Garifuna Settlement Day / Culture Day

November 19 was Garifuna Settlement Day. This is a special day for the school because the entire student body parades out to the dock for the renachment of the first boat that brought the Garifuna who came from St. Vincent island. At the base of the dock some of the Garifuna students await for the arrival of the boat accompanied with Garifuna drummers. On the boat are students and adults also accompanied by Garifuna drummers. The 19th of November is also T.C.C's culture day. Students are encourage to wear their cultural atire which makes up a very diverse student body. There are Mopan Mayans, Ketchi Mayans, Garifuna, Mestizo, Mennonite, Creole, and East Indian that were all represented that day. The school also had some open booths of some of the different cultures that were open to students to explore and learn. The third picture is of my homeroom teacher she is wearing her Garifuna atire, and her daughter also Garifuna but representing Mopan Maya.

Damn the Dam!

Damn the Dam! from Ya'axché Conservation Trust on Vimeo.

Check out these Punta Gorda High School students who wanted to use the power of music and dance to represent the opposition of both themselves and their communities to unsustainable hydroelectric development. This whole movie is shot on the very same river that the proposed dam was to be built upon. These young Belizeans are showing just how much the river means to the people of Toledo district and how they want to see it remain just the way it is.

Thanks to Ajax films for making this movie and to the talented TCC students who worked so hard to make it happen!

Garifuna Drumming

In early September I began to take Garifuna Drumming lessons here in Punta Gorda. In Belize one of the ethnic groups is called the Garifuna. The Garifuna people came from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent and migrated to Central America after the British invaded their island. They carried along with them their language, food, and music. Some of their music was lost. Only a couple songs remain today that have been passed down from generation to generation. Some of the songs are Chumba, Paranda, and my favorite the Punta. There are two drums the primero ,which is small and has a high sound, and the Segundo, which is large with a deep sound. A Garifuna drum is usually made of mahogany and deer skin. My teacher Mr. Ronald Mc Donald is a experienced drummer who expresses his culture through Garifuna drumming. It’s been a wonderful experience to me to be immersed in the music of the Garifuna culture.

HOPE (Helping Older People Equally)

Last week of September is celebrated as Elderly week in Belize. Hillside Clinic, in partnership with HOPE, joined in the celebration by assisting in a whole week program of health assessment, medication maintenance, health education, and pampering with manicure and pedicure (foot care). We enjoyed the socialization. I actually found my true calling….podiatry!!! I ended up doing foot care since we did not have enough volunteers for that service. You should have seen the smiley faces of our elderly patients. Some of them I hardly recognized because they were so well dressed for the event. HOPE WEEK was a great success!

HOPE patient getting special attention.

Maria doing foot care for home bound.

Student Loan Fund

Just as there is a brain drain from Belize to the U.S. and the U.K., there is the same from the Toledo District (Punta Gorda area). For that reason it is difficult to find local leadership and professionals to work at Hillside Clinic. Those that are available are in such demand that we cannot afford them. We are hoping that we can “grow our own” by offering selected young locals a loan program for studies. By selecting and mentoring gifted and dedicated young people, we hope to ensure the leadership of Hillside for the future. Jennie Ical is our first student. She is Mayan, speaks both Ketchi and Mopan, has recently received her associate degree in business at the University of Belize, and wants to pursue a nursing degree. This summer she has been our pharmacy assistant. If you know of anyone interested in investing in this program let us know. Donations go to: M & I Marshall and Ilsely Bank, 2225 North Calhoun Road, Brookfield, WI 53045.

Jennie Ical - Pharmacy Trainee

Jennie Ical and Maria at graduation at UB.

Hillside Health Care International Campus

Hillside clinic is situated about 5 miles north of Punta Gorda on the main highway. The site was donated and appears to be about an acre in size. It started out as one main building and now the area is pretty well filled with other facilities. The clinic building itself has an area where 3 patients can be seen at one time, a small storage area, a small pharmacy, and the beginnings of a small basic lab, all on the first floor. On the second floor is an administrative office, a small apartment for visiting doctors and volunteers, and another storage room. To the west of that is the “tree house” which presently houses our RN, Betty Conley on the second floor and a work area for Evert Mangar, our facilities manager, and Amelia Ramclam, our housekeeper, on the first floor. South of the tree house is the Ed Center where meetings are held, but where we hope to convert into a dental unit eventually. Our newest building is Abbey House dorm, named after Abbey Brinkman, who died in a tragic scuba diving accident a few years ago while on rotation at Hillside. The Abbey House can accommodate as many as 16 students and volunteers, with full facilities enclosed. We would like to eventually build a roof over the Abbey House to decrease the heat inside the dorm and also establish a larger meeting and gathering area.

Tree house to the right, Education Center straight ahead and Abbey House dorm to the left.
Hillside Clinic from the east with mural.
Abbey House straight ahead, Clinic to the right.

Overnight Mobile Clinic Trips

As an attempt to reach the male population of the villages that we service, we are doing overnight visits and mobile clinics to the more distant areas. One of the things that we have noticed this year is that we seldom see the men of the villages. When we arrive for mobile clinic at mid-morning they are already working in the fields and when we leave at mid-afternoon they are not back yet. So we pack everything we need to stay overnight in the Landrover, including mosquito nets, thin mattresses, food, etc, and usual clinic supplies. We set up camp at the school or community center, sometimes in the same place that we hold clinical. In the evening we hold health education classes for the men. Our first theme was “1st Aid for Farmers” and our next will be “How to Keep Your Family Healthy.” So far we have had good response and they all want us back for the next session.

Heading out for the overnight clinical.

Men's 1st Aid Class - Aguacate

Camping out in the Aguacate school.

PILGRIMAGE TO THE BLACK CHRIST ( El Cristo Negro) OF ESQUIPULAS

On April 16-18,2010, we (Betty Conley –Home Visit RN) and I were blessed to have an opportunity to go with some Parishioners of Peter Claver (our parish church in PG) for a PILGRIMAGE to the Black Christ of Esquipulas. The pilgrimage of the Black Christ is compared to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, a bit smaller scale.

Esquipulas is a small valley, about 20,000 population. The shrine of El Cristo Negro is revered for it’s miraculous healing powers. Most famous in 1737, it cured the Bishop of Guatemala, Bishop Pardo de Figueroa of his ailments. Now, more than one million pilgrims visit El Cristo Negro de Esquipulas each year.

From Belize, we took a boat to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala (about 1 ½-2 hours ) then took a bus to Esquipulas (about 4-5 hours) from Puerto Barrios. We were blessed with calm sea and good weather.

What an amazing experience! I was so amazed to see families praying together, walking on their knees, lining up to see El Cristo Negro in the hot sun, doing their stations of the cross in the hill in the hot sun. I wished so bad that Niki and Dan was there to experience these with me. I have met people in our parish and got to know them well during our short pilgrimage. I was able to get away from busy-ness and was able to take time to pray and meditate in this beautiful valley and shrine. I wished you all could have been with me (physically),but rest assured that you were all in my prayers….

The Dry Season in Belize

In general, Belize has 2 seasons, the wet season extending from June until February, and the dry season extending February to June. We are now at the end of the dry season. Since the first of February we have had only about 2 inches of rain, usually in a sprinkle here and there and pretty spotty at that. The rivers are only a trickle, there are large cracks in the ground, and although still green, the vegetation appears wilted. This is also when farmers do “slash and burn” so the air is full of smoke. Temperatures are around 100 at mid-day almost daily. In the Toledo district, we receive about 150 inches of rain/year. If you divide that by 7 rainy months, that means we will soon be getting nearly one inch of rain per day! We could use a cool, rainy day about now!!

Blue Creek in the dry season.

Blue Creek in the Rainy season.

Dry season soil cracking.
Slash & Burn

Tooth Brushing Campaign

Our medical students have done more than 1,000 physical exams in the village schools that Hillside covers. By far the biggest health problem is dental decay. For that reason, we have begun teaching the youngest children in the schools how to brush and take care of their teeth. As an incentive we try to give each child in those classes a toothbrush and actually have them use it during the teaching. It can be great fun, if not a bit messy.

Practicing tooth brushing.
Tooth brush practice.

Tooth brushing demonstration.

Return to Caye Caulker

One of our favorite “get away” places when we lived in Belize City and Patchakan was a one hour boat ride to Caye Caulker. Just about everyone that visited us during those 5 years was treated to the experience of staying a few nights on this local Belizean holiday spot. Our kids loved to snorkel, fish and walk in the sand. Our favorite hotel was Sandy Lane, because it was dirt cheap and the owners were super people and watched over our kids.

For the Easter break, Niki, Maria and I were able to go back and spend a few days there. Things have changed a lot, but it’s still laid back and beautiful. Many of the same people are there – the Novelos, Chocolate, Lulu. Next time someone visits we will take you there!

Sunrise at Caye Caulker.
Sandy Lane
Dan at Caye Caulker.
Glenda's

Mrs. Novelo remembered us from 1993!

Chocolate in front of his new place, 82 years old now.

Hillside Open House 2010

As a way to thank the Eldridge village where the Hillside Clinic is located, the students and staff held an Open House on March 20. There was food, games, and music, along with the opportunity to walk through the clinic, dorm and education building. We also did blood pressures and blood sugars and found some new patients that needed treated. Everyone had fun.

Doing the limbo.

Medical student face painting.
HHCI Open House.

This Year’s Project – Physical Exams on all School Children

By December of this year we hope to do a physical exam on all the school children in our catchment area. We estimate that this will be about 3,000 kids. Most of this work will be done by our medical and nursing students. This will give the students plenty of practice and it will give us a way to screen for treatable health problems. So far we have completed over 1,000 and have found the major problem of dental disease. Other problems are being referred as appropriate.

Checking visual acuity in schools.

Checking for cavities.

The Home of Chocolate

As you probably know, chocolate is called the “food of the Gods” by the Mayans. Unfortunately, most of the cacao (from which the chocolate is made) is exported to the U.S. or Europe and then is imported back to Central America in the form of milk chocolate. Recently, however, there are small producers in the PG area making chocolate the old fashion way. Here are a few photos.

Cacao pods growing.

A native Mayan with cacao pod giving a demostration.
Newly opened cacao pod showing the beans.
Grinding the roasted cacao the traditional way.

Ethnic Groups in the PG Area

Belize is a very culturally diverse country. The PG area is probably the most diverse of all. The town of PG itself has historically been a Garifuna settlement. This group of people settled Belize in the early 1800’s when they were evicted by the British from St. Vincent Island in the Caribbean. They are a mix of the runaway slaves and the Carib Indians. The Eldridge area and several villages along the main road heading north are populated by the descendants of East India. They originally came as laborers in the banana, timber, and sugar plantations, mainly to the American plantation owner who eventually left after about 3 generations. Now they own and farm their own land. In the outlying villages are two groups of Mayan, Ketchi and Mopan, each with their own language and cultural beliefs. Mixed with these are a few Mennonite farmers, Chinese businessmen, Creole (mix of former slave and slave owner), Mestizos (mix of Spanish and native Central Americans), and expatriate American and Europeans.

Mayan kids at school fair.

Garifuna dance presentation.
Alan, our night security, with daughter - East Indian descent.

The History of the Mayans in Belize

Scattered throughout Belize are the remains of past Mayan civilizations. At one time there were 3-4 X the population that Belize now has, with numerous trade and commercial routes that spanned Central America and Mexico. In the back yard of our clinic in Patchakan, there were the remains of a small Mayan ruin, with characteristic mounds and our kids found a basketful of pottery remains (but no jade!) Here in the PG area it is the same, with several partially excavated sites.

Xunantunich

Lubantuun

Jesuit International Volunteers (JIVs)

The JIVs were a big part of our lives when we lived in Belize from 1989-94. Now that we are back, it is fortunate that there are four JIVs in PG. Their house and the dog remind us of the JIV house in Belize City. I guess to live simply one must blend into the background and the JIV house in PG does that! Emily works as a counselor at Niki’s high school. Pat works with the youth program of St. Peter Clavier. Matt works with the RC schools of the district. Allison (not pictured) works developing St. Peter Clavier’s school library and reading program. This should bring back some memories for you former JIVs.

Paul and Janet Mural Project – February 2010

Old time friends, Paul Moyer and Janet Essley, were our first visitors to Punta Gorda. Of course, we made them work for their keep, and work they did. Janet, with PA (painter’s assistant) Paul, were able to paint 3 murals in less than one week – 2 at Niki’s school and 1 at the clinic. Yes, they did have the help of Niki’s schoolmates, but it was still a lot of work. We encouraged and rewarded them with nightly “Cuba libres” and Belikans, along with bird watching from our front porch and swimming in the Carib Sea down the cliff from our house. Great job and what a lot of fun being with them again. We are hoping for a return trip next year?!

Paul & Janet

TCC student at work.
TCC painters
TCC kids, Niki, Paul, Janet - clinic mural.
Niki and mural.
Clinic Mural
First TCC mural finished.