Ministering to Children

 Standard Six Students

     There are 26 students in Standard 6 at St. Peter's Anglican School.  The students range in age from 11-16.   The goal this year is to review as much information as possible in preparation to take and pass the PSE (Primary School Assessment).  The first half of the PSE will be in April with the second half in May.  The students will graduate (receive a certificate) in June with the hope that all the students will be able to get into a high school.  The reality is that some of the 26 students in Sulmi's class will not attend a high school making this year their last year of formal education.
   

Working on yet another practice test.

      I am struggling with the realization that next year, instead of sitting in a high school classroom, some  will be working in sugar cane fields, in the market or on the street.  There is no hope for becoming an engineer, doctor, nurse, computer programmer or teacher.  When I ask some of the students where they want to go to high school, I either get "I want to go to....." or they shrug their shoulders.  I am finding, as I get to know the students, the ones that shrug their shoulders most likely will not be able to afford to go to high school.  Unless they find a sponsor, their formal education will end in June.

Irieni, Sulmi and Kimberly

There is no such thing as a free education in Belize.  While St. Peter's is a school that accepts students that cannot pay the tuition, I am told it is very different for high school.  If a student cannot pay for their education, they will be unable to attend high school.  It is hard to believe for some of these students, instead of choosing a high school, they will be trying to find a job.

The boys learning Origami

      Recently, we have been having representatives from the local high schools presenting information about their schools.  This is a recruiting process that leads to an application process similar to the college application process in the states.  On Friday, the students attended a business fair at Bishop Martin High School.  This is the high school Sulmi wants to attend.  It was a good opportunity to get on campus and learn a little about the school. 

 At the Bishop Martin High School Business Fair, we saw a Japanese environmental teacher who is in Belize for six months.  His job is to go to all of the schools to help the students become more aware of environmental issues and introduce them to the idea of recycling.  We have had the honor of this gentleman teaching in our classroom twice.  He will come every two weeks until May to teach an environmental lesson.  The students look forward to his lessons not only because it means a break in the PSE practice, but also because he is a very good teacher and makes the learning fun.  He always takes time to teach some Japanese and last week, he introduced the kid's to Origami. 

Physical Education

     We have PE class every Thursday for one hour.  It takes place in an open field next to the school.  This is an area that has trash and broken bottles.  This does not stop some of the kid's from playing football/soccer without shoes or socks.  The girls and boys play separate  games and it is not unusual for people to walk through the games one their way to the open air market, bus depot or the center of town.

Orange Walk Bus Depot

 This is a view of the Orange Walk Bus Depot.    Each bus you see goes to a particular village.  This is how many people in Belize travel to and from Orange walk for school and or work.  There are only a few designated bus stops.  If you need to take the bus, you look for the one with the destination you want posted on a sign in the front window.  If it is the bus you want, you flag it down and the bus stops.  You let the bus driver know where you want to get off and he will stop at that location. 




    The open air market is on the other side of the buses.  This is a great place to pick up local fruits and vegetables.  To the right of the market is St. Peters Anglican school and Church.  I took these photos during our PE class.  The tudents were playing football/soccer in the field between the school and the bus depot.

St Peter's Anglican School and Church

Sulmi Turns 15

Sulmi celebrating her birthday with her deaf friends at school

      Sulmi turned 15 on February 14.  We went out to a local Mayan restaurant to celebrate.  Sulmi did not want an Quinenera.  We will visit San Pedro over Easter Break to further celebrate this special milestone in her life.
     

 My Other Ministry
    During Friday Night Women's Bible Study and Sunday Worship Service, Chelsea and I are blessed to be able to work with the children and siblings of the deaf moms.  We play, read books, and also teach some sign language so they can better communicate with their moms.