UDP Standard Bearer for Belize Rural North, Edmund Castro is nothing if not media savvy. Through the use of the party's newspaper, he's managed to thrust himself to the forefront of the party's public relations machinery and seems to be one of the most active standard bearers. But more than just all over the papers, Castro means to prove that he's been working on the ground too. And that's why he formed the group called BRITE, the Belize Rural Institute for Tourism Enhancement. In a clever move, Castro put together a proposal that managed to attract funding from the British government. True, it's not overtly political, and is very much a community led initiative but in the end, as Stokely Carmichael observed, everything is political but try telling that to Castro as he graduated his BRITE scholars today - turning housewives into tour guides.
Altun Ha - it's the most visited Maya site in Belize, mostly from cruise visitors for whom it is the most accessible and most rewarding site. But while the rewards are plentiful for the visitors who get to see one of the modestly sized well kept sites, what are the rewards for the surrounding community in the Belize Rural North area?
Edmund Castro, BRITE Chairman
"I first tackled this idea that we have a jewel in Belize Rural North right here at Altun Ha and all the people in this area could do is watch the tour bus coming, the tour bus leaves, and there is absolutely no opportunity for them to become a tour guide or nobody had even vested any interest in asking them do you want employment and do you want to participate. Many of these grew up around this area and they never had a chance to become a tour guide."
And now the Castro-chaired BRITE, the Belize Rural Institute for Tourism Enhancement, gave them that chance with this programme which gave them a full tour guide's training course, free, through sponsorship of the British High Commission.
Edmund Castro,
"We accept everybody. We gave everybody a fair chance rather than going through the process of elimination whereby our people had the opportunity to at least sit in and try."
73 students form the Belize Rural North area participated and received certificates as tour guides today. But these aren't your typical tour guides; many of the recipients are older women, homemakers and mothers with grown children who are taking their lives in new directions.
Denise Grinage, BRITE Graduate
"Instead of give a man a fish for a day, you teach him how to catch his fish for a day so he could have food for a lifetime and feed his family for a lifetime. So I think what BRITE does for this community and this rural area is a very good thing because a lot of people in this area don't have jobs, so now that they have trained people they can go out there and provide for themselves. You know sometimes you've been working for someone for so long. I've always wanted to work for myself to be self-sustainable. Now I'll more time for myself and my family."
Delita Gordon, BRITE Graduate
"I feel good and I'm proud of myself, especially the age that I have. All my life I've never known my country and this gives me the opportunity to knew the beautiful places that my country has. Every time I see the buses I look at them and I say one of these days I'll be on that bus and I was praying that the day would come when I'll be on the bus with the tours telling them different things about our country."
Well now she will be on that bus and its an opportunity for change later on in life that some of these women never quite expected.
Jean Tillet, BRITE Graduate
"That was the furthest thing from my mind. I had never thought about being a guide but I started working with Cruise Solutions and I really like it, its exciting taking the people out to different sites."
