Free Butane Gas delivered to Georgeville Residents

Press Release - Belmopan - January 6, 2011 - The people of Georgeville area of the Cayo District today were treated to free butane gas for their cooking and kitchen needs.
The process of delivering the butane gas started around eleven in the morning and, because of the large amount of villagers who came out with their empty gas cylinders, it lasted well into the afternoon, until every single resident, from Central Farm to Cool Shade, got their fill.
On hand to make sure the process went smoothly and fairly, was Area Representative and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Rene Montero. Minister Montero said this is an excellent way of starting out the New Year, helping the residents improve their standard of living, and perhaps in a very timely manner, when most of the butane gas was used up during the Christmas and Years Holiday’s cooking and baking.Minister Montero thanked the staff of Belize Natural Energy for the generous donation and their overall contribution in making today’s event a total success. The scope of today’s activity encompassed all villagers of Georgeville, which covers every resident from Central Farm to Cool Shade. At last count, some two hundred and 25 butane cylinders had been completely filled up.
The event was made possible through the kind donation of Belize Natural Energy, BNE, which donated three thousand five hundred gallons of the gas. For his part, Daniel Gutierrez of the Marketing Department, Belize Natural Energy, said that his Company has entered a new phase of producing liquefied petroleum gas, more commonly known as butane. “We are now producing butane gas in Belize, Belizean butane, and we want the people to be aware of this, and share in the benefits”, said Mr. Gutierrez. BNE is seeking Government’s permission to market the product directly to consumers, which would result in substantial benefits in reduced butane gas prices.
When prompted about upcoming developments in his Ministry in the next few months, Minister Montero said that the Integrated Farming System is about to be launched. This will directly assist some sixty farmers, who will undergo personal training to improve their farming practices, so that they can make a living exclusively off their farm. This will allow them to be self-employed and even go on to employ other people, hopefully, mainly youths in the rural areas.

Michigan State University (MSU) Students Visit Belize

Press Release - January 4, 2010 - National 4-H Youth Development Center - On December 26th, 2010 twenty students and faculty from MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources arrived in Belize as part of the first of its kind study abroad program. The team will be in Belize up until January 9th, 2011 during which time they will be visiting several areas of interest as outlined below to learn and develop a deeper appreciation for Belize’s Culture, Agriculture and Tourism Industries. Mr. Matthew Miller of Monkey Bay Wild life Sanctuary is the local coordinator of their visit and Mrs. Dixie Sanbord is the MSU Faculty in charge of the group. The areas include:

• The Belize Zoo
• The Taiwanese Farm Village/Market
• Aquaculture Tilapia farm
• TBS Citrus and Cacao farm
• Sibun River guided canoe paddle
• Spanish Lookout Farming and Food processing community
• UB Central Farm
• Chaa Creek Resort Natural History Center
• Trek Stop and Xunantunich Maya Site
• Tobacco Caye

From January 2 – 4th, 2011 they visited with Staff and Trainees of the National 4-H Youth Development Center. The main purpose of their visit was to foster positive interaction with trainees and to complete a service learning project. On the first day they were teamed up with individual trainees and facilitated a full afternoon of recreational sessions. The following day they painted five (2) of the front buildings with the official 4-H colors; renovated a green house cover structure that was destroyed by hurricane Richard and constructed 300 ft of foot path to connect the upper and lower part of the compound. On their final day with 4-H trainees they travelled to Duplooys’ Jungle Lodge and Botanical Garden for a day of educational and fun-filled activities. To conclude their visit with 4-H the group donated several board games and sporting equipment to the centre.
The team now travels to the Cave branch area and Marie Sharp. Followed by visits in the Toledo district under the guidance of Mr. Will Mehia before returning to Monkey Bay Wild Life Sanctuary to wrap up their tours and visit to Belize.
The National 4- Youth Development Centre under the Youth for the Future Secretariat and within the Ministry of Education and Youth expresses its appreciation to the MSU team for their visit and contributions.

Lighthouse Christian Radio hosts after Christmas Football Tournament

While many visitors to San Pedro come to enjoy the sights, sun, sea and other activities that are easily accessible from the island, a group of 18 energetic volunteers from Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA decided to spend their Christmas vacation donating their time to a worthy cause, and the major recipients of this year’s mission were the children of San Pedro.
The mission came to life as a result of communications between Lighthouse Christian Radio and the Believers World Outreach foundation in the United States. Believers World Outreach (BWO) is a non-profit organization responsible for organizing missions and sending them to various regions. They facilitate mission trips for individuals, churches and other ministry groups that desire to reach out, sharing the love of Christ beyond their own comfort zone. (http://believersworld.com/) The “After Christmas Football Tournament Program” commenced on December 28th and stretched through December 31st. With the major success of the past year’s Summer Sport Camp Program, Mr. Welsh of Lighthouse Christian Radio, decided to keep the focus on sports, but this time only on football. The group brought with them, jerseys, sports balls, back packs, trophies, medals and other gift items to the total value of over $5000.00 BZ.
The mission saw over 36 kids between the ages of 9 and 13 competing in a four day football tournament. The tournament was divided into two divisions. The first division saw competitors between he ages of 9-11while the second division had competitors between the ages of 12 and 13. Apart from sportsmanship, the program promoted lessons in devotionals, friendship and team work; encouraging the children by offering them a chance to learn some good core values as well as compete in a sport that is close to their hearts.
In the afternoons, the same teams got a chance to enjoy various events at the Central Park including face painting and vacation bible school for some of the smaller children. At the end of the four day tournament, each team received a trophy, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place received trophies as well as medals for all members of the teams.
The program ended with a New Years Day Children’s Festival at the Central Park from 3:00pm – 6:00pm. Over 300 children were in attendance, along with their parents, and had the chance to participate in funfilled activities such as water balloon toss, sack race, cabbage toss, ring toss, face painting and there was even entertainment provided by a clown.
Lighthouse Christian Radio takes this opportunity to extend a hearty thank you to the visiting mission members from the United States, the San Pedro Town Council for providing venues, Southwind Realty and all the children and parents that participated, and made this first ever After Christmas Football program a success. With this huge success, Mr. Welsh hopes to make this event an annual one.

Planned Power Outage - San Pedro Town - Thursday, January 6, 2011

Belize Electricity Limited advises its customers in San Pedro Town that the supply of electricity will be temporarily interrupted from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 6, 2011.

Areas to be affected: All that area North of Boca Del Rio.

BEL apologizes for the inconvenience caused but this outage is necessary for the company to facilitate system improvement works on the distribution system in the area.

For customer inquiries and services call us toll free at: 0-800-BEL-CARE OR 0-800-235-2273. To view scheduled outages via our website visit: http://www.bel.com.bz/services_outages.asp

This notice is for public information purposes only. For more information, contact Belize Electricity Limited, Corporate Communications Department at 227-0954, extension 2502.

Belizeans receive Mexican scholarships

20 Belizeans will receive Mexican scholarships

Belmopan, 30 December 2010. – The Embassy of Mexico held a meeting with Belizean students who will receive scholarships granted by the Government of Mexico to study undergraduate and postgraduate studies at different Mexican universities. During the event held at the Institute of Mexico in Belize, the list of selected 20 Belizean students was announced. Once the students finish the selection process they will receive the Mexican scholarships for the academic period starting in 2011.

The meeting was headed by the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Mexico, Mr. Hector Peralta, and the Cultural Attaché and Director of the Institute of Mexico, Mr. Domingo Rodriguez. During the event the final process to receive the scholarship was presented and preparations for their stay in Mexico were discussed. The Mexico’s cwill grant those scholarships.

Currently there are more than 100 Belizeans studying undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Mexico under different Mexican scholarship programs. During the last year, Mexico increased in 15 the number of scholarships granted to Belizeans. In few weeks, Mexico will also announce additional scholarships for Belizeans for short-term courses in Mexican universities and other institutions.

20 beliceños recibirán becas para estudiar en México

Belmopán, Belice, 30 de diciembre de 2010. – La Embajada de México realizó una reunión con jóvenes beliceños quienes recibirán becas para estudiar licenciaturas o posgrados en diversas universidades mexicanas. En el evento celebrado en el Instituto de México en Belice, se anunció la lista de los 20 estudiantes beliceños seleccionados que están en condiciones de recibir las becas mexicanas en el periodo académico que inicia en 2011.

La reunión estuvo encabezada por el Jefe de Cancillería de la Embajada, Héctor Peralta, así como por el Agregado Cultural de la Embajada, Domingo Rodríguez. En el evento se explicó el procedimiento final en torno a la beca y los preparativos para sus estudios en México. Las becas son otorgadas por la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de México.

Cabe destacar que en la actualidad existen más de 100 beliceños estudiando licenciaturas o posgrados en México bajo diversos programas de becas mexicanas. En el último año, México incremento en 15 el número de becas para beliceños y próximamente se anunciará el programa de becas para beliceños para realizar cursos cortos en México.