Boys Reaching Out Camp 2017

Many Peace Corps Volunteers across the world have worked alongside host country nationals towards changing the gender norms in their host country to create opportunities for the personal growth of all members of society. They have specifically been doing this through Girls Leading Our World (G.L.O.W.) Clubs and Camps. During the meeting times girls are given the opportunity to be themselves as well as learn to improve their self-esteem, self-reliance, and self-expression. Work partners are given the opportunity to harness and fine tune their leadership skills. 

Peace Corps Belize has hosted many G.L.O.W. Club meetings and Camps, however we have noticed that young men are suffering from inequalities related to the lack of some of the same life skills the G.L.O.W. participants benefit from. Therefore, this year many volunteers across the country have made efforts to start boy clubs under the name Boys Reaching Out (B.R.O.) that follow the same goals as G.L.O.W..

In order to strengthen the skills of these young Belizean men, give an opportunity to share what they've learned, and meet other young leaders from around the country the Peace Corps Belize B.R.O. Camp Committee hosted a B.R.O. Camp at Kindred Spirits from April 18^th, 2017 to April 22^nd, 2017

We had a total of 56 boys from across the country of Belize attending BRO Camp this year. During the camp they were split into 7 animal teams in which they would spend the majority of the time with. Each animal team had a Peace Corps Volunteer and a local Belizean counterpart to lead the boys through the informational sessions, activities, games, events, cleaning/cooking duties throughout the 5-day Camp.

Activities that were held during the Camp were Tye-dyeing Camp t-shirts, creating animal team flags, photo scavenger hunt, making stress balls, building a structure out of marshmallows and toothpicks, capture the flag at night using glow sticks, basketball/soccer/kickball competitions, balloon Olympics, movie and popcorn night, and an obstacle course. On the last night of Camp there was a bonfire, where the boys roasted marshmallows to create s’mores and awards/participation certificates were also given to each boy along with a gift bag of goodies. In addition to the many activities that the boys participated in, there were also guest speakers for the camp which covered topics such as, sexual and reproductive health, self-esteem, gender equality, and career/life Planning.

On behalf of the Boys Reaching Out Belize Camp 2017 Committee, I would like to thank each and every person who made this Camp possible through monetary donations or donation of supplies for the activities/events at both a local and international level. We are forever grateful to be given the opportunity to serve as Peace Corps Volunteers and to help positively influence these boys who will soon be the men of Belize.  

2017 - The year I conclude my Peace Corps Service

As some have been following along throughout my experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer, there have been a lot of accomplishments and good times! When I arrived in the village that I would call home for two years back in 2015, my counterparts and I created a vision for our community. It included things such as empowering children, doing home health visits, hosting health fairs and competitions. Little did I know; it would include the tremendous task of building a health clinic from the foundation up.

My counterparts and I have been a great team in which we collaborate unbelievably well together. I have had two main counterparts of whom which are the Primary School Principal and the Community Health Worker. These women empower others and are great leaders of our community. Just to mention some of the accomplishments we have had thus far include: Community-Wide Clean Up Projects, Construction of the Village Health Clinic, Healthtober Fest, Monthly Mobile Clinics, three Pen Pal Programs, BRO Club, Education Week, Children’s Summer Camp, and Battle of the NCD’s. While we are thrilled with those accomplishments and outcomes but we cannot forget about our upcoming events and activities that will taking place in the months ahead.

Upcoming events and activities include: BRO Camp, Grand Opening of the Village Health Clinic, Battle of the NCD’s, Academic Health Challenge, Creative Writing and Coloring Contests, Children’s Summer Camp and the completion of the Village Highway Welcome Sign.  While we may only have six months to complete these tasks, we will remain confident and motivated that they will be successfully implemented.

I am extremely grateful to have had such an overall positive experience thus far and the support from my friends and family (both in Belize and the USA) are much appreciated! So cheers to finishing the last six months of my Peace Corps Service!

Village Clinic Construction Phase 1: Completed!

Between the dates of July 15 - July 22, 2016 an international mission team from Living Water Church located in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky made a major impact in the community that has been my home away from home for the past year. They provided the needed resources and collaborated with the local Village Council, community members, community health workers, and myself to demolish the previous ‘Health Post’ and to construct a new ‘Village Clinic’ to benefit the community as a whole while opening doors to possible future opportunities for a lifetime. 

These gracious people were there from start to finish (literally from sunrise to sunset) each and every day to ensure that the work was completed that needed to be done. Though we faced many obstacles and challenges during that week of construction, we managed to successfully complete the 1^st Phase of the Village Clinic. The newly constructed Village Clinic is now a 20ftx26ft concrete building with zinc roofing. The 2^nd phase of the construction is to be completed in April 2017, in which the building will be a fully functional clinic consisting of a bathroom with running water, electricity, 2 examination rooms, a waiting room, and a screened in porch entrance. Once the 2^nd phase is completed, the community then has the opportunity to request approval for the services and presence of a Medical Doctor in the Village Clinic for one day a week. Having this service provided in their own community would be extremely beneficial and would definitely be utilized to the full potential.   

The services would be provided free at cost and the community members would no longer need to travel out of the community for basic checkups and doctor appointments. Below are some pictures of the previous ‘Health Post’ and the newly constructed ‘Village Clinic’, followed by some pictures of the process of demolition and construction! Be looking forward to a follow up in the upcoming months from the completion of phase 2!

On behalf of the community, we want to say THANK YOU to Living Water Church one more time! 

Before

 

After

Construction Process

 

 

 

 

 

The Battle of the NCD's!

Belize has experienced over the last two decades, a significant burden by the incidence and prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD's), also known as chronic diseases. In addition, Cardiovascular Diseases in particular have been ranked among the leading causes of hospitalizations within the country of Belize. Education in regards to the risk factors and danger/warning signs, is essential to the prevention of these diseases. 

After a random late night thought, I began to discuss my idea with counterparts to see what their opinions were about it. The event idea was to somehow uniquely engage primary school students and them ultimately benefiting with an increase of knowledge. The solution... HAVE THEM COMPETE! There are four major NCD's that are prevalent in all six districts of Belize: Cardiovascular, Chronic Respiratory, Cancers, and Diabetes. Each of the four upper level classes that were selected to participate, were assigned one of the four major NCD's. Included in their assignment, was to develop a creative presentation as a class to cover sub-topics for their assigned NCD such as: prevention, risk factors, danger/warning signs, and treatment.

 

 

For a solid month, I was in and out of each class during their scheduled health class periods to assist them in any way possible. After each class had completed their beautiful posters and their creative presentations they were then judged on who had the most correct information, best public speaking, most creativity, presentation management and organization. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention what the prize was for the winning class- A Field Trip to the Belize Zoo!! It was time for the big day and with the collaboration between myself and local counterparts, this health educational event was successfully planned and implemented at the village primary school with the help of some fellow Belize Peace Corps Volunteers.

 

 

  

 

This event included the participation and patience of the entire school, which includes seventeen classes (450 students). A schedule was prepared in advance, that included all of the classes to rotate to each of the four student led classroom presentations and also four educational games/activities led by Peace Corps Volunteers that correspond to each of the four major NCD's that had been targeted. After the long day of presentations and games in the 100 degrees Belize heat, a class winner was announced for best overall presentation.. CARDIOVASCULAR!

 

 

I find this to be quite ironic since I had mentioned earlier that Cardiovascular Diseases are ranked the highest for leading causes for hospitalizations in the country of Belize. My outlook on that, is with it being ranked the highest in the country, the assigned class had done their absolute best to allow for the information and presentation to be as transparent as possible for their fellow schoolmates to comprehend. Though the event went amazingly as planned, the true results of this event are not noticeable until these children have reached adulthood and decide what type lifestyles they want to adapt. The children of this country and of this world are the future of everything, even including health statistics.

In short, education IS the major key to change.

It all starts with a smile...

As I am now entering my 5th month as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I have noticed some very positive experiences and a successful integration. My work time is split between working throughout the village with local counterparts and working in the village Primary School while co-teaching with teachers. I found this as one of my biggest challenges due to the fact that I don't have a degree in Primary Education nor do I have any experience in that field. In September, I anxiously attended the school years first general assembly where I introduced myself and explained what I would be doing while here for the next 2 years. When I went in front to speak to the roughly 500 children in attendance that day, I couldn't help but only to notice all the hundreds of smiles that I was looking at. The introduction ended with the children simultaneously saying "Thank you, Mr. Chase!". After hearing the enthusiasm and seeing the smiles on their faces, I knew that this was only the beginning to something great.

After meeting with the faculty and staff of the Primary School, a game plan was made on how I would incorporate my work into the classroom with the teachers. After meeting one-on-one with each of the 20 teachers, a schedule was then made of my rotation to each of the classes. Some of the teachers had mentioned to me that they wanted more arts and crafts included into their Health and Family Life Education classes. I couldn't think of a better way to start that off than with Worlds AIDS Day. The village Community Health Worker and myself went to 4 of the higher division classes to educate the children on simple things in regards to HIV/AIDS such as: modes of transmission, prevention, and how to support someone that is HIV positive. The students then had the opportunity to create their own flyer while helping raise awareness for HIV/AIDS. I was most surprised at creative quality that these children had and the inspirational quotes that they came up with. Some of these children literally went above and beyond for this short project.

This past week, I have been leading multiple classes on Gender Roles and Responsibilities. The children are being exposed to different group activities, specifically in which they are sharing what it is like in their homes and they see how different that it is not only globally, but also within their own country of Belize. Something that has literally meant the most to me thus far happened just this week, with a teacher pulling me aside after the class period expressing to me that before that day there were 6 children that he had never seen volunteer to present or speak up in front of the class, and that day all 6 of them did. Empowering children at a young age to overcome this barrier is very beneficial because they will be prepared for adulthood to make healthy decisions and risks, sustain their self-confidence, and the ability to work through their own challenges. It's amazing that even within a few months of encouragement and motivation, the children have already came out of their shell from hiding behind that smile.

After working daily in the school for quite a while now, all I constantly hear is "Mr. Chase!! Mr. Chase... Mr. Chase?!". These children are my fuel to maintaining my motivation and that is something that I will never get tired of.  Enjoy some pictures from my work in the Primary School!