Today the Canadian High Commission to Belize opened a new school building in western Belize. It's a $200,000 building in a remote western corner of Belize but, as we found out with this project, the actual scale of the project may be small, but the symbolism is huge. 7NEWS went to Arenal to find out more.
Jules Vasquez Reporting,
Arenal, it's that famous frontier village where the borderline runs on a north south diagonal right through this football pitch. One goal is in Belize and the other on the far side of this image is in Guatemala. Two countries, but one village with one name, forming pretty much one community. The Mayor of Melchor, Teresa Casanova Trujillo testifies to its unique identity.
Teresa Casanova Trujillo, Mayor of Melchor
"We always have both parts as if we were for Belize and those from here as if they were from Guatemala. We always help one another. I always collaborate with them, with both sides. If there is a football match, it is always beautiful because it is both sides that play."
Ricardo Chulin, Principal of LA Immaculada R.C. School.
"We don't have any problems concerning nationalities and so. We are like friends, we are like brothers and we teach the students to be respectful of one another, respect the Guatemalans - respect their national flag and let us be friends and so on."
Ricardo Chulin is the principal of the primary school in this singular community. For the past thirty years, this run down all-purpose building has served as the community school and for the last two of those years, Ricardo Chulin has had to preside over it.
Ricardo Chulin,
"We are very happy after so many years of waiting, after being so crowded over there at the community center where learning is very low, there is too much distraction. Only the chalkboards are separating one class from another.
Weekends they have dances there, they have meetings and when we go back the following week we find that the charts are down and in disorder, the place is kind of dirty and so we had to go back and put everything in place."
But that's over. Today the ribbon was cut for the new Immaculada R.C. School building. It's a fairly spectacular upgrade.
Gen. Lloyd Gillett, BDF Commander
"Seeing this new beautiful school building, I think this is the best school building in the whole Cayo District."
And though his BDF was a big part of the effort, Gillett isn't far off the mark. The school is fully tiled, nicely perched on a modest hill, and is completely new. But more than that, the remote La Immaculada R.C. will have a computer lab with high speed internet.
Gen. Lloyd Gillett,
"Through the efforts of Dr. Arlie Petters, we got ten computers for this school, five from Blue Cross-Blue Shield of North Carolina and five from Duke University. Those computers are currently being assembled by children of Belize at Price Barracks on the computer assembly course that we are running and so those will be installed here. And thanks to Belize Telemedia, this will be the first school that will be hooked up to the national wireless network."
So why is all this attention focused on a remote village school with 143 students? Well La Immaculada is more than a school, it's a project, a social experiment if you like. And the man watching it most keenly is Miguel Angel Trinidad, the Director of the OAS Adjacency Zone Office.
Miguel Angel Trinidad, Director - OAS Adjacency Zone Office
"Arenal is first of all an emblematic and symbolic place, sharing both countries, both communities, and both people and children. This is the construction everyday, step by step, of the culture of peace."
According to General Gillett that culture of peace is fostered by these schoolchildren from different countries playing, learning and mingling freely.
Gen. Lloyd Gillett,
"I think its good for us to reinforce these types of relationship because
it will bode well for future relations with Guatemala."
And while that is the guiding concept, how will it work on the ground? Presently, there are 143 students in La Immaculada, 10 of them are Guatemalan. If the OAS confidence builders have their way, that number should increase.
Ricardo Chulin,
"We are encouraged to invite the Guatemalans to come and be part of our community, our school community here."
Jules Vasquez,
Okay and now that you have more space.
Ricardo Chulin,
"And now that we have the space, we will be welcoming them, we will be inviting them, I and the teachers, to come and register in September of this new school year."
According to the Melchor Mayor, attending school in Belize is desirable for many Guatemalans because of the language advantage.
Teresa Casanova Trujillo,
"What has always happened is that they always look for the English language. Like my children all of them studied in Cayo at Sacred Heart College."
And while it is a practical decision for many parents, in this village, those domestic decisions are very nearly a matter of state, in this poster living model of real time confidence building.
The Canadians funded the project and significant help came from Tony Habet who provided all the materials at cost price. The project was spearheaded and orchestrated by businesswoman Maria Zabaneh.
