Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Holidays 2010 in Belize

My long holiday weekend began with a trip to Guatemala: Flores is an island about 2 hours from where I live. Tour books describe it as a Venetian experience; It was the home of the Itzas, descendents of the Maya, and resisted Spanish colonial rule until the end of the 17th century, becoming the last indigenous area to succumb. This a picture of two other Peace Corps Volunteers Amber and Linda crossing pristine Lake Peten Izta.

Christmas Day was spent with the Garcia family--much too much wonderful food; lots of wonderful conversation and the added celebration of daughter Christie Maria's 13th birthday. Each guest brought a cake so there were seven! birthday cakes including my well-received chocolate on chocolate cake with candles. The mom Ethel has become a wonderful friend. That's her drapped across the couch; husband Margar and me surrounded and hidden a bit by the children. Also visiting was a Salvadorian artist who was very interested in my involvement with Nicaragua over the years.

The next day was Boxing Day--a British Commonwealth holiday supposed the day to box up the gifts you don't want to give to the poor. Spent at a Puerto Rican party of Andre and Nan Lopez who have been wonderful friends. They built their own house in Bullet Tree Falls as expats. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the 1960s (talks about how good we have it with Internet, cell phones, etc.); he is a photographer originally from Puerto Rico and got interested in the Spanish Civil War and met Harry and Moe Fishman in New York after doing a book on Gypsies in Spain. Great afternoon with discussions about history, slavery, a Brit who said Belizeans love them and Belizeans lecturing him on colonialism--I thought of our family who would have been right in the thick of discussion. (Sorry no pictures)

Monday--it was back to Guatemala. Ethel and the two Garcia children took me and Linda (PCV) to Melchor which is on the border with Belice (Spanish for Belize). The market is visions of Nicaragua (that does not exist in Belize); the Garcias and I are heavily into jewelry making and we found a stall with the best beads, wires, etc. We then visited Ethel's sister and family--the children are amazingly creative.

On the way back we stopped at the Butterfly Farm about 15 minutes from home. As beautiful as the butterflies were it was watching the Garcia children enjoying them, the nature walk that included finding unexcavated ruins, and just their general joy and inquisitiveness.

Finally, home, and greeted in my front yard by a local family. Without these neighbors how would I get up each morning at exactly 4 AM without any modern conveniences like an alarm clock?

Monday, December 13, 2010

Mary Open Doors Holiday Party in my home










I hosted a very festive holiday party for the women served by Mary Open Doors. It was unusual: we made things including jewelry and carefully followed my prized book of "99 ways to make over T shirts." The most touching moment was one woman who said for these few hours she didn't have to think about anything else. The children (all 21 of them) were hosted by the CEO's teenage daughters. A good time was had by all at both parties.
I cooked--not my usual practice--and these healthy foods were a big hit: pumpkin bread and several non-fried, non-strarchy recipes I picked up from various Peace Corps folks: deviled eggs, papaya ices, homemake salsa and even homemade chips, black bean patties, and fruit. What was not eaten was taken home.

In the future, the women said they would really like to learn crafts: knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, etc. They showed incredible talent (I actually need a Learning Annex class to make earrings--they just figured it out! This isn't really my role here but surely I would do it for fun. Special thanks to dear dear Karen Wasserman who sent me an incredible CARE package of supplies--Karen, you should see all the tools and beads in action in these photos.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Belizean Wedding


I spent the day in San Antonio Village where I had received community-based training back in April and May. I was invited to attend the wedding of my host family. What is different from a "typical" US wedding? In this village virtually no one attended the pentacostal church ceremony--but over 500 people attended the reception. The bride and groom and immediate family eat inside; the guests eat outside and only approach the house to deliver their gifts. It was an honor to be "inside"! My family is the Tzib family; the groom's family is the Tzib family--this is a Yucatec village of 2500 people with only 5 or 6 last names. One picture is me and the bridge as she was getting ready; the other is the bride and groom--note the lasso which they wore--uniting them--until dinner was served.

Friday, December 3, 2010

World AIDS Day in Cayo




So many issues: World AIDS Day is a big deal here and free condoms and HIV testing are everywhere EXCEPT the Church is against condom distribution and HIV testing but the children from the various religious schools were brought to the fair. Their message is abstinence but the kids sure have a very different view.

There is a wonderful organization called Belize Family Life Association with offices across from the Catholic Church--providing contraceptive and reproductive services gratis. So contradictions abound! These are the kids surrounding our booth; and the picture is the local police officer who had this great T shirt (Men Working in a typical construction sign and subtitle: Share Responsibility at Home). One of his women co-workers said: "it is just a T shirt" but I'm not so sure--he is about to have his first child and is taking leave to be there for a while.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Outreach to Rural Communities




We have started a program of workshops in remote, rural villages (aldeas) in the Cayo District. The purpose to bring information about domestic violence to isolated families and help with obtaining help and resources. This program is in collaboration with the Office of Rural Development' Rural Communities Development Officer along with . There are 17 such communities and a very small staff among us to do this; so we have included "extenders" by including the domestic violence officer of the Cayo Police Department and eventually people in various other government agencies and non-profit organizations who serve women and children. Here are a photo or two of what we did in the last week or so. It has been extraordinary; well-received--and somewhat unplanned was that I gave several workshops in Spanish. One thing I am learning is the tremendous tension around the Guatemalan border that is not even clearly defined. Belizeans seem to resent Guatemalans based on a long history of political and cultural issues; and many Guatemalans here have no legal rights.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

November 3, 2010


Life has been pretty ordinary; our Cayo Book Club is going well and today I attended the dedication of the new San Ignacio Library that is a partnership of the Government of Belize, the Town Council, the Social Investment Fund, and the Rotary Club. This is me applying for a library card, although with IPod, IPad, and Kindle it is more on principle that I want a card. The previous library was a small basement room; the hope is that this will become a center for improving adult and youth literacy.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Typical Days in Belize




On a typical Saturday I go to the Cayo market where the most amazingly fresh vegetables and fruits are sold by farmers who come to market from the villages--including San Antonio where I lived earlier in the year. The usual cucumbers, carrots, onions, pineapple, papaya and then the most delicious fruits and vegetables new to me such as chaya and petaya make for a wonderful week of sauteed vegetables. The other pictures are from a typical day at the local ATM (not what you think but rather Actun Tunichil Muknal, the Mayan Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre with artifacts and skeletons from 700-900 AD.) The third picture is a woman's skeleton. This trip involved hiking, swimming and some climbing (I was triple the age of everyone else but I held my own--mostly because swimming through a cave is quite extraordinary.

Monday, September 6, 2010

A Leisurely Walk in My Neighborhood


My life has settled into full-time work at Mary Open Doors--serving women and children--and routines of going to the market, day-to-day living, etc. Sunday was cool and a bit rainy so I decided to search for the Belize Botanical Gardens that is about 10 miles from my home; first a short bus ride and then what turned out to be a very long walk. I never made it (will try using transportation next time) but found two interesting things: a Maya Air Park (local airport?) and spectacular scenary. Pretty amazing what the Maya have done. More to follow. One exciting new thing is a group of local residents has organized a Book Club; we had our first meeting at my home and it was very lively trying to pick books--a few folks have kindles and more are on the way: Our first book is Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Given the role of religion in Belize this should be a very interesting discussion.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Summertime Fun for Kids at Mary Open Doors







We started a summer program for the children in the Mary Open Doors domestic violence program with the help of two other NGOs: ProBelize that is part of ProWorld and the Cornerstone Foundation. The goal is for this to be a permanent program giving mothers the opportunity and time to seek housing and jobs and for some to become certified day care providers and eventually becoming a microenterprise that provides financial support to women and income to Mary Open Doors. The summer program has been awesome: started by 4 University of North Carolina students who figured out how to do amazing science, math, games with virtually no budget. The children had never seen anything quite like this before. It has continued in August with the help of two Belizean primary school teachers who brought wonderful resources and training and will end with two weeks of volunteers from the U.S.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Update through July 19, 2010

My life in Cayo is pretty settled; a job I would have wanted no matter how I came to it; a comfortable home in a pretty town. The work has been much like my other experiences in non-governmental organizations serving Central America: working on infrastructure, helping with issues of governance, assisting with program development, investigating funding opportunities, and taking pride in my association with a very good community group working to improving the lives of families: particularly women and children. No new pictures this time--just this update.

Monday, June 28, 2010

June 27, 2010: Brief Visit to San Antonio




I returned on Sunday to the village where I lived for two months in April and May to attend the birthday party of a five-year-old in one of the host families. This party was attended by over 70 people and I think the adults had as much fun as the children. The little girl was dressed in heels, fancy dress, and had her hair done for the occasion. Above you can see her with her pinata. This party was on the heels of Tropical Storm Alex so when I returned to San Ignacio the bridge to my community was under rather than over the river so the other one lane bridge is now the bridge that flows two ways. I left on the 6 AM bus and the father showed up at 10 AM with a piece of birthday cake because the mom was upset she wasn't up to give it to me before.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

June 23, 2010: My New Home and Job Update



















I have been with three wonderful families but it is time for me to be an adult again! First is this amazing logo that says in a picture what Mary Open Doors does with respect to domestic violence. The job continues to be awe inspiring. Women who have been victims of violence who have changed their own lives and a leader who is working toward having a sustainable program. I have been here almost six weeks and accomplishments include: infrastructure organization, obtaining new computer equipment at no cost, bringing together several organizations to begin a summer program for the 30 children served by the shelter program, obtaining a sponsor for US grants and beginning the process of applying for and receiving grants similar to what I did with Dos Pueblos. "Enough" was created by our newly hired young high school graduate secretarial assistant Stacy Rodriguez--she is an amazing artist and is creating our webpage--check out Mary Open Doors on facebook which she created. The orange house is my new home--with all the amenities including a spare bedroom for guests!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Before I Move Into My Own Home




I have been staying with a wonderful family; 3 teenagers at home and the married daughter downstairs with her husband and baby. This is a picture of the family and the christening of the baby at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. As warm and welcoming as they have been, I am ready to go back to being an adult--more about my new home to follow. I will have plenty of room for guests in this beautiful town. Also last weekend: two of the teens graduated from junior college and one from high school.

Sunday, May 30, 2010



Here is a photo of me accepting my post as official Peace Corps Volunteer for the next 24 months from the new Country Director Nina Hernandez who once lived just up the block from us when we lived at Teachers College. She served in South Africa in the 1990s (the first group post-apartheid; is originally from the D.R. and is very impressive -- as are all the PC staff. in the background is Sir Colville Norbert Young, Governor General who is the Queen's (of England) representative at whose home this took place. It was a great day ending with dinner (a superb Indian dinner) at the home of U.S. Ambassador Vinai K. Thummalapally who was the President of MAM-A Inc., formerly Mitsui Advanced Media, manufacturer and distributor of archival recordable optical discs. He talks about his lack of diplomatic history, relationship with Obama, and is irreverent as they come. In my case, he has contacts in the area of micro finance and women and after a brief conversation has followed-up with some leads. And more important--his wife Barbara Thummalapally knows all "our" music!!! (That is her holding the microphone.)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Update May 25, 2010: Final Stretch to the Beginning




On Friday, May 28, 2010, I become an official Peace Corps volunteer with a swearing in ceremony at the Governor General's home (as in the Queen of England--something to do with their former colonial/now commonweath status). Today I am back at the Peace Corps Belize headquarters with final training that today included how to hang a hammock, how to install a propane tank, what to do in the event of a serious hurricane (and the boots John has sent me may not be all I need as in rules for evacuation) and most important how to sharpen a machete (pronoounced MACHET in Kriol). Here is a photo of the Belizean Peace Corps staff that taught us how to do these things (I did learn that for $20 Belize -- which is $10 US -- I can have someone else do it!) They taught us how to fix a bicycle flat tire (which I also probably won't be doing-considering my mishap at the 79th Street Boat Basin when I was at least two years younger) but the photo shows you they will be giving me a fire extinguisher, life vest, a first aid kit and other important things.....

My job is very similar to what I've done before--building an administrative infrastructure, proposal writing, resource getting--and it is a very good job to have. Next steps are finding a place to live so more to follow.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Permanent Site: San Ignacio, Cayo District


On Wednesday, May 12, 2010, I moved to San Ignacio to begin my permanent assignment. I will be working at Mary Open Doors that is an inovative advocacy program for victims of domestic violence. There is only one other such program in the country--this program is founded by a wonderful woman who is a survivor. Her name is Ms. Anna Silva and it is already an extraordinary experience; this photo is us at the doors of the program. It is located on the grounds of the Catholic Church and is right opposite BFLA which promotes family planning--apparently that makes for some interesting issues. Mary Open Doors works closely wtih BFLA. There are two safe houses and plans for a day care program. Its purpose is to assist victims of domestic violence with temporary shelter, education, court advocacy, reporting, and services. My job will be to assist with structuring their administrative systems, five year strategic planning, grant writing, fund raising and training. It feels like a perfect match.

San Ignacio is a bustling town on the river about 45 minutes from the capital Belmopan. I will soon be searching for a permanent home but for now I'm enjoying life with a wonderful family on the top of a very steep hill (further up is a fancy hotel where I will check out swimming in the next few days.)

Monday, May 10, 2010

Our Final Days in San Antonio Village



So after all these weeks of bucket baths, today was the dedication of the new potable water system (we leave tomorrow so we will get one real shower). The Belizean Prime Minster Dean Barrow came and here is a picture of Peace Corps trainees with him. Today is Mother's Day in Belize and they honored all the mother's in the village with special notice of the Peace Corps mothers--we were honored with gifts and lunch. Here is the picture of us with the PM.

This village has an incredible spirit and history--they are 100% Yucateca Maya and everyone speaks three languages well--Maya, Spanish and English.

I am also posting a photo of my host family making earrings with the materials I brought; not only did the teenage girls have a great time but the very young children intently strung beads.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

UPDATE May 9, 2010

This is a photo of my last night in San Antonio with my host family at a party we gave to honor and thank them.

I have received my permanent, two-year assignment, and it couldn't be better. I will be posted to the village of San Ignacio in the Cayo District of Belize. The town has a combined population of about 20,000 including: Creole, Mestizo (Spanish-Maya), Lebanese, Chinese, Mennonite, Maya and other cultures. I have traveled through on my way back and forth to San Antonio--it is a beautiful town, with lots of Spanish spoken and lots of activity!

My work will be with a womens' collective addressing issues of domestic violence; my primary assignment involves providing support for its shelter, training, administrative duties, proposal writing, micro-enterprise, and more. It was started by a woman who is personally committed to this project and the Board chair, I'm told, is the leading social worker in Belize. A secondary project involves a women's group that has created a sewing cooperative to teach women victims of domestic violence a vocation to earn independence. The two projects, although in the same town, apparently don't know of each other. The politics of suggesting cooperation here will be a challenge. This assignment is exactly what I had hoped for.

After 6 weeks of technical community development training and intensive Spanish on Tuesday I move to this village and then begin the search for housing. Soon thereafter visitors will be welcome. Here is a website if you want to learn more http://www.belizex.com/san_ignacio.htm.

More to follow soon.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

UPDATE May 5, 2010






Photo notes...
- a typical Maya hut and vehicle in the community where I am in training
- fishermen showing off his catch
- Maya ruins; very impressive (but I didn't climb up!)
- your typical iguana
- sign on the road to the San Antonio Women's group that is a kind of cooperative that sells traditional artesan crafts mostly to the ecotourist resorts and now they are becoming involved in selling chickens. We worked with them as "trainees" and had a lot more to learn from them than we could possibly teach.

I watched my first news show this morning and learned that Laura Bush's two
favorite musicians are Bob Marley and Jerry Jeff Walker;
This is news!!!!! And I guess the world has changed in my absence.
I also learned that it is snowing in Cheyene, Wyoming which is
interesting to watch when it is 105 degrees in your home.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Some Photos






Here are some quick photos...

- This is what is referred to as the Business Organization/Community Development group -- six of us will be in Spanish villages and the other 5 will be in Creole villages.

- My home for two more weeks--more modest than the last but an incredibly lovely generous family even if just a latrine.

- The Ambassador from Finland with a sewing cooperative when I visited a site where there is a microenterprise project for women. I am hoping that my ultimate assignment is in the general area of women's group--there are many here but most do not have a structure, financing, etc.

- Me presenting to the group (don't remember what).

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Updates since April 12

Well, I've been very busy. Previous Peace Corps groups said they didn't have enough scheduled during this three month training, so the Peace Corps has overcompensated and kept this group going like crazy!

On April 12, I moved to a new family but still in San Antonio Village. They are the "salt of the earth." When not watching novellas, they want to talk politics, and politics in Belize is unlike anything anywhere. Basically, whatever party is in power gives favors, jobs, land to their compatriots so the local people vote them out and then the other party -- there are only two-- wins and does the same! The good news is they have never had internal political violence, civil war or even international support (manipulation) for one side or the other.

Last weekend I stayed with a Peace Corps volunteer from New Orleans who is finishing up shortly. I became very excited about her project and we both speculate that maybe I will work there. It is a non-governmental organization specializing in microfinace for women--my passion of the year. Stay tuned. It was incredibly helpful to see more normal day-to-day living--I am really too old for living with a host family!

On what I am doing, Peace Corps training continues to be intense and high class. We even got an amazing lecture on solidarity the other day. Spanish continues to be practical--how to buy in the market place (that was our field trip yesterday) and today--our first day off in two weeks--was a trip to a spectacular waterfall along a beautiful river where swimming was great especially in over 100 degrees of heat. This week I have to give a session on proposal writing to my fellow Peace Corps volunteers--before my computer crashed, I managed to retrieve the workshop I did in Nicaragua and add some local flavor to the Power Point presentation.

Tonight we prepare a dinner based on the market place lessons of yesterday, and tommorrow it is back to school.

More soon...

Sunday, April 11, 2010




Here are 3 photos from a field trip yesterday... Belize is protecting 44% of its land and we had two lectures on the problems involved. This was my first and only chance to swim--it was really nice--