I read somewhere in a travel book before I left for Belize that you can definitely find a day of “nothing to do” in Belize. And I figured the first 2 months were going to be like that, while I slowly just observed, asked many questions and just really took in what the next 2 years were going to be like for me at the District Education Center in Orange Walk.
How quickly things change – the past six weeks have been a whirlwind of different workshops, prepping for CPDs at the District Education Center, organizing our staff and facilitators, and on top of all that trying to get prepared to move into my new place, while still trying to integrate into my community and be well rounded volunteer! J
About a month ago I attended a two-day Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) workshop in Belize City with some fellow volunteers, Orange Walk colleagues, and Ministry of Ed participants. The two days were very informative, teaching us about the HFLE curriculum and ways to implement it into the Belizean classroom, especially when some of the topics are very taboo in this country. From this workshop we planned our own two day workshop for our teachers in Orange Walk, which just finished from August 3rd to the 4th. That took a lot of organizing from our end and the Ministry of Education side, but it all went very well. It was very interesting to interact with the teachers on that level and see their ideas and knowledge of HFLE. Very eye-opening on curriculum that many teachers choose not to discuss or teach in their classrooms.
After the HFLE workshops in Belize City I had a couple days at work to regroup and of course I came down with standard cold! I was out of commission a few days and it was definitely rough with the heat and not being home, but I survived! J The following week I helped out with a Personal Development Camp in Orange Walk sponsored by Belize Family Life Association (BFLA) which is dedicated primarily to family planning and reproductive health. The camp was three days/two nights at the big gym in town. Sessions were set up all day for the youths on leadership, entrepreneur skills, communication, goal planning, health & nutrition. Those three days were very long! Not much sleep a lot of bug bites, a lot of basketball, but it was a blast!
The following week was another three day workshop in Belize City about a new initiative the Ministry of Education and Quality Assurance & Development Services (QADS) is starting throughout the country called Quality Child Friendly Schools (QCFS). Its main goals are to get the schools and its surrounding communities to become more involved and to take ownership in improving its schools. Its three main principles are inclusiveness (where all students are participating and treated equally), child-centeredness (school supports all children and creates healthy, safe, and protective learning environments), and democratic participation (school recognizes the importance of family and community involvement in school management so it engages parent and community member participation in school events and decision making activities). I’m really excited to get started on this and begin this process with some of the schools in our district.
That same week was camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World), it’s a week-long camp for girls throughout Belize and a way for them to meet other girls and learn leadership skills, team building, health, goal setting, self-esteem and values, athletics, arts & crafts, and many other fun activities throughout the week. I was able to help out one of the days with sports/athletics, so a fellow PCV and I had the girls playing capture the flag, doing three-legged races, and had a water balloon toss. It was so great seeing the girls enjoying themselves and really opening up and coming out of their shells. I am really excited to continue with GLOW while I’m here in Belize.
And now, this past week and continuing through next week we have Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for as many teachers we can handle. There are workshops on math, literacy, HFLE, school leaders, alternatives to discipline, spirituality, social studies, QFCS, and many more. The first two days of the week I was helping out with social studies and the next two days I was in charge and helping facilitate with some fellow teachers the HFLE workshop. Like I said earlier it went very well and the teachers seemed to really enjoy it, especially when we had a guest speaker (PLWHA) come and give his testimonial, I think that really hit home for some of the teachers because they could actually put a face to some of the issues that really need to be discussed in the classroom and with normal population at large. The following week I’m going to be helping out with the QCFS workshop and assisting with the teachers.
While all this is going on I have been trying to find a place to move into and I found a cute little two-bedroom house right across from where I am living now with my host family. I am going to be moved in there by August 5th and have my first night there!! So its been very hectic trying to organize things getting delivered and moved over there while all these CPD and prepping for the workshop. But it’s all coming together and I can’t wait to call that little house my home for the next two years! Pictures coming very soon as well as many others!! J
Sorry for such a long read, a lot has been going on as you can tell and don’t worry I am not forgetting about you all and this blog! Miss you all, love you all and can’t wait to see some of your lovely faces out here! My six month “probation” ends to have people come and start visiting beginning September! (**Hint, Hint!**) J
