Tumul k'in sponsorship

As nowadays the children of Belize are getting their schoolbooks for free (paid for by the government of Belize), we decided to spend the bulk of this year's Jaden Foundation money on supporting the sponsorship program of the local Private school, the Belize Christian Academy & on supporting the Tumul k'in Center of Learning in Punta Gorda.

Tumul k'in is a Mayan school (not only for Mayan children, though most are) and it is a project that both Karen and I visited a few years ago and fell in love with. I wrote about Tumul k'in in the following blog postings: http://simonesbelizeblog.blogspot.com/search?q=tumul+k%27in

Anyway, this year we have donated $3000 BZ to the school so they can finish building their 'multi-purpose' building. It will be a place where the children can eat their lunch, where the graduations will be held, where community meetings will be held as well as parties and music performances (my kind of place!)

At the last graduation most parents had to stand outside as they didn't have a building large enough to house everyone, so they are very happy with the Jaden Foundation donation.

The managing director of the school wrote me this lovely note today:

Hi Simone,
Just letting you know that we have received the transfer of funds for the construction of the community cultural center (aka kitchen). We will start the work in a week so so since we have to wait for a change in the moon to cut the bamboo to use for the walling. I will keep you informed on the advances of the project.

Isn't that great? They have to wait for the moon to start building. That's the kind of 'being at one with nature' that we as a society have lost. Part of the school's mission is to teach the Mayan kids to respect their Mayan heritage and to take pride in the ancient knowledge and traditions. They use ancient farming practices next to modern day ones, teach the kids about the medicinal properties of the jungle herbs, etc.

And the kids, staff and parents all work together on building the school & many of the buildings are build in the traditional Mayan way, as you can see in the following pictures. This is the start of the building that they will be finishing and furnishing with our donation:




So thank you again to all our sponsors. We hope that you agree with how we are spending the Jaden Foundation money this year. Personally we are delighted that apart from the children that we have sponsored over the years there now also is something tangible that has been build with the sponsorship money. Something that in years from now will still be there and enjoyed by many people.

Jaden Foundation Accounts (summer 2007)

Expenses/Donations July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2007
Total Funds Available $1,248.09 (carry forward as of June 30, 2006)

DONATIONS
October 19, 2006 $1,000.00
October 30, 2006 $535.00
November 2, 2006 $58.47
November 10, 2006 $1,300.00
December 6, 2006 $1,604.00
February 28, 2007 $100.00
February 14, 2007 $98.13
March 14, 2007 $119.00
March 22, 2007 $197.25
April 19, 2007 $2,934.10
June 5, 2007 $3,122.44
June 6, 2007 $3,850.00
June 30, 2007 $951.03
Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2007 $960.00 (Simpsons family monthly donations)

Total Donations $16,829.42
Total Funds $18,077.51

Expenses

Transport for 36 weeks at $35 per week: $1,260

21/08/06 Uniforms $400

06/09/06 Books $1,249.00

30/09/06 Service charge $5.25

30/10/06 Friends of pediatrics $50o

30/10/06 Service charge $5.25

03/11/06 Belize Christian Academy (BCA) $700

30/11/06 Service charge $5.25

18/12/06 BCA $200



31/12/06 Service charge $5.25



10/01/07 BCA $200



02/02/07 BCA $200



02/03/07 BCA $200



Total expenses: $4,930.00



Total funds available: $13,147.51

Past few years

When I first arrived here in Belize, the Jaden Foundation was basically used to help send our local kids to school. As none of the kids living here at Banana Bank had ever gone to school, Simone started to raise money and has made very big changes in the kids' lives but getting their education started. The money was basically used to pay for the transportation to and from school as well as purchasing all the books for the kids.

My involvement in it was minimal other than to help Simone now and then and to keep track of the accounts. This past year I got a bit more involved by doing a bike race as a fundraiser for the foundation and raised approximately $10,000 Belize Dollars.

Also, when my friends and family come to visit I usually ask them to collect shoes, clothes and/or toys to bring down for the kids and when I go home to Canada I usually collect a bunch of stuff to bring back as well.

This past October when I was home, I set up a sort of 'pen pal' group with a class from Westview School in Prince Rupert, BC who has raised some money to buy school supplies for the upcoming year as well as sent letters and pictures to the kids here. This has been a great experience for both sets of kids, each learning about the different ways of life and also the similarities!

So I just wanted to post a few pictures from the last few years.

Karen


Getting ready for the bike race...all my supporters and the reason for every pedal stroke!


Westview Class from Prince Rupert... friends across the miles!


Jaden Foundation kids writing letter to their new friends in Prince Rupert, BC, Canada


Kimberley & Nicky


Receiving gifts sent from our new friends in Canada


Kimberley & Evelyn

Banana Bank crew ready for school

Shoes shoes shoes

Everybody picking their shoes

At school

New soccer uniforms brought by Christine, Sandy & Betty from Prince Rupert BC, Canada

Nicky & Daley

List of the kids that we managed to send to private school last year

Diana is from Roaring Creek Village. Her mother cleans houses and earns $1500 per year. How she plans to pay the $50 per month that she has said she can pay for their part of the tuition is a mystery. She will be in 9th grade. Many Belizean students do not get the opportunity to go to High School. We hope we can offer this opportunity to Diana.

Rosita wants to go to high school and has already found a sponsor who will pay most of her tuition, but she still needs a small amount each month. According to her mother, she is a smart girl and wants a Christian education. Her mother helps in a shop in Roaring Creek Village and has 6 other children.

Jessica’s father works at Banana Bank Lodge across the river from BCA. Her mother cooks at the Belize Jungle Dome. She will be in 5th grade.

Loretta is a friendly and happy 6th grader who struggles with her schoolwork because of previous educational experiences and also some learning disabilities. She is very happy to be at BCA and we believe it will be a blessing to her to be able to continue.

Jose is a bright young boy and the youngest in a family of ten. Going to K4 will give him a great foundation for all his future learning.


Due to some miscommunications, all the photographs and hand written 'thank you' notes from the kids were sent to the US. I will make sure that this year we receive and share all the info on the sponsored kids.

For now, here's a little clip of assembly at BCA. As you will hear in the clip the kids are constantly reminded that they are 'the hope of Belize'. And I think that that's true. I believe that amongst these children will be many of the future leaders of Belize. Paying for private education is a worthwhile cause, not only for our own children, but for as many children as possible.

A picture of two of our sponsors

This is a photograph of Mr. & Mrs. Grieve (as they got married at Five Sisters Fall in Belize). They are amongst the many generous supporters of the Jaden Foundation. A big 'Thank you!' to them and all of our other sponsors.

The last few days of the 2006/2007 school year

All the schools are getting ready for the summer vacations here in Belize. The private school has one more day to go & the public schools are in for one more week.

I hope that soon we'll know who needs sponsorship for next year, which books need to be bought, which can be re-used & what grades the kids are in. You won't believe how much confusion there can be around an issue like that. I mean, when I used to go to school it was clear, you either passed the grade or you were held back. Here I often end up with kids who were told that they were held back and then-once I've bought all the books on the list that they were given-I discover that they were moved on to the next grade anyhow and need a whole other list of books. Sometimes it seems to be more a case of 'let's put these kids in the class room that still has seating space left' than an actual reflection of their abilities. It's rather frustrating.

Now that we have this blog set up, we can actually scan in some report cards to show how the kids are doing.

Blogging's the way to go

The Jaden Foundation's website has been seriously outdated for quite some time now. The main reason for this was the fact that Karen and I were not able to make any changes to it ourselves. We've blogged tons about the foundation on our personal blogs though: http://karensbelizeblog.blogspot.com/ & http://simonesbelizeblog.blogspot.com/, so it makes sense to switch to a blog for the Jaden Foundation too. That way we know that we can report on progress as it happens.

So much has happened in the last few months, most importantly Karen managed to raise roughly $10,000 (BZE $) for the foundation with her incredible bike race through Belize. We will soon decide on how best to use the money.

For now, let me just share some clips of the kids with you: