UNICEF shows support to Belize by signing cheques

The relief efforts following the category one hurricane that hit Belize on October twenty-fourth are still ongoing and donations are still coming in. This week the Ministries of Education and Health were each presented with cheques for two hundred thousand dollars from the United Nations Children’s Fund. The new Country Representative, Christine Norton handed over the funds, which are earmarked to assist the twenty-seven schools damaged by Hurricane Richard and for a life cycle project promoting proper nutrition for affected children as well as pregnant and nursing mothers. Norton says the financial assistance was requested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but UNICEF continues to support the government through its five year Program of Cooperation.

Christine Norton, Country Representative, UNICEF

christine norton

“Our program 2007-2011 is currently running with the government of Belize. Part of that program is not to abandon the government in a time of disaster and emergency. In fact, UNICEF’s very history will tell you that we were born out of response to an emergency. And so we continue to do that work even as we try to do other things.  In the case of the Ministry of Education, the needs were well articulated in terms of schools that have been damaged and normally these are schools where the situation is rather vulnerable, where the most disadvantaged live. They’ve lost text books, they’ve lost certain teaching materials and so on and of course that puts children out of school. So the contribution that we made to the Ministry of Education is to—at least for a part, we won’t cover all but certainly we will join others who are also contributing—to try to keep schools open and to get kids back in school and to recreate the situation of normalcy. In the case of the Ministry of Health, UNICEF is currently investing in a program of nutrition. A project we call—a life cycle project in other words that looks at the mother minus nine months all the way up to past adolescents and it is really looking at trying to promote good nutrition across the lifecycle so there are a lot of things happening there. When Hurricane Richard came along, it was hitting on communities that again have these problems of poor nutrition.”

We did solicit remarks from the Minister of Education, Patrick Faber, who received his Ministry’s cheques. And even though it’s positive news, Faber refused comment saying there’s a ban on Channel Five.