Touching Lives of Children Through the Belize Camping Experience

Summer is here and the Belize Camping Experience has once again begun its series of summer activities for children and youths across the country. For years, the organization has been hosting summer camps, where children learn life skills and form bonds with their communities. This year, B.C.E. is hosting over thirteen camps across Belize. Today, News Five’s Britney Gordon stopped by one of these camps in the Jane Usher Boulevard area to hear how the activities are going so far. Here’s more on that.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Love, goodness, kindness, and self-control; these are a few of the spiritual virtues outlined in the Bible for people to strive towards. These are also a few of the practices the Belize Camping Experience is hoping to impart on children and youths during its annual summer activities. Alexander Perez, Director of BCE, tells us about this endeavor.

 

Alexander Perez, Director, Belize Camping Experience

“One of the team. of this year is to teach the kids that the words are important, that their words are important, because if they disrespect mommy at home, can you imagine they will respect the police officer and the principal? So teaching them that their words is important and that they are important as well. Another thing that we’re teaching this summer is about habits. What are good habits and how do you build up good habits and what is the habits about saving money because sometimes, you know, when difficult time comes, teaching them about saving, teaching them about good habits and the other, other lessons is about love. What is love? Is love just a feeling? No, love is actually showing kind to one another to help one another.”

 

 

Thirteen camps are being hosted across the country with about fifty-five youth volunteers from areas such as Spanish Lookout, Orange Walk, Corozal. These youths are trained by BCE before entering communities. Zurisadday Diaz, a youth volunteer, tells us about the feelings of fulfillment she gains from being part of these camps.

 

 

 

 

 

Zurisadday Diaz, Youth Leader

“I’m not gonna say it’s not tiring but I love doing it. It’s something that fills your energy back when you’re with the kids. It just gives you back the energy you need, and God just is always so faithful with us and we just, want to continue doing it.”

 

 

 

 

Britney Gordon

“Have there been any special moments that you’ve had so far doing these camps, is anything memorable to you?”

 

Zurisadday Diaz

“Well it would be the worship night where we have this worship night with the volunteers that are coming and how to see just how they give their lives to God and how they renew everything they have been having in their past and wanted to follow God’s way just that something that has really inspired me a lot seeing how they pray to God and ask for forgiveness, that’s something that I really really will remember a lot.”

 

 

 

At just fourteen years old, Hakeem Herrera is the youngest volunteer on the team. He says that this has been a learning experience for him just as much as it is for the children.

 

Hakeem Herrera, Youth Leader

“These kids obviously go through stuff, and it’s just good to show them love, it also helps me a lot personally because it just helps me grow closer to God seeing these kids receive love.”

 

 

 

 

 

Perez says the camp is an all-around experience with fun, food, and friendship but it’s the lessons learned through the bonding experiences that BCE hopes will remain with participants and youth volunteers into their adulthood.

 

Alexander Perez

“They have water games and arts and crafts and football and really targeting that our young people need to literally have a relationship and build a relationship with their kids and to have fun, right? But at the same time, to learn and apply what they have been learning through the camp.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.