Happy Garifuna Settlement Day Belize!

On Garifuna Settlement Day, November 19th, reenactments of the landing of the first boats of the Garinagu in Belize are performed in town celebrations and in San Pedro was no exception. Cultural drummers and dancers perform whilst the traditional foods is sold for gatherings. They ride the surf to shore in their dugout canoes (motor boat) waving palm fronds and banana leaves to symbolize the cassava that sustained their ancestors. This ritual, rich in music and dance, helps sustain Garífuna culture.

Today marks 206 years that the Garifuna arrived in Belize ..

Indeed, the Garifuna found many reasons to celebrate, and their excitement is infectious, not to mention their delectable traditional dishes. The San Pedro Garifuna Council did an excellent job in keeping the heritage alive in San Pedro, kudus!! The Council would like to give special thanks to all the sponsors of this year’s Garifuna Settlement Day Celebrations. This years theme; “Iun rahowa hama meme isanigu lidoun garifunaduau lau pantau”, “Continuing to proudly empower our children in their Garifuna heritage.” Happy Garifuna Settlement Day to all Garinagus in Belize!

A Video collage of all events to be uploaded soon, stay tuned!

Belize Mission Project donates to Holy Cross

Last week was the third and final week of the Belize Mission Project in San Pedro for 2008. The project, organized by Frank Whipps, provides free dental and medical care at the Lionʼs Den during three specified weeks in October and November. In addition to providing health services, each week these volunteers participate in another project. For many years they have collected funds and distributed sacks of groceries to local families to express thanks for the hospitality received during their stay on the island. This year the last group of volunteers decided to do something different.

Instead of passing out sacks of groceries, they collected funds to donate to the Holy Cross School Food Services. Every day this school provides breakfast, lunch, snacks and bottled water to 500 students free of charge. Representatives of the Belize Mission Project came to visit the school on Friday, Nov. 14 with donations totaling $3450 to present to Francis Wilson. Francis gratefully accepted the donation on behalf of the school and gave the visitors a tour of the school. She explained to them how the school functioned based largely on the generous contributions of labor and money from interested people throughout the world.

Weekend Softball!

Six teams battled it out on the field on Sunday in week two of the softball competition. Under perfect chilly weather, a total of 3 games were played, here are some highlights.

The only lady pitcher.....doing her thing.
Fast ball...

and she swings,,,STRIKE!!

Home Run from Mark Maggiotto!

The Blue water crew were a force to be reckoned with..

Cris steps up to bat...

Drum-Off Tonite!

The San pedro Garifuna Council re-scheduled their Drum Off Competition for tonite Saturday, November 15th at the Central Park. Show starts at 7pm, support the Garifuna Community.

Drummer tapping the primero drum...

BWS finalizes project by end of month!

Elias Torres, Project Supervisor for Belize Water Services (BWS) Limited stated that by the ending of this month, the much awaited, anticipated and long due water and wastewater expansion will finalize its first stages by the end of November. To date, BWS states that they have completed all sewer and water mains with service connections to each property on Laguna Drive from the junction of Spider Lily to the southern approach of the bridge. The pumping station is estimated to reach its completion a month after receiving the proper machinery, which is still on its way to the island.

According to Torres, the biggest setback that the company faced was breaking through the hard rock that needed to be penetrated in order to place the tubes.

By the end of November, BWS hopes to have finished the last installation of tubing which will run from the corner of Casa Pan Dulce down toward the lagoon unto Lot #4047 where the pumping station will be located.