inside while the fires are going). 


Where does HELP come in? We work to eliminate indoor smoke by building adobe stoves. These are basic stoves that can be replicated by locals and are built from indigenous materials.


Here we are on our way to Succotz to build adobe stoves. How many people can we fit in a 7 passenger van?

This is what many local women cook their daily meals on or use in their tortilla vending huts. This is in the hut of Abuela. There are 4 generations who make and sell tortillas here.

This is the roof of a local near the Guatemalan border. This is what a thatch roof should look like (yep, I took this pic - I am loving photography!)

This is what a thatch roof looks like when an open fire is used indoors. It's sad to think that the family's lungs look like this, too.

Here we are, installing the first Adobe stove in Abuela's hut.

Here's a pipe going in that will take the smoke outdoors. 

It's looking like a stove!

We're having fun getting our hands dirty. We're filling in the structure with a local material, white maul.

Building up the interior, working hard.

Here's an almost finished stove. It's so close to being usable. 

Here are 4 generations who will benefit from their adobe stove. Abuela is the cute little one on the end in green. 

We're always happy to lend a helping hand!

May 30, 2011

Dog-Proof in Succotz 

We are working on many projects in the village of Succotz. Located 15 minutes from San Ignacio, Succotz is in need of help in various ways. Current projects and project ideas include building adobe stoves for tortorillas and helping the village council increase village revenue.   

A project that was completed in Succotz to help keep the village cleaner was installing dog-proof garbage cans. Countless homeless dogs roam Belize, scouring the streets for leftover food. Garbage that is accessible to dogs soon litters the streets and towns. 

The garbage cans you see here can be seen commonly around Belize. A raised barrel is fastened between two poles, making it secure and inaccessible to the pesky pooches. Succotz was very grateful to have these installed and we were happy to provide the labor!

This is Erika, Kim, Hannah and Angela getting ready to work on dog-proof garbage cans. 

 

Kim drills a hole in the  barrel while Hannah approves the work with a thumbs up! Most of these girls are using power tools for the first time!

Erika going to town with a power tool on a post.

This is Shelbi showing off her skills with a saw. Way to go!

Angela gives the saw a go while Shelbi and a local hold it still.

Kim is rocking the drill! She found (like so many of us have, right?!) that it's easier to make a hole when the drill is not in reverse. It took a minute to correct, but once the drill was spinning forward, Kim did a fantastic drilling job!

Hannah and Kyle work on mixing cement that will hold the posts in the ground.

Brenna takes a quick break on her shovel to pose for a pic. Cute!

Matt is the man and hauls the barrels to another location - 2 at a time!!

Keep on truckin'!

Some of the team, getting ready to cement the poles. Work is fun, right?!

 

Kyle pounds in the metal pieces that help hold the 3 posts together.

And....here is the finished product!

 

Shelbi smiles with a local girl who will soon be using this garbage can along with the rest of her village.

Brooke bonds with 2 Succotz children with a nija pose. What are they fighting? Today, it's trash!

Kyle puts a HELP International sticker on one of the garbage cans - just so they can remember us. :)

                                                   

After a hard day's work, Shelbi, Brenna and two children from Succotz cool off with cold water in a bag. Good work, team!

May 23, 2011

Healthy and Ready to Learn

This is Hannah, Kayla and Erika, assessing and making preparations for the "Healthy and Ready to Learn" square foot garden project. 

Square foot gardens are garden boxes that are built in a square feet and help to maximize plant space and productivity. The HELP team built many square foot gardens last year in Belize, and we are ready to continue building more this year.


We are excited to start this project at Sacred Heart High School in our very own San Ignacio. Kayla is the project lead. Below is the area where square foot gardens will be built. There will be at least 15 square foot gardens on this property. A fence and roof will be built around all the square foot gardens made from chicken wire. This will keep out iguanas (who eat the plants) and trash. 

The program will benefit students who financially qualify for meal assistance. They will be growing the food they eat. The school requires that those who benefit from the garden work on this project. Thus, students will work with our team on the construction of the boxes, planting and will be responsible for all upkeep of the plants in the future.

It may not look like much now, but check back in a month. This empty space will soon be full of square foot gardens!

The Belize Botanical Garden

May 17, 2011

We went to the Belize Botanical Gardens to do our first in-country project of the year. It was exciting to roll up our sleeves and get to work! 

The BBG is the only botanical garden in the country. It runs on a very low budget - only $100,000 a year and that comes from grants and private donors. There are 8 workers to tend to 80 acres of land. The BBG puts a strong focus on educating Belizeans about the plants and wildlife of their native country through various programs they offer. With so few workers and so much to do, there is always work to do here!

This is a group shot of us before our day of work there. We were able to take a guided tour which helped to educate us about the flora and fauna of Belize.

This is the orchid house. It will be blooming in just another month, so we'll have to return to see the splendor of the flowers.

Inside the orchid house:

This is Jon. He oversees the BBG. He graduated with a PhD in horticulture and recently came from Texas to live in Belize. He is passionate about his work and is excited to work with us on projects.

This is an educational display about palms. Palms are becoming endangered in Belize because tourists like cabanas to have palm roofs. The BBG encourages abandonment of places that use these.

This is Kaylynne in the nursery give all the plants a drink.

Cami, Caroline and Lindsay being instructed by Rudy on how to re-pot plants.

Caroline and Angela in the nursery. Work really can be fun, too!

Cami with a palm.

Andy with another palm.

Kim and Megan working out in an orchard, pruning. 

Angela and a worker, putting their backs into it with the rakes!

Dani and a worker doing weeding.

And now, stopping for a smile for the camera. 

Matt doing a man's job - shoveling manure - way to be tough!!

Michelle, Rin, Brenna and Shelbi chopping down dead palm leaves with...machetes!!!

Coming on in after a long day's work. We love helping out in Belize!

See you soon, BBG!

May 30, 2011

Miss Traci

It’s very common in Belize to hear people calling each other by a title preceding their name, like “Sir” or “Miss.” Sometimes even married women are referred to as “Miss.” I think how people use titles is super-cute.

This is Miss Traci. I met Miss Traci, her children, Malachi and Kaya, and Traci’s boyfriend, Bob, near the fruit market here in San Ignacio where they were selling jewelry. I totally suckered for their wares! But not immediately. They started at $10 for one necklace and ended at $10 for 3. Every girl needs jewelry, right?! It is so cute and is totally stuff I would wear back home.

You know how sometimes you buy something in a culture you visit (like a mu-mu or a sari) and you wear it and fit right in with the culture and then you get back home and you feel like a dingbat wearing it around? I hope this is not the case with these, but I don’t think it is. The necklaces are made from nuts and seeds and stones – very organic, which I love!

Miss Traci is a happy, vivacious woman with a loud voice and a kind manner. She is constantly laughing and smiling. She loves her children and loves her home on Caye Caulker (she was just in San Ignacio for a short visit). She freely admires the beauties of Belize. It's easy to like Miss Traci.

When we were looking for housing last month, Miss Traci was very helpful and kind. She took us to her friend’s places that would be large enough to accommodate us. Alas, the prices were too high for everything. But after showing us one location, she took us to a place nearby where two rivers meet, known to the locals as “Swing Bridge”.

There is a swaying wooden suspension bridge that crosses the river – just like in the movies!!! It is incredible!

Miss Traci told us the community on the other side of the river raises pigs. And she wasn’t kidding! These guys easily weighed 500 lbs. If you’re going to raise pigs for a living, you should go (ok, I know this is bad)…whole hog! These piggies were wallowing in the river when we got there. Traci said she and her kids like to swim here. I said I would too, only I’d be sure to swim upstream from these stinky fellows.