Last night, we told you about the Mobile Migrant Hub that was organized in Toledo by the US Government through USAID and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Well, 2 days before the US Embassy's Keith Gilges, visited the Toledo District to participate in that initiative for non-Belizean migrants, he and his team visited Dangriga. While they were in the "Culture Capital", the Embassy donated 933 children's books to various Dangriga community institutions. This donation was made in partnership with the National Garifuna Council, which assisted in identifying the venues for the book distribution. The books range from early childhood to late adolescence and include works of literature, English-learning tools, and dictionaries.
The recipients of the donation included elementary and high schools, the Pediatric Unit at the Southern Regional Hospital, as well as the Allan Arthur's Library and the Ignacio Cacho Library.
Here's what Gilges had to say about the origin of this donation:
Keith Gilges - Charge d'Affaires, United States Embassy
"At a higher level we are interested in the partnership between the US and Belize and there are a whole range of things we work on from citizen security to good governance to economic prosperity. One component of that economic prosperity bucket is helping Belizeans in many ways to help themselves and the best way to do that, the greatest investment you can make is in education. I got to be honest, part of the reason for these books is in going through our warehouse we discovered that we had them. We didn't know they were there and as soon as we saw them - books in a warehouse aren't doing anybody any good. I though where can these books make a difference. What community that we can maybe have an impactful engagement with and the thought was Dangriga. I get to come here to Dangriga and handover these 900 plus books for adolescence, they are going to schools, they are going to some libraries, going to the hospital here - all those things. In fact all of that is due to the work of a lot of people at the embassy and so my public affairs team is out and about, our political and economic team is out meeting people and so that's how we develop these relationships. That is what diplomacy is about. It is about building relationships so we can do good stuff together."
Then, as part of his 2-day visit to the Toledo District, the US Embassy's Charge d'Affaires met with organizations supporting environmental conservation and sustainable development in indigenous communities.
Gilges toured the Golden Stream Corridor Preserve with the Ya'axche Conversation Trust. Executive Director Christina Garcia explained that the preserve protects the last remaining forested link between the Maya Mountains and the coastal lowland forests. This preserve also provides food and shelter to indigenous wildlife and endangered species. The Charge d'Affaires also met with local indigenous cacao farmers and beekeepers who are engaged in environmentally sustainable cultivation practices. He also visited the group of indigenous Maya women who have installed solar energy in 40 homes in remote indigenous villages within the Toledo District.
