It's called the ride across Belize and that is what 31 cyclists will do over the next five days. They will pedal 212 miles not for a prize but for charity as part of the Social Security Board's annual charity ride. This year they hope to raise $30,000 which will be matched by another $30,0000 from the Social Security Board. The money this year will go to the Rockview Mental Hospital. The ride began yesterday and today it arrived in Belize City. Efrain "Beep" Phillips and Sandra Cansino told us why they are riding.
Efrain "Beep" Phillips, Riding Across Belize
"I am always into sports and help out how I can help out and when I heard the ride was for the guys at the Rockview Hospital, the mentally ill, I said I had to try give little time and little energy to help out how I can help out. Belizeans have to help each other, unity is strength."
Sandra Cansino, Riding Across Belize
"Cycling is a sport that I like and it's a good way to get in shape and to stay fit. The ride is also a means of promoting fitness and hopefully a lot of people that you see riding here today will continue riding and it's a sport that I like. This is a staff initiative from the staff member of the Board that started in 2003 and we decided to do the ride to raise funds for organizations that don't normally have access to external funding and hence the reason we chose Rockview this year."
Keith Swift,
Is there more to this than SSB trying to get some good publicity?
Yasin Shoman, SSB Chairman
"If you want to look at it as PR, I suppose it is. But if you ask the people who were helped in 2004, people that were helped in 2005, and if you talk to the people that operate the Rockview Hospital today I think they will appreciate it very much and they thank us for doing it."
Keith Swift,
How far will the $60,000 go at Rockview?
Dra. Claudina Cayetano, Rockview Hospital
"I hope we can stretch it as far as we can because we are also asking that people donate in kind and so if people donate then we won't have to go buy, let's say if the patient require adult pampers or if they require underwear or shoes then we don't need to buy them, because people can donate them. So this is where we could see how we could save some of our dollars and use them for things that we really need to purchase. And we have staff members who work here so there is need to improve the facilities, to improve the bathroom facilities. So if we get them donated then it will help to stretch the money."
Phase one was completed today and the team heads to Belmopan and San Ignacio tomorrow and pedal on to Dangriga on Saturday and ending in Punta Gorda on Sunday. The Social Security Board is still accepting donations and you can make yours at any branch office. The SSB is also encouraging donation of other supplies such as sheets, clothes, and kitchen utensils which can be used by the Rockview Hospital. This is the third year of the ride and last year a combined donation of $25,000 was shared between the Youth Hostel and the Stella Maris School.
