Today the Salvation Army held its annual Children's Christmas Dinner, which had been on a pandemic pause for the past two years. It's supposed to bring a little Christmas cheer into the lives of hundreds of students in the city, and as they sang Jingle Bells and received their early presents, the kids lit up like Christmas trees.
Courtney Menzies was there this morning and has this story.
After two years, Salvation Army's Christmas Dinner for Children is back in full swing. 600 kids from 20 primary schools across Belize City sang Christmas songs, listened to stories, and received a gift at the end.
According to the District Commander of the Salvation Army, they knew it was important to revive the dinner because of what it means for the children.
Major Jonathan Kellman, District Commander, Salvation Army
"This is something that has been done for many years, I remember my first one back in 1996 so we had to take a break because of COVID in 2020 and 2021 so as soon as we saw things easing down we said, okay, if we can observe as much COVID protocols as possible, we can have this thing because the children look forward to it, we look forward to it, most of the people who give contributions know about this thing and it is a very exciting day really. It reminds them that there is hope, especially as children, you know, all of us were children, we had dreams, we had desires, maybe today we will not give them the gift they dream about but at least we give them something and we get them to pause and really think about God, but also just to have fun away from the schoolwork, away from the craziness of life, just to pause at this moment and say there is hope, there is light, let's have some fun together and experience love and experience receiving the way how we give, how they can give when they are older."
Courtney Menzies
"How excited do you think the kids are?"
Major Jonathan Kellman, District Commander, Salvation Army
"You can hear them buzzing back there, and some others wished that they would be selected but its up to the teachers, but as you can hear, they are happy, I saw some smiles there, I saw them talking to each other across the school, so that's another thing too, to link students from other schools to interact with each other because we see a lot of division in the city, in the country, but especially in the city, Northside, Southside, so here children some together and they start to make friends."
And while it couldn't be a full fledged dinner like it normally is, the children snacked on sandwiches and desserts, and the chairperson explained that it was just as fun for the kids as previous years.
Julie-Ann Ellis Bradley, Chairperson, Salvation Army
"We have a bit of changes, of course we had to get the gifts as usual and the treats, usually we try to do a spread, the whole tables, turkey dinner and everything, but we have to be sensitive to the times and we are now, as you can see, the kids are getting ice cream, they're getting cake, and they do have a gift which they will each by getting today. So I think from what you've seen, the children are still having a wonderful time and we have the help of the Belize City Council as well who usually helps in terms of distribution of the items and so on."
Deannie Requena, Belize City Councillor
"We're always excited to partner up with any entity who wants to do anything for children, we are surprised, first time I'm here, so I'm just getting the understanding of the impact it has on the children, we have kids from all across the city coming today, they will be getting treats, they will be getting snacks, everything courtesy of the Salvation Army and the other partners that they have collaborated with for this initiative. We know children, they are our future, and these are the simple things that they would appreciate so anything that involves children, the council is always fully onboard."
