La Vida Idealist

At the big Independence Day party in town, I ran into Alexis, one of the kids from Holy Cross. I mentioned I saw him in pictures from a field trip to the mainland, and I asked how he had enjoyed it. His face lit up and he was all excited to tell me about the Be Kind Belize trip, and wondered if it was Miss Colette who showed me the pictures.

Mr. Daniel Jones and his class

Miss Colette is one of my expat friends here on Ambergris Caye. An avid volunteer for many organizations, she saw a need within the community and decided to start her own program, Be Kind Belize, which resolves to teach kindness and empathy to kids. Humane education programs such as these help children develop stronger interpersonal skills – speaking and listening, for example – and can help to improve attitudes towards caring for others. Respect for all life is one of its core values.

Currently, Miss Colette is looking for volunteers who are interested in setting up programs at individual schools here in Belize. If you’re not in Belize but want to help from afar, she is also looking for volunteers to secure donations for prizes for the kids. (Animal-themed items are preferred, but any cool kids’ stuff is welcome.)

Another great place to volunteer at is our local humane society, SAGA. Founded in 1999, Saga is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to help homeless and suffering dogs, cats and other animals. Most of the stray dogs and cats on the island and other areas of Belize are not neutered, and many are undernourished and ridden with disease.

Saga Society is working on raising money to build a better animal shelter on the island. They are also in the process of establishing a subsidized neutering program with the hopes of eliminating the current Health Department approach to animal control, which is the use of strychnine poison.

When volunteering, consider what interests and skills you have to offer and how you can adapt them to the local community you choose to volunteer in. There are so many great organizations in Belize that will welcome extra hands. Lan Sluder a well known writer and authority on Belize, has highlighted many of them on his Belize First website, in addition to giving great tips for getting the most from your volunteer experience.

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