Operacion Bendicion donates to San Pedro

Operation Blessing, Relief and Development International (OBI) is a humanitarian non-profit organization based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA. Since 1978, OBI has touched the lives of more than 209.3 million people in over 105 countries and in all 50 states, providing goods and services valued at more than $1.7 billion. OBI is headed by a governing body that includes founder MG “Pat” Robertson. With the mission, “to demonstrate God’s love alleviating human need and suffering in the United States and around the World”, this organization has now reached out to the residents of San Pedro.

Pastor Ismael Rodriguez, representative of OBI Honduras and Mr. Barbosa of the “Primera Iglesia Evangelica y Reformada” in the San Pedrito area of Ambergris Caye were busy this morning, distributing pre-natal vitamins to the various medical providers on the island, as well as tennis shoes to the San Pedro Police Department on behalf of OBI. This particular donation came as part of the Honduras chapter of the organization.


300 cases of pre-natal multi vitamins were distributed. Within each case, there were 12 boxes containing 40 capsules each. The San Pedro Poly Clinic received 150 cases, Dr. Lerida received 30 cases, Los Pinos clinic received 30 cases, Hopes Clinic received 30 cases and the San Telmo Pharmacy received 20 cases. While the multi-vitamins are labeled pre-natal vitamins, according to Pastor Rodriguez, the vitamins are very useful and may be consumed by adults over the age of 20, both male and female. These vitamins are available at no cost to the general public.
Apart from the vitamins, the organization donated 160 pairs of tennis shoes to various individuals and groups. The San Pedro Police Department was delighted to be a recipient of 12 pairs of tennis shoes to be distributed to individuals from the Police Department.

Pastor Rodriguez and the Primera Iglesia Evangelica y Reformada extend special thanks to Mr. Pablo Ico and the San Pedro Town Council for providing transportation of the medicines to the various institutions. He also thanked the San Pedro Poly Clinic II, Dr. Lerida Rodriguez, Los Pinos Clinic, Ambergris Hopes Clinic and the San Telmo Pharmacy for volunteering to assist in getting the vitamins to the residents of Ambergris Caye. The San Pedro Sun, extends kudos to Operacion Bendicion for their generous donations.

Literacy Carnival Parade held in San Pedro

A Literacy Carnival Parade was held through the streets of San Pedro to create awareness of the importance of reading in our society. This is the first ever parade of its kind, and it is hoped that it will be an annual event. Students took to the streets with their handmade signs, or with mascots, depicting favorite characters in storybooks .
Some famous Belizean writers were recognized on posters.

"Reading is not a race. Open up a book and set your own pace."

The alphabet - the key to learning to read...

SP Town Library receives generous donation

Janet Phelps brought donations of books, school supplies, art supplies & craft supplies to the San Pedro Town Public Library. These items were presented to Iracela Acosta on August 22nd at the library. Janet was thrilled to bring these items with her on this, her 3rd visit to San Pedro since 2006. Janet & her husband, Jim, own a fair-trade import business, Phoenix Traders, in Rockford, Illinois.

Women’s Issues Network of Belize Wins Grant!

The Embassy of the United States of America is pleased to announce that the Women’s Issues Network (WIN) of Belize is a recipient of The Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women's Issues (S/GWI) Small Grants Initiative funding for their project “Increasing Access to Justice, Psycho-Social and Rehabilitative Services for Victims of Commercial Exploitations and Domestic Violence.” The Women’s Issues Network will receive US$99,925 for implementation of the program.
The Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues received an overwhelming 330 proposals for the first Small Grants Initiative. Through a rigorous evaluation process 57 proposals worldwide were selected for funding and, happily, Belize’s Women’s Issues Network was among those chosen.
According to the Executive Director of WIN, Carolyn Reynolds, the Women’s Issues Network project will bring together a civil society network of service agencies to comprehensively address the related issues of gender-based violence in Belize. This will take place through the provision of psycho-social and economic support to underage (under 18 years) Belizean victims of commercial sexual exploitation and victims of domestic violence as well as increase their access to the justice system.
On learning that the Women’s Issues Network had been selected for funding, Ambassador Thummalapally congratulated WIN for its innovative and comprehensive proposal and expressed appreciation for their innovative work. “If it takes a village to raise a child, then it also takes a village to save a child,” said Ambassador Thummalapally. The mandate for the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) is to develop and coordinate U.S. foreign policy and programs with the goal of advancing women's political, economic and social rights worldwide. To that end, S/GWI works to increase women's and girls' access to education and health care, to combat violence against women and girls in all its forms, and to ensure that women's rights are fully integrated with human rights in the development of U.S. foreign policy.

Crocodile Sanctuary in Belize Destroyed by Mob

ACES team captures a problematic croc on Ambergris Caye.

Press Release - Amercian Crocodile Education Sanctuary - September 6, 2010 - In the early morning hours of September 5th, a frenzied mob of Mayan-Belizean villagers set fire to the American Crocodile sanctuary that a Colorado,USA couple spent the last six years creating. “We’ve lost everything,” said Cherie Chenot-Rose, co-owner and founder of the American Crocodile Sanctuary for Education (ACES). The sanctuary was located in Punta Gorda, Belize.

The mob was apparently riled in to a frenzy by a Mayan “psychic” who claimed that two children, who have been missing for the last week, had been fed to the crocodiles at the sanctuary. It is alleged that the same group of villagers are responsible for burning other homes in the past several months in the Toledo District, the southern most portion of Belize.

Luckily, Cherie and her husband Vince Rose were in San Pedro on the island of Ambergris Caye when the mob attacked. At the request of the Belize Forest Department the team were rescuing three problem crocs, and meeting with top Belize tourism officials discussing the prospect of creating an American Crocodile sanctuary on the island.

Reports are that the mob shot and killed some of the 17 crocs held in captivity at the sanctuary. Also destroyed were the Rose’s two story home that included a laboratory and nursery for baby crocs. One baby American Crocodile was to be flown to Chicago to the Wildlife Discovery Center in Lake Forest, Ill. USA for the first ever animal exchange program between Belize and the USA. Over $2,500 in vet supplies that were recently donated for a new humane society that Cherie, along with other locals were working on in Punta Gorda were also lost. “This one wrongful incident has effected and hurt many innocent people and animals,” added Cherie.

Also destroyed by the fire were two cabañas where visiting guests and research students would stay.

Vince and Cherie are now homeless and do not have anything to their name, said Cherie. “Our lives have been threatened if we return to Punta Gorda,” she said. “We are not sure how to handle the situation, but the villagers and the country of Belize need to be held accountable,” stressed Rose.

Seeking help from the United States Embassy in Belize proved to be fruitless. “They just told us what it will cost to replace our passports,” Vince grumbled.

The two missing children have yet to be found. They were reportedly in Punta Gorda with their father and uncle to sell lime and craboo on Monday and were last seen in Cattle Landing Village a few miles out of town. “We pray these children turn up safely,” said Cherie. The Roses were not connected with the children in any way. The Roses were in San Pedro at the time the children disappeared.

Social media sites including facebook.com and belizeforums.com are buzzing with discussions about the ACES tragedy. “As all the emails come in with help and prayers I'm having a hard time holding it together,” wrote Cherie on her FACEBOOK page. “God Bless you all for being there… We have lost literally everything of our lives. Not just what we built here the past 6 years, but everything…This is going to be a long hard process, but we are going to fight and not run away. There will be another ACES somewhere … some day. Heart broken, but happy Vince and I are unharmed.”

Donations can be made:
International wiring account number for donations
Belize Bank # 630-1-1-10130
Account# Vince & Cherie Rose Fire Victim Account

Related links:
http://www.americancrocodilesanctuary.org/

http://www.facebook.com/aces.american.crocodiles

END

ACES compound on the Rio Grande River in Punta Gorda, Belize