Wednesday Derek flew home, Fr Chris drove to Belize city to drop him at the airport. I helped in the parish hall with the kitchen, the walls are finished.  We set up the moulds for the concrete beam going across the top to support the ceiling. Which will eventually turn into the light and sound desk for the stage. In the evening, I drove with Fr Newman to Red Bank village. I met a few of the locals ? we were given food by one of the catechists, pig?s tail and fresh tortillas. The tortillas were delicious! His house had two rooms; the first room was the living area and the kitchen and then through a door was the bedroom, sleeping both parents and 2 children. Another house I went into was nothing more than a wooden shed; no electricity because they can't afford it and just a few hammocks hanging to sit on. This is very different from Dangriga, it felt a lot friendlier. This family had a 3-year-old baby who has cerebral palsy. Her name is Bethany, her family are poor but her father does not understand that it is an incurable disease, he has spent a lot of money trying to cure her, he has tried witch doctors etc. The family don't take Bethany out, they seem to feel ashamed and want to hide her away. She does not eat any solid food and has 'til now only had powdered milk. Fr Newman is getting an appointment with an English Dr in Belize City, to see how we might be able to help.

We also found out a few of the people did not have their official birth papers, for which you have to go to Belize City. This is near enough impossible for these people. So as I was going to Belize City I tried to sort it out by going to the Registration Building.

I went to Belize City on Thurs because Fabian's daughter won an award for her exam results. There was a ceremony for all students who got 6 or more CXC's.   This is the equivalent to our GCSE's even though they are 18 when they sit them.
While they were at the ceremony I went to the Registration Office to try and pick up a couple of papers. It is a tiny office on a main road in Belize.  The people were quite unhelpful but took ages to do anything. It reminded me of the job centre at home. After an hour I left with no papers but more forms for the villagers to fill in and two birth certificates that will be ready to pick up in 7 days.

Friday we poured the concrete in to the moulds. At the same time was the schools? End of Year Quiz in the morning, and then their disco in the afternoon. The work was easy!  Trying to dodge running, screaming kids, carrying buckets full of cement was the fun part. We had the help of Jason, another tradesman who helps Fish when needed. He was mixing and bringing in the concrete.  Fish and I were pouring and smoothing. We had it finished by the end of the day, the usual day being 8am to 4-6pm.

Monday, Fish and I set up the moulds for a serving area in the kitchen. Felix had the flu on Friday, so couldn't make it. It took all day to go to buy the timber and set it all up. We also picked up the doorframe from Fish's father, who runs a Joinery workshop from his home in Dangriga. It was solid mahogany and so weighed a ton. This was fitted when we got back.

Tuesday we finished the moulds and enlisted the help of Jason again. It was finished by the end of the day and looked pretty good.
Wednesday Felix was back and he started the plastering, which is done with concrete, not plaster, I think plaster is hard to get, or very expensive as it needs to be imported. You find that everything made in Belize or surrounding countries is relatively cheap, any products imported from Europe and beyond are a lot more expensive.

Thursday I drove Fabian to a plot of land he bought in 1998 to turn into a farm.  He got 200 acres with his twin brother Sebastian in Barranco. This is the village he and his 11 brothers and sisters grew up in. It has one of the worlds largest only leaf structures, which is the villages? church. Apart from this it is a pretty small community. From the coastline you can see right across to Guatemala. Livingstone is opposite and is a large Garifuna settlement. You can organize to be canoed across to Livingstone by a local, very chea, and I am guessing, slightly illegal. But families commute between the two.

When Fabian said we were going to his farm, I imagined crops growing or maybe a chicken or two eating corn. In actual fact when he pointed it out along the road, it was thick jungle. So thick you cannot actually go onto the land we just drove past it and he pointed out where it began and where it ended, "From that large clump of palm trees there, to that large green over growth down here."

After the flyby tour of his farm we went to pick up rice trash, which is the unused rice shells used as manure. Everyone got out of the truck and we walked over this mound of rice looking stuff.  I did too, I stepped onto the mound and sunk to my knees, it was water logged!  I was the only one to find that particular spot! And it was the first time since I arrived here I decided to wear my only pair of jeans and my good trainers. They will be wet for weeks now! On the way back we dropped the mail off in the various villages.

Wishing you all a happy Christmas!!!
 
Cheers, Stephen

(Stephen is a parishioner from Hayes and volunteered his time and talents to work out in Belize, supporting the community there.)