Since 1985, ROW has been active in Belize, Central America. Our projects cover a wide array that can be handled by almost anyone! Belize is wonderful. With deep jungles, English speaking peoples, and super accommodations, it is the place to learn about development projects. ROW teams work in Orange Walk Town, in Northern Belize; Billy White village, in Central Belize; and Crique Sarco, in Southern Belize.
Billy White Village
Billy White, Belize, is a village of 350 people. The primary school in the village does not receive assistance from the government and only had one Math and one English textbook to share among the school children, and several children had to share the same pencil as there was no money to buy more. The teachers travel 2 1/2 hours from Belize City on Monday morning and sleep on the floor of someone's house during the week before returning to Belize City on Friday. Through generous donations the school children have been supplied with textbooks, school supplies, sports equipment, and new shoes. The school has been painted and tile put on the concrete floors, a computer and new school desks were purchased, a multi-purpose concrete pad was constructed and a water collection tank installed.
The projects which still need to be accomplished are: an addition of a classroom to the school building ($15,000); construction of a teacher's residence compound (3 connected block houses 20'x20' for $7,000 each) on land which has already been purchased; pavilion roof over the multi-purpose concrete pad ($3500); satellite internet purchased and installed for the school children ($1,000 equipment/installation and then $60/month for service); picnic tables for the children to eat lunch on ($500).
Lodging is at Martha's Guesthouse, a hotel in the town of San Ignacio, about a ½ hour from Billy White.
Saturday to Saturday trip, $750/person plus airfare. This includes: side trips (Side trips would be one full day trip to Mayan Ruins and Swimming in the waterfalls, other short tips during the trip could be caving, Butterfly farm, etc.), food in Belize, Lodging, ground Transportation, picked up at airport and returned, construction materials, guide and drivers full time. Contact 3 for more information
(3@row.org).
Crique Sarco
In the southern district of Belize, ROW has just completed a church in the small village of CRIQUE SARCO. Traveling to this remote village is an adventure alone, but the natural beauty of the village and the generous hospitality of the people make this mission all the more rewarding. Until recently, the village was accessible only by river. Now, however, there is a road – which is not passable in the rainy season. Now that the church is completed, we would love to have teams come down to do VBS and other activities with this church. There is also a great need for medical/dental teams. There are also smaller construction projects. The cost of a week-long trip to Crique Sarco is $650 plus airfare. Construction materials are also extra. Contact Nick Beazley (Nick@row.org) for details.
Orange Walk Town
Orange Walk Town is in Northern Belize, and ROW has been involved in church planting, VBS, construction, medical and dental work, and has been involved with the San Francisco Prayer Mission.
Past projects in Belize include:
Establishment of a base camp on Honey Camp Lagoon. Teams have built cabins for churches and schools to use. ROW advance teams train at the base camp to launch to remote locations worldwide. Base camp training includes lessons in water purification, navigation, technology and the bush, first aide, survival and team building skills.
VBS Belize - teams are invited to base camp on Honey Camp lagoon to offer three- and four-day VBS adventures for children from the Orange Walk District. You can sleep at base camp or in a hotel in Orange Walk Town. You will need to provide all materials for the camp and choose the number of children you will reach - from 20 to 200 is possible!!
ROW built classrooms and has established feeding programs in government based schools
ROW has provided students with educational packets. A large zip lock baggie is filled with basic school supplies (paper, crayons, sugarless gum, ruler, etc) and distributed to hundreds of students each year. You can assist in this effort directly by contributing to the Alicia S. Hoover Educational Fund.
ROW has assisted local hospitals and schools with supplies, staff, and volunteers
ROW has held medical/dental clinics in villages
ROW worships with Belizeans all over the country.
ROW teams have assisted families in the construction of concrete floors for their homes
Creation of regional libraries and small village libraries
Bell choirs and other performing groups are encouraged to come to Belize!
ROW teams build, repair, and expand churches. The cost can run from $3000 for smaller projects to $30,000 to build a new church
ROW has provided villages in southern Belize with clean water systems. These villages are often plagued with dirty water; clean water can reduce disease by 30% or more.
Highlights of service in Belize include serving on the Moho and Temasch Rivers with small Maya Villages; leading 23 Land Rovers from the U.S. to Belize to deliver school supplies; broadcasting over the Internet to schools across the U.S. during hurricane Mitch.
The creation of a Christian radio station in Orange Walk Town. The radio station ministers 8 hours a day to over 100,000 Belizeans and folks in southern Mexico, sharing a message of joy and hope in Christ.
